Internal Family Systems Model

The Internal Family Systems Model (IFS) is an integrative approach to individual psychotherapy developed by Richard C. Schwartz in the 1980s.^[1][2] It combines systems thinking with the view that the mind is made up of relatively discrete subpersonalities, each with its own unique viewpoint and qualities. IFS uses systems psychology, particularly as developed for family therapy, to understand how these collections of subpersonalities are organized.^[3]

Parts

See also: Personification and Subpersonality

IFS posits that the mind is made up of multiple parts, and underlying them is a person's core or true Self. Like members of a family, a person's inner parts can take on extreme roles or subpersonalities. Each part has its own perspective, interests, memories, and viewpoint. A core tenet of IFS is that every part has a positive intent, even if its actions are counterproductive or cause dysfunction. There is no need to fight with, coerce, or eliminate parts; the IFS method promotes internal connection and harmony to bring the mind back into balance.

IFS therapy aims to heal wounded parts and restore mental balance. The first step is to access the core Self and then, from there, understand the different parts in order to heal them.

In the IFS model, there are three general types of parts:^[4]

1. Exiles represent psychological trauma, often from childhood, and they carry the pain and fear. Exiles may become isolated from the other parts and polarize the system. Managers and Firefighters try to protect a person's consciousness by preventing the Exiles' pain from coming to awareness.^[5]
2. Managers take on a preemptive, protective role. The goal of manager parts is to prevent pain. They influence the way a person interacts with the external world, protecting the person from harm and preventing painful or traumatic experiences from flooding the person's conscious awareness.
3. Firefighters emerge when Exiles break out and demand attention. The goal of firefighter parts is to bring pain relief. They work to divert attention away from the Exile's hurt and shame. They often use impulsive strategies to bring immediate relief for the pain and suffering of the system. Some examples of firefighter strategies are escaping, fleeing, and addictive indulgences like overeating, drug use, and social media scrolling. Firefighter parts also include rage, anger, frustration, and violence. Suicidal parts are often at the top of the heirarchy when all else fails. They can also distract a person from pain by excessively focusing attention on more subtle activities such as overworking or overmedicating.

The internal system

IFS focuses on the relationships between parts and the core Self. The goal of therapy is to create a cooperative and trusting relationship between the Self and each part.

There are three primary types of relationships between parts: protection, polarization, and alliance.^[6]

1. Protection is provided by Managers and Firefighters. They intend to spare Exiles from harm and protect the individual from the Exile's pain.
2. Polarization occurs between two parts that battle each other to determine how a person feels or behaves in a certain situation. Each part believes that it must act as it does in order to counter the extreme behavior of the other part. IFS has a method for working with polarized parts.
3. Alliance is formed between two different parts if they're working together to accomplish the same goal.

IFS method

IFS practitioners report a well-defined therapeutic method for individual therapy based on the following principles. In this description, the term "protector" refers to either a manager or firefighter.

• Parts in extreme roles carry "burdens": painful emotions or negative beliefs they have taken on as a result of past harmful experiences, often in childhood. These burdens are not intrinsic to the part and therefore they can be released or "unburdened" through IFS therapy, allowing the part to assume its natural healthy role.
• The Self is the agent of psychological healing. Therapists help their clients to access and remain in Self, providing guidance along the way.
• Protectors often soften up or release from their roles when they establish a harmonious relationship with the Self. Some Protectors unburden themselves from their roles only once the Exiles they are protecting have been unburdened.
• There is no attempt to work with Exiles until the client has obtained permission from the Protectors who are protecting it. It is paramount in IFS therapy that the therapist ensures that the client's Self has established trust and safety with the protectors before approaching the Exiles. IFS therapy emphasizes that when protectors are not respected or bypassed, there is potential for their backlash. Such bypassing can result sometimes in some serious firefighter parts activating, such as suicidal parts. This allegedly makes the method relatively safe, even when working with traumatized parts.
• The Self is the natural leader of the internal system. However, because of past harmful incidents or relationships, Protectors have stepped in and taken over for the Self. One Protector after another is activated and takes the lead, causing dysfunctional behavior. Protectors are also frequently in conflict with each other, resulting in internal chaos or stagnation. The aim is for the Protectors to trust the Self and allow it to lead the system, creating internal harmony under its guidance.

The first step is to help the client access the Self. The two methods for accessing Self-energy of the client is-

• Insight approach- Clients Self engages with the Protector Parts facilitated by the therapist.
• Direct Access approach- Therapist in Self directly communicates with the clients Protector Parts.

Once the Self gets to know the Protector(s), and the Protector(s) feel understood by the Self, the internal attachment rupture is repaired. The process of understanding the Protector's positive intent through witnessing can be a slow and deeply insightful journey. Then, with the Protector's permission, the client accesses the Exile(s) to uncover the childhood incident or relationship that is the source of the burden(s) it carries. The Exile is retrieved from the past situation and guided to release its burdens. Finally, the Protector can then let go of its protective role and assume a less extreme role or a healthy one.^[7]

Critiques

Therapists Sharon A. Deacon and Jonathan C. Davis suggested that working with one's parts may "be emotional and anxiety-provoking for clients," and that IFS may not work well with delusional, paranoid, or schizophrenic clients who may not be grounded in reality and therefore misuse the idea of "parts".^[8]

Effectiveness and research evidence

Several studies have evaluated the effectiveness of Internal Family Systems (IFS) therapy in clinical and experimental settings. Research includes quasi-experimental studies on self-awareness, self-forgiveness, and trauma, as well as randomised controlled trials on depression and chronic illness.

Quasi-experimental studies

A nine-month “mental training program” incorporating IFS concepts of Self and Self-leadership was evaluated by Böckler et al. (2017). Participants demonstrated greater identification of inner parts, particularly negatively valenced ones, which was associated with improvements in theory of mind capacity at treatment end and follow-up.^[9]

Ogunyemi et al. (2020) evaluated a single-session IFS-informed workshop incorporating guided imagery and group discussion. Statistically significant improvements in dispositional forgiveness were reported, although no follow-up was conducted.^[10]

Eaton and Ferrari (2020) assessed a 35-minute IFS-based guided imagery session. Results included reductions in perceived stress and anger, with increases in self-forgiveness and improvements in heart rate variability. Outcomes were statistically significant, but no follow-up was performed.^[11]

Hodgdon et al. (2022) piloted 16 weekly IFS sessions for adults with PTSD related to childhood trauma. Clinically and statistically significant reductions in PTSD symptoms, depression, dissociation, and affect dysregulation were observed at treatment end and follow-up.^[12]

Comeau et al. (2024) studied the feasibility of group-based and individual IFS for PTSD. Findings included reductions in PTSD severity, as well as improvements in self-compassion, decentring, and emotion regulation. Acceptability was high, with 92% of participants recommending the programm^[13]

Randomised controlled trials

Haddock et al. (2017) compared 16 individual IFS sessions with treatment as usual (cognitive behavioural therapy or interpersonal therapy) in female university students with depression. Both groups showed declines in depressive symptoms, but no statistically significant differences were observed, likely due tothe small sample size. Acceptability ratings were similar between conditions .^[14]

Shadick et al. (2013) evaluated IFS therapy in women with rheumatoid arthritis, comparing nine months of IFS sessions to an educational control group. Statistically significant improvements were observed in pain levels, physical function, self-compassion, and depressive symptoms, with sustained benefits at one-year follow-up. No long-term effects were observed for anxiety, self-efficacy, or disease activity.^[15]

Summary of studies

The following table summarises published research on IFS therapy:

Study	Population	Intervention	Outcomes
Böckler et al. (2017)[16]	Adults	9-month IFS-informed programme	↑ self-awareness, ↑ theory of mind
Ogunyemi et al. (2020)[17]	Adults	Single-session IFS workshop	↑ forgiveness; no follow-up
Eaton & Ferrari (2020)[18]	Adults	35-min guided imagery	↓ stress, ↓ anger; ↑ forgiveness; no follow-up
Hodgdon et al. (2022)[19]	Adults with PTSD	16 weekly IFS sessions	↓ PTSD, depression, dissociation, affect dysregulation
Comeau et al. (2024)[20]	Adults with PTSD	16 group + 8 individual sessions	↓ PTSD; ↑ self-compassion; 92% recommended
Haddock et al. (2017)[21]	Female students	16 IFS vs CBT/IPT	Both ↓ depression; no significant difference
Shadick et al. (2013)[22]	Women with rheumatoid arthritis	9-month IFS programme	↓ pain, ↑ function, ↑ self-compassion; sustained at 1 year

See also

• Dissociation (psychology)
• Ego-state therapy
• Family therapy
• Inner Relationship Focusing
• Family Constellations
• Intrapersonal communication
• Inner Team
• Inside Out (2015 film)