I am getting ready to go in and rescue my "inner child".

[NightSky]

@lostforgottensoul IFS isn’t for DID alone. It’s for anyone. The one who came up with this method started it while working with eating disordered clients and found their parts interacted as family members do, only internally. He was a family therapist so employed similar methods as he would with a family, treating each part as a separate individual with a purpose. His premise is that we all have parts. Traumatized clients have parts that are more polarized and more parts that are exiled because of their pain, but everyone has parts. And all parts play an important role in the internal family.
@trying2movefwd i hope it goes well for you. This has the potential to be very healing!

 

[EveHarrington]

From what I've researched, this is for those with DID. But I'm wondering about this kind of...

Internal family systems is not for just those with DID.

The IFS books I’m using are for people who aren’t even necessarily diagnosed with anything.

 

[lostforgottensoul]

Thank you for the clarification @NightSky & @EveHarrington! I suppose it gets confusing when research and articles speaks about parts. Are they talking about the parts like I feel or the alters that take over? I've felt 4 seperate parts for a real long time but since none take over it's not DID but then I've never been able to find what it is so I'll be looking more into IFS. Thank you guys again!

 

[hithere]

From what I've researched, this is for those with DID. But I'm wondering about this kind of...

No it is not for those with DID. It is for everyone even for people without PTSD or depression. Jay Early has written a book called Self Therapy that explains it well. One example is if you have a meeting you must attend and on the way to the meeting you start making some mistakes, or you start to get tired, stop and look inside and see if there isn't a part of you that is afraid of the meeting. Once you identify that part you can have a conversation to find out what it is afraid of. Then you can get back into your "wise" centered "Self" The theory is the human psyche is made of parts with a centered wise, calm, curious Self.

Also, Dick Schwartz, the creator of IFS believes they are really separate, living, parts. I know they are for me and if my T doesn't believe it is extremely painful to the parts and feels like rejection (BECAUSE IT IS) and it isn't DID. No amnesia. I see people in my work being in different parts all the time. The problems are when parts are completely opposed to each other.

 

[shimmerz]

The problems are when parts are completely opposed to each other.

Agreed. I believe it is the conflicting issues that parts carry like 'part of me wants to die' when it is clear that the other part (let's say the one that goes to work or raises children etc) has no attachment to that want to die part.

Figure out the conflicts and integration is not far behind.

 

[Orange Phone]

A great book that talks about this is: Healing the Fragmented Selves of Trauma Survivors by Janina Fisher.

 

[NightSky]

A great book that talks about this is: Healing the Fragmented Selves of Trauma Survivors by...

That book is amazing IMO.

 

[hithere]

Agreed. I believe it is the conflicting issues that parts carry like 'part of me wants to die' when i...

In IFS the goal is not to integrate, but give those parts other jobs to do, help them realize their tactics of protection are actually causing harm, get in touch with them, love them, welcome them, thank them for working so hard to keep you safe, and then ask them to do another job, all this is done from a centered calm and curious self. (which can be hard to get into)

That book is amazing IMO.

Thanks for the book suggestion, I will check it out!