Parts Work: IFS, Ego State and most other psychotherapies.
The idea of parts work is not a new or strange one. Since the beginnings of psychotherapy there has been an awareness that the mind seems to be made up of multiple parts. Sometimes we seem absorbed in our emotions and sometimes we feel more calm and rational. When we are happy we can seem like a different person to when we are overwhelmed by anger or anxiety.
In my work with clients, I like to understand the different parts that make them who they are. People may have parts of them that help them get by day to day, like a cognitive, professional self or a resilient parent part.
They may also have other parts that come out to protect them from intense emotions, like a drinking part, workaholic part, or overexercising part. Therapy can feel much more compassionate and thorough when we learn to understand how each of these parts has helped you get through life and continues to protect you from your emotions.
If we include these parts in therapy, we can then safely explore the emotions or trauma they protect and start to unload or process these. Subsequently, you won't need to work so hard day to day to keep these emotions or memories managed and at bay.