This therapy technique splits the self. But does it actually help?

Some people who have experienced trauma in childhood become fearful of authority figures in adulthood because the association with that traumatic experience remains and can be triggered when encountering someone in a leadership role. Nicole Zupich saw this manifest in her own life as a data scientist: she found it difficult to say “no” to colleagues and developed a habit of pleasing other people.

In therapy, she learned to recognize that these habits were based on a fear that developed in childhood and never completely went away. Separating this “part” of herself from her larger “self” allowed her to treat him with compassion and even thank him for protecting her from the threat he had identified in an authority figure.

“I have this toolbox of things, and it’s not that I never get triggered, but things are so much more manageable,” Zupich told Salon in a phone interview. “They don’t feel like they’re just going to overtake me and it gives me a little sense of control in a healthy way.”

This therapeutic technique, Internal Family Systems (IFS) or “Parts Work,” has gained popularity in recent years. Since its initial development by Dr. Richard Schwartz in the 1980s there were more than 6,000 registered practitioners. Many therapies are based on the idea that the mind is made up of different parts, including Sigmund Freud’s division into id, ego and supergo. However, IFS involves a recognition of self that is almost spiritual in nature – similar to the soul in Christianity or Atman in Hinduism.

“If you remember a time when you were faced with a dilemma, it’s likely that you heard some part of you saying, ‘Do it!’ and another saying: “Don’t you dare!” Because we view this as merely a matter of conflicting thoughts, we pay no attention to the inner players behind the debate,” Schwartz wrote in his 2021 book “No Bad Parts.” “IFS not only helps you pay attention to them, but also becomes the active internal leader your parts system needs.”

In small studies, IFS has been shown to reduce symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression, and pain and depression in people with rheumatoid arthritis. But some fear the practice has become too popular without a strong enough evidence base, particularly among people with psychosis.

Dr. Lisa Brownstone, clinical assistant professor of counseling psychology at the University of Denver, said she has seen clients with psychotic experiences or difficulties with reality or self-awareness become confused and disorganized after using IFS with other providers. While this technique might work for some people, it is important to test it in larger randomized controlled trials to better understand how it works and compare it to other therapies in the field, Brownstone said.

“The extent to which this is being discussed and promoted on social media by influencers appears to be disproportionate to the amount of research being conducted,” Brownstone told Salon in a phone interview. “This worries me because I think the spread of this information on social media is influencing the public perception of what psychotherapy is.”

One of the attractive aspects of IFS is that it allows people to feel multiple things at once, which can be liberating for clients and is actually the basis of many psychotherapy techniques, Brownstone said.

“I think it’s probably mostly harmless for many of our clients who are generally doing well in life and just need a little support in the therapy area to help them integrate and better understand who they are and where they’re going in life want.” “Brownstone said. “But for some it could be harmful.”

Anecdotally, some report that IFS is effective even when other therapies are not. Zupich, who suffers from complex post-traumatic stress disorder (CPTSD), did not feel her symptoms improved with cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) or other techniques.

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“Your goal is to unload those parts, and once those parts are unloaded, what’s left is your true self, as you are at your core,” Zupich said. “The more time you spend as your true self, the easier life is and the more authentically you can live.”

In practice, therapists who use IFS help patients separate themselves from their parts and acknowledge those “parts,” sometimes by speaking to them directly, Dr. Martha Sweezy, a psychiatrist with more than 20 years of experience using IFS who has written books about its use in treating addiction, along with shame and guilt.

“A lot of people have strong negative feelings and are trying not to draw attention to themselves internally, or are running away from themselves, so to speak,” Sweezy told Salon in a phone interview. “So we’re presenting something that can be challenging for people at first, but it’s also very novel and exciting when their roles start talking to them and giving them information.”

The idea is that this space created between the self and the parts can allow the patient to observe where the part comes from, for example a traumatic experience in childhood. The various parts of IFS work typically fall into three categories: exiles, who carry within them the emotional memory of past experiences; Managers who ensure that the person stays alive despite the emotional distress caused by these emotional wounds; and firefighters who use things like substance use to block overwhelming emotions. The latter two are also called “protectors” because they use coping mechanisms to protect the banished parts.

These parts can capture the pain of trauma or abuse in childhood or adulthood, said Dave Morin, a marriage and family therapist in Connecticut who has used parts work.

“Then there are these other parts that provide some kind of protection, and they try to hide these other parts from consciousness or protect them from other people’s perception,” Morin told Salon in a telephone interview.

From a psychological perspective, these parts can cause suffering. IFS is a way to lighten the burden on yourself and achieve a more integrated internal system, Morin said.

“IFS as a therapeutic paradigm essentially gets the protectors to calm down a bit and then turn to the exiles, the wounded parts that are holding on to trauma, shame or deep-seated pain,” Morin said. “Once we have access to those parts of ourselves, that’s where healing can happen.”