The Magic of IFS

IFS - Internal Family Systems - is a particular way of seeing people. It proposes that we all consist of parts that have complex relationships with each other, just as families do. I find working with it a combination of incredibly gentle and incredibly powerful, and it helps me to understand and heal myself and others.

It was developed by Richard Schwartz and is becoming increasingly popular as people intuitively recognise its wisdom and feel the benefits of using it as a paradigm. You can have formal therapy with an IFS trained therapist, but you can also learn about it using the resources on this page and elsewhere and then use it in your everyday life as a way of improving your relationship with yourself and others.

You can read my introduction to IFS (with puppies) here.

Watch my half-hour video introduction to IFS here.

Here’s a description of my CLEAR check-in, to help you start working with your parts.

IFS changed my life. Maybe you’ll catch the IFS bug too!

I use IFS in much of my writing here. If you’re interested in reading more I’d recommend Parts Work by Tom Holmes (with pictures), or No Bad Parts by Richard Schwartz. You can also take my introduction to IFS course, or watch some of my IFS workshops, both below. Enjoy!

Internal Family Systems Self-study course

Week One - I Am Large, I Contain Multitudes (free for all)
Week Two - Even Fred Is Trying To Help You
Week Three - Eat More Chocolate Vs. Don't Get Any Bigger
Week Four - No Agenda Other Than Love

Workshops

#1 The Three Secrets of Going Gently
#2 How To Deal With Parts That Push
#3 Sprinkles of Joy
#4 Uncovering the Magic of Self