The IFS model differentiates the authentic self from your other parts of your personality (managers, firefighters, and exiles).
These parts of you show up ‘thinking’ they are there to help you. They have valuable qualities and their intentions are good. They come into help us as different times in our life, especially during traumatic childhood events, when they are there to protect us. But sometimes, they get frozen in time and carry those burdens into adulthood, where they can be destructive and unhelpful.
The premise is that each of us is born with a Central self self that has qualities of calm, compassionate, confident, curious, creative, courageous, clear, and connected.
The self leads all of the parts to help you live your day-to-day life and help to organize information as well as detect danger. When we lead with the self, we approach situations in life mindfully and with purpose.
However, under stress, our sub-personalities take over. The parts, developed in childhood, are triggered by old wounds like shame, rejection or trauma.
IFS allows you to work with those parts in a more productive way to promote healing and cooperation.
Though this therapy technique sees each level of consciousness as having different sub-personalities, each sub-personality has its own likes, dislikes, burdens, and history. And each sub-personality is thought to play a distinct role in achieving self-preservation for the person in therapy.
Every part within a person is responsible for warding off behaviors, actions, or reactions that could result in dysfunction or disharmony within the individual.
There are No Bad Parts. Just parts trying to help you in the only way they know how.