The “Why” of Internal Family Systems
Because there’s no ‘i’ in ‘me’
Neuroscience has finally caught up to what the Buddhists knew thousands of years ago - that’s we’re mosaics; amalgamations of systems and parts rather than a single, homogenous “I.”
We all have different "parts" of ourselves. We all know this intuitively. If we didn’t have different parts, we could never be in conflict with ourselves. No one would ever have failed at a diet, because there would only be one self, and that self wanted to be healthy. No one would ever procrastinate, because there would only be one self, and that self wanted to get stuff done. But of course we know that’s not true. Some part of me wants to be healthy, and some part wants to live on cookies and ice cream. Some part of me wants to get things done, and some part wants to binge watch my favourite show.
We all have parts.
Technically, these are neural networks - interconnected brain pathways that are organized around different biological drives and form different aspects of our personality. While we all have these different parts, how they have developed and the beliefs they have internalized depend on our environment and are different for everyone.
Internal Family Systems and Ego State Therapy are built on this understanding and provide a way to access and work with not just the adult logical brain, but the deepest parts of ourselves - the ones that hold the key to moving from insight to transformation, from "knowing" to "believing."
Because there's a world of difference between knowing every human has value and believing we are valuable.
Looking for More?
If you’re interested in learning more about Mind-Body Therapy, we have lots of information to geek out on! You might enjoy:
