The Internal Family Systems (IFS) therapy model was first developed by Richard Schwartz, with the key principle being that you and I have “parts” within ourselves – sub-personalities like little people who have different goals and motivations. Just as the award-winning Inside Out movies so rightly portray, these “parts” we have on the inside have different levels of maturity, excitability, wisdom and pain; and on some occasions, one or more of these pesky little parts will tend to take over, “driving the bus”, so to speak, causing potential damage to both ourselves and others.

The beauty of IFS work, is that we can learn to step back from those “out of control” circumstances when one part “takes over” and learn to work with our parts for the greater good of our lives. In truth, IFS therapy has helped countless individuals move away from self-condemnation, self-hatred, and despair, and work toward a healthy integration of our “parts” where the “whole family” can pull together for the common good of our lives. While, today, most major schools of psychology recognize that people have different sub-personalities, it’s only recently that Christ-centered, spiritual directors have realized the great value in bringing IFS awareness and tools into our work with others.

Absolutely not. That job goes to the IFS Institute. Our goal here at MJB-IFS is to encourage, equip and support a network of Christ-centered spiritual directors who 1) use IFS as a tool of self-awareness for ourselves, and 2) bring the insights and tools of IFS into our work as spiritual directors. You can read our MJB-IFS story here.

Just as some directors are trained to use the Enneagram or the Spiritual Exercises of Ignatius as tools in their practice, so we believe there is great potential for those of us who bring the tools of IFS into our work as well.

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