The Internal Family Systems (IFS) model  is, in my view, a beautifully non-pathologising approach. It has been developed by Richard Schwartz and has received endorsement from Bessel Van Der Kolk, one of the world's  leading experts in trauma. It recognises that we all have different aspects to ourselves and a core self, which has qualities like calmness, curiosity and connectedness. The aim of this approach is to promote self-compassion and internal harmony. 

When we experience something as traumatic, if we are able to work through our feelings about this event or series of events at that time, we can then move on from it- and issues we experience as traumatic can be wide ranging, including, for example, neglect, bullying, physical or mental abuse- However, it may be, that for very good reasons, we were not able to process the impact of the trauma on ourselves around the time when it happened. As a result we can end up pushing away parts of ourselves which carry hurt and emotions from what happened to us at the time. These parts of us may also have developed beliefs about ourselves as we tried to make sense of what was happening at the time. Other parts of us then take on extreme protective roles. Their aim is often:

- to prevent us from being overwhelmed by those parts which carry those emotions and that hurt from that trauma.

-to protect us against the same thing happening to us again.

So the IFS approach works to promote internal dialogue. IFS very much recognises the positive intention as to why parts of us do what they do for us. Once parts of us which have taken  extreme protective roles are more understood and only once they are willing, we can then go to the parts of us that carry hurt and help them heal and let go of what they hold.

In IFS, where we are disproportionately triggered by something, this can be so valuable in helping us identify and with our protective parts agreement, going and helping those parts of us which carry hurt.

 

Here is a link to an article by Richard Schwartz, The Larger Self

 

https://ifs-institute.com/resources/articles/larger-self

 

For any therapist with an interest in IFS, I would heartily recommend the podcasts on the IFS Portugal website:

 

https://internalfamilysystems.pt/ifs-talks

Directories of IFS Therapists

 

This is the IFS main directory where you can search internationally for a therapist e.g. by city/
country:

https://ifs-institute.com/practitioners

…there is also the IFS UK directory- not all practitioners are on both of these directories, chiefly
depending on where they trained:

https://directory-uk.internalfamilysystemstraining.co.uk/