So many Parts Therapy’s – IFS, Ego State etc, which one do I choose?

Our parts are like an internal family with may relationships. They are our Resources

Thank goodness for the revolution in Personality Part’s Therapy points of view available to psychologists, therapists, counsellors, mental health nurses, and other trauma-informed professionals. Resource Therapy, Internal Family Systems (IFS), Transactional Analysis, Ego State Therapy, Voice Dialogue, and Family Constellations, are the major approaches I know of. No doubt there are loads more psychology, counseling hypnosis, and coaching ‘parts’ models out there.

Love sharing my passion for Part’s Therapy approaches, here’s a Blog post I wrote noting key differences in Part’s Personality perspectives, click to read it now.

Truly, I am all for the Parts System that fits your values and belief system. We are all unique with our wonderful Parts or Resources as we term them in Resource Therapy (RT).

A beautiful colleague (used with permission) who’s done many IFS trainings and RT workshops who is a wonderful and experienced clinician has shared some of the things they were not comfortable with around the IFS model included:

  • IFS is an Ego State therapy with an emphasis on increasing SELF-energy and unburdening wounded parts of self.
  • RT has an Inner Self-concept along the lines of Ego States. Some people are very in touch with this Resource and others are less so. RT teaches how we may connect with and be guided by our Inner-Self for a useful purpose.
  • RT connects directly with the wounded parts for reparation and internal healing. RT uses the Empowerment Protocol to foster a loving nurturing adult part/ Resource for inner connection, assisting in reparative information and emotional resolution. 
  • IFS Doesn’t believe in Introjects. 
  • RT says Introjects belong to Resources. RT Therapists empower the Resources rather than work to change Introjects.
  • This varies from traditional Ego State Therapy. Which sees Introjects almost as parts to be fought with, captured changed. RT Therapists don’t bother. We just work directly with the hurt state or part with the need according to our client’s goals for change.
  • IFS generally does not talk directly to the parts.
  • RT does both. Our Resources can be spoken with directly. The most common and useful method.
  • Why spend time talking to an Intellectual state or reporting part? RT teaches us to work with the personality part in emotional distress, causing unwanted behaviour or imagining they are stuck in trauma time, not the present moment. There are other ways we can speak with Resources indirectly. This is taught in the clinical program.
  • This advanced mental health clinician said,” I don’t find it as spiritual or as compassionate or as respectful.”
  • RT works within the client’s belief system. We acknowledge personality manifestations such as Other Personalised Introjects (OPIs). RT works to channel those to where they can go artfully.
  • We always respect our Resources and will negotiate new roles or reassign tasks to more competent parts most suited to the tasks at hand. Retro Negotiation is a powerful process.
  • IFS believes parts have always existed as joyful fun-loving parts before a wounding experience, not that they are created from a traumatic experience. 
  • RT says our parts become Vaded, the big emotions of Shame Fear, Rejection, Confusion, Guilt, and Disappointment. RT therapists are trained to assist the Part/ Resource to gain a sense of power and control over the past. All our parts are there for a good purpose, though may need an update.
  • In a live IFS training demonstration, the group witnessed the trainer place a 12-year-old part in the corner of the house and leave it there, all alone.  The prime focus was how the “Self” felt and no attempt to bring the child part back into the fold of other parts.  It seemed as if the other parts are not important. Resource Therapists know attachment repair occurs when a nurturing part is found for connection and care.

  • Resource Therapy allows parts to communicate, cooperate and collaborate as necessary. Both in the counseling session and out in the real world. Clients can call on the appropriate Resource best suited to the occasion, who has the most appropriate skills, and level of awareness in accordance with a personal values base to be the captain of the ship, guiding through life’s ocean of possibilities.
  • Richard Schwartz has rejected the idea of “resourcing” because he believes it’s invalidating to wounded parts having painful emotions, preventing them from trusting the process.
  • That is why we call our Resources, Resources as they can be freed from emotional pain, and past disturbances. Connecting with Nurturing Resource for healing. We apply RT Action 7 Relief, a vital phase in the Empowerment protocol where an unconditionally loving Resource becomes available. Healing from the inside out.

As one of my clients said of her nurturing Resource called Caring – “No one can’t take her away from me, she can’t die, and she won’t leave me, ever.” Demonstrating exactly how Resource Therapy provides an Attachment informed model.

Please let me know your thoughts in the comments section below, and what parts model speaks to you and why. Thanks for reading, Philipa.

Our parts are like an internal family with may relationships. They are our Resources
Our parts are like an internal family with many relationships. They are our Resources

Blocking Beliefs in EMDR, a Parts Perspective

The Heart of RT is Respect

As a trained EMDR therapist, I belong to a EMDR Clinician group Facebook (hmm Metaverse, who knows?) . It has lots of aweosme therapists and information. After seeing a post requesting help on Blocking Beliefs, I thought it would be helpful to view this from a parts therapy model as I note a lot of people are trained in Ego State Therapy. In EMDR therapy these beliefs may sabotage or limit effective processing and must be attended to. Jim Knipe has some excellent information on this.

Coming from a parts therapy lens, Resource Therapy (RT) views these as the personality aspects, unique to us. Designed to help us possilby in ways that no longer serve. They require some negotiation as in the case blocking reprocessing or access.

You may have seen these parts of clients in your office. Perhaps they have an intellectual question they roll out – Why? Why would have to be one of the commonest I have heard. This is an intellectual State heading off intense affect. Or also popular is ‘ I can’t do this/ speak ill of… you fill in the blank. Usually, as a means to protect the person from some percieved guilt, shame or fear.

These are adaptive parts, in RT terms Retro States ( a part also known as a type of Ego State/ Resource) developed to support our emotional selves coming out on the deck of our ship with their fragile, possibly overwhelming affective sensory experience. Avoidance hypervigilance is often a natural defense considering what a client has been exposed to.

Whilst they do hold a belief that blocks it’s often due to the Retro State’s lack of awareness. Trapped in the belief if they don’t stop things, it may be too much emotionally. You can see the logic.

In RT we work directly with this part using the Resistance Alliancing Protocol RT Action 13. With this easy method, there are a couple of ways to get this State onside for therapy to continue and sidestep block beliefs artfully. For a quick look at this technique jump over to RT Action 13.

At its heart, Resource Therapy holds ALL OUR parts are there for a reason.

Yours in service to healing,

Philipa xox

Who doesn’t want to add heart to the world?

Why Learn Resource Therapy?

Gordon Emmerson Why Learn Resource Therapy

In the creator of Resource Therapy Gordon Emmerson Ph.D. own words, he shares his compelling wisdom :

Copies from Professor Emmerson’s Linkedin Article:

Why learn Resource Therapy?

Resource Therapy is a psychodynamic therapy. That means it sometimes focuses on the memories in order to attend to the cause of current issues.Cognitive Behavioral Therapy focuses on reframing and behavioural homework, and does not therapeutically attend to memories of the past.

Attending to the Cause

Resource Therapists believe that attending to the cause is better than attempting to lessen the impact of the symptoms, because when the cause of an issue is attended to the symptom will disappear, plus the client will no longer carry the unresolved confusion from the past.

Working with the right part

Resource Therapists believe the personality is composed of parts and it is important to locate and attend precisely to the Resource State that has the issue. Working directly with the part that needs change is the most direct route to resolution. Continuing to spend time talking with the wrong part is a waste of therapy time.

Understanding pathology

Resource Therapists learn there are 8 pathologies that underpin psychological distress. They learn precise treatment actions to attend to each pathology.

Having the right tools

Resource Therapists have clear guidelines for working with issues that clients bring to therapy. It is important for Resource Therapists to learn the types of pathologies, and to learn the associated treatments in order to feel competent to handle the various issues presented by clients.

Full article in the link below.

Photo by Geordanna Cordero on Unsplash

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/why-learn-resource-therapy-gordon-emmerson-phd-/

I call it finding the goldmine within. We connect to our internal Resources special and unique to us, healing the hurt parts stuck in trauma time is freeing and fun. Look at our next two day introduction to Resource Therapy – Foundation program. We guarantee you will love it. Especially suited to those with chronic, complex trauma, EMDR practitioners and Clinical Hypnotherapists and Ego State Therapists wanting the missing piece of the puzzle- Parts Therapy!

Yours in Service,

Philipa Thornton

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