The Symphony Within: A ‘Parts Work’ and Internal Family Systems Perspective

Mental Health

May 9

Have you ever noticed that there’s a part of you that longs for adventure and risk and another that’s attached to security and predictability? Such as when a friend invites you to an event, there’s a part of you that wants to go, and another that just wants to stay home? Speaking of which, who is the one noticing and watching these often conflicting and polarizing voices? Which one are you in all of this?

In my studies and journey with Internal Family Systems (IFS) and ‘Parts Work,’ I have come to know this as the symphony of Self. A beautiful modality and art of going inward and meeting the symphony of parts and aspects of our psyche that have their own unique agendas, roles and burdens that are carried (typically from developmental years and intergenerationally). Many of these parts conflict through polarization and can create confusion and chaos when we become fully identified and hijacked by our parts. That is until you start to become aware of and see them as the orchestrator and witness of them all.

For me, the effect of this work has profoundly changed the way I navigate stress, relationships, goals and everyday life! You may already realize at some level that our inner peace has nothing to do with what’s happening in our external world. This isn’t to say you suppress or bypass what’s coming up when you experience stress, but that your state of being becomes much less dependent on the world around you. When you can experience stress, grief, and whatever else you’re experiencing as a part of you rather than all of you, then you have greater capacity to hold it without shutting down or getting overwhelmed. So, there isn’t the need to pendulum between peace and chaos based on circumstances, because now you’re able to meet the part of you that’s experiencing distress rather than identify with it. This empowers you to act and speak for your parts, rather than from them. Acting from them is usually an attempt to change what’s happening outside of us because we don’t feel okay inside. How long does that last and does that really address the root of what’s happening inside of us?

As the steward of our own peace, we can tend to our inner garden and take care of the weeds that have accumulated over time. How we tend to ourselves is a direct reflection of how we love and show up in the world. With this paradigm, the world, people, and relationships are not just things to ‘get’ something from. When we become the source of our own peace and generosity, then everything external reflects the abundance and beauty within each of us and we have so much more that we can give from that place of our existence. As the therapist, it’s my work to embody this way of being, leading my parts from my own seat of Self. From this place, I can guide you to access your own Self-authority as you begin to discern, map out and meet your inner world and landscape of parts.