What is Internal Family Systems (IFS)?
Developed starting in the 1980s by Dr. Richard C. Schwartz, an American family therapist, Internal Family Systems (IFS™) is a psychotherapy model that views our inner world as being composed of various ”parts”.
The concept is not strange at all; we experience it every day. One part of me wants to go, while another doesn’t. In IFS, this multiplicity is considered normal. It does not mean there is something wrong with you; it is simply how the human mind works.
The parts: what they are and what they do
These parts can carry their own specific emotions, beliefs, memories, or behavioral patterns. Some seek to protect us—sometimes using strategies that were useful in the past but may now cause suffering or difficulties.
One principle sums up the approach: there are no bad parts. Every part has a positive intention, even when its reactions become maladaptive.
The IFS model distinguishes between three main roles.
Managers
These are protective parts that anticipate events and seek to maintain control to prevent anything painful from happening. They manifest, for example, as perfectionism, an inner critic, or a need to plan everything or please others.
Firefighters
These are also protective parts, but they intervene in emergencies when pain arises despite other efforts. Their goal is to extinguish that pain as quickly as possible—through an angry outburst or by escaping into screens, food, alcohol, or work. Their methods may come at a high cost, but their intentions are protective.
Exiles
These are often younger parts carrying old wounds: shame, fear, sadness, and feelings of abandonment or unworthiness. Protectors keep them at a distance so we are not overwhelmed by their pain.
The Self: The Heart of the IFS Approach
At the core of the approach lies the Self—an inner state associated with calm, clarity, confidence, courage, creativity, and compassion. Richard Schwartz summarizes its qualities using eight words that begin with the letter "C” in English: calm, curiosity, clarity, compassion, confidence, courage, creativity, and connection.
In IFS, the Self is never destroyed, even in people who have endured great suffering. It may be obscured by our parts, but it remains accessible. The work aims to enable the Self to guide the inner system once again—what IFS calls “Self-leadership”. This is also what I explore in my book In Search of the Hidden Self.
How does IFS work?
IFS invites us to encounter these parts with curiosity, compassion, and kindness, rather than fighting against them or trying to suppress them. The process generally follows a step-by-step path:
getting to know the protector parts and understanding what they fear;
gaining their permission to approach the more vulnerable parts;
listening to the exiles and acknowledging what they have experienced;
helping them release their ‘burdens’—the painful beliefs and emotions inherited from the past;
allowing the protectors, once reassured, to take on a less exhausting role.
This path is not a rigid formula; the pace and direction of the work are always determined in collaboration with the client. Therapeutic work consists above all in regaining access to the Self, to better understand one’s reactions, soothe internal conflicts, and develop a more harmonious relationship with oneself.
IFS or EMDR: What’s the Difference?
EMDR helps reprocess traumatic memories through bilateral stimulation, such as eye movements or tapping. IFS, on the other hand, works on the relationship with the parts that carry those memories or protect us from them. The two approaches are not opposed. IFS can, for example, help gain the consent of protective parts before approaching a difficult memory, which makes the work safer. The right choice depends on each person and on what they are going through.
Is IFS Effective?
IFS is valued for its non-pathologizing perspective: symptoms are understood as attempts at protection, not as flaws to be fixed. In 2015, it was listed in the U.S. National Registry of Evidence-based Programs and Practices (NREPP), a registry that has since been discontinued. Studies are still limited in number, and research is ongoing. Like any approach, IFS does not suit everyone in the same way. For people who often feel cut off from their emotions or their body, entering the work takes more time and care.
Who Is IFS For?
IFS is used with adults, adolescents, couples and families, for a wide range of difficulties: anxiety, depression, trauma, self-criticism, relationship issues. You don’t need to know anything about IFS or subscribe to any particular theory to begin.
If this approach resonates with you, I offer online IFS therapy, in English or French.