Online IFS Therapy (Internal Family Systems) via Zoom

Internal Family Systems (IFS) therapy is a compassionate approach that helps you understand and heal the different "parts" of you, such as the inner critic, the protector, or the part that carries old pain. It is widely used for trauma, CPTSD, anxiety and dissociation, and it works well online.

I'm Chris Rudyard, an accredited counsellor and psychotherapist with over 20 years' experience, trained in IFS Levels 1-3. I work with IFS online via Zoom with clients across the UK, Europe, the USA, Singapore, Saudi Arabia and Japan. I work under UK jurisdiction, so wherever you are, our sessions are held to UK professional standards.

Having worked with IFS both online and in person, I've found online IFS works just as well. Many clients find it easier to open up from the comfort of their own space, at a time that suits them. Book an online session or read about online trauma therapies.

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​What is IFS Therapy?

IFS or Internal Family Systems as it is formally known is a model of personality developed by Dr Richard (who likes to go by Dick) Schwartz from the USA in the 1980s. Dr Schwartz is on the faculty of the Department of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School of Medicine. Schwartz developed this unique model of therapy by getting lots of feedback from clients that he worked with. IFS is a form of Ego State therapy, it is more compassion focused more client led than Ego State Therapy. I think Ego State therapy, can be a bit more dynamic and creative from the therapists side than IFS Therapy, using more mindful exercises with parts.

I'll explain IFS Therapy very simply here - of course, there is a lot more to it, but just reading this can help you start to understand your and others' internal systems. Essentially, IFS Therapy is here to help you be the best version of yourself.

The theory assumes everyone is 'multiplicity' i.e. made up of what we call in IFS language 'Parts'. Just like a car, body, computer, right down to an atom everything is made up of 'parts' - the brain and mind are no different.

Think about any dilemma, perhaps the last party that you didn't want to 100% attend, maybe even this therapy. You may be in two minds, maybe more:

Perhaps a part wants to go, another part hates the idea, may be another part would like to do something else all together, while another part would just like to stay home and hide from the world!

In IFS Therapy we can work with these parts, as individuals in their own right, from an 'inner, mindful state'. Among the Parts within us is the space in which they exist, this space is known as The Self in IFS Therapy, it is not a Part as such, but more of a 'space' and positive energy where parts exist.

IFS therapy gives you and me a way of talking about the complex issues that go on within, it is like having a lens to see through. The IFS Therapy lens is one of the most adaptable, and accurate lenses I have come across in schools of therapy...

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The Three Types of Parts in IFS:

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• Firefighters: These firefighters can stop you from feeling hurt. They usually take you over when something distressing happens to protect you. They react to situations with 'high energy, they can use alcohol, drugs/substance, exercise, pain, sex, work, fight/flight/freeze/faint. Whatever it takes to protect you at that moment, they will do, and they don't care how they do it!

 

• Managers: These parts can be like firefighters, but they are not as reactive, they tend to 'run the show' most of the time through your day. It is often Managers that react when Firefighters have finished their job, Managers can be very critical of the Firefighters. They take care of you by giving you messages "do this . . .", "do that . . .", "they'll let you down …", "it will all work out in the end" "have a cup of tea"

 

• Exiles: These are the parts that Managers & Firefighters are suppressing and keeping locked away far away from harm. Exiles are childlike / younger parts frozen in time through upsetting, distressing, and traumatic situations. Sometimes exiles are triggered by events/memories and situations. Exiles will try and escape to be seen and be with you through feeling, but your Managers and Firefighters will quickly step in to get them back deep inside. Exiles are accessed in IFS with the protector's permission, then with Self's energy, and the skill of an IFS therapist the exiles can be helped to be released, integrated and healed. Once exiles have been healed and taken into the system, the Firefighters & Managers can start to relax, take breaks, and even get new jobs to help you out in better ways!

Why are parts sometimes problematic?

 

Parts don't know they can be problematic, they only see the other parts as problems, they have only your Self's best interest. The part that eats mounds of chocolate doesn't care about how you might feel a bit ill afterwards, it just wants you to take the chocolate - feel relaxed.


Sometimes, Parts behave as you are still young, and function as a way of protecting you, in a way that isn't needed any more.


For example: you may be jumpy when really you are safe and older now. You might find yourself stuck in old ways of being or behaviours that are not needed. Sometimes these Parts conflict too, or in IFS language are 'Polarized'. Part goes to the gym, while another part binges on something afterwards.


 

What Is "Self" in IFS?

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Self is not a part but the energy field within you - the true 'essence' of you, and the space in which your Parts exist. Self is said to feel calm, and from this space, we can be curious, clear, compassionate, confident, courageous, creative, and connected. Self is an energy that comes from within you, it is the purest form of you, an IFS Therapist will help you to access this to heal your Parts.

 

Burdens in IFS: Legacy and Unattached

Legacy Burdens: you may hear of this concept on your IFS journey, legacy burdens are parts that are burdened by the job they have been doing, parts are not their burdens it's more like how they are feeling because of the jobs they've been doing - usually for a long time.

Unattached Burdens: this phenomenon can be challenging to accept, yet I have come across these within people. UBs as they are known in the IFS world, are energies that exist within, that aren't necessarily benevolent… They can be abstract or quite well-defined. Whether this is something you believe or not, I can work with these if we come across them.


Many people from around the globe are loving having their IFS therapy online. IFS is my main theoretical approach to therapy because it makes the most sense to me, and my clients find it an easy to read a road map.
 

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My IFS Training and Approach

I'm fully trained in IFS Level 1-3 & Masterclasses. I'm also a qualified, accredited, insured, counsellor and psychotherapist in other approaches with lots of experience working in the field of mental health and trauma.

Because I'm a long time qualified psychotherapist and counsellor with the experience, I have a lot of experience with meta-skills that are needed for the nuances of IFS Therapy work. This does mean that some sessions will be likely to be more like traditional talk therapy, as I will be talking, listening and dealing with your manager parts. This is completely dependent on you, where you're at, what you bring, and your system. I work with you and parts, not against you/them.
 

Research on IFS Therapy

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• A randomised controlled trial of a 16-week online IFS programme for complex PTSD, published in Psychological Trauma, reported symptom reductions comparable to established treatments such as CBT and EMDR. The online programme also had higher attendance and satisfaction than the comparison group. Read the Foundation for Self Leadership's summary

• An earlier pilot study of 17 adults with PTSD and multiple childhood traumas, who had 16 weekly IFS sessions, found significant reductions in PTSD and depression symptoms. At one-month follow-up, 92% no longer met the criteria for PTSD. This was a small study without a control group, so it's an early signal and not proof. Read the summary

• Prefer to meet in person? See in-person IFS therapy in Liverpool.

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• Alanis Morissette on Internal Family Systems

 

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