From Fragmentation To Freedom: A Journey Through The History Of Parts-Based Therapy

the History of Parts Work Therapeautic Modalities

Have you ever felt like part of you was ready to step forward, but another part hesitated or held back? Maybe one part longs to say yes, while another screams no. These moments of inner conflict reveal a fundamental truth – we are not just one voice. Inside each of us lives a rich inner cast of characters, each with its own memories, motives, and meanings.

Over the past century, therapists have been listening more deeply to those voices within. The evolution of parts-based therapies reflects a growing understanding: healing isn’t about eliminating parts of ourselves. It’s about integrating them. Let’s take a journey through the key approaches that have shaped this field, ending with Resource Therapy – a modern model offering clarity, compassion, and clinically precise healing.


The Roots Of Parts Therapy: Ego State Theory

Our voyage begins with Paul Federn, an early psychoanalyst and contemporary of Freud, who first introduced the idea that the personality is made up of distinct states. His student Edoardo Weiss continued this exploration, and later John and Helen Watkins developed Ego State Therapy. This model posited that our psyche is composed of parts – or “ego states” – that can operate independently. These parts could be functional or frozen in trauma, and they could be accessed through hypnosis or dialogue.

What was revolutionary here? Rather than treating the person as a monolithic self, therapists began working directly with the state that held the pain, fear, or stuck behaviour.


Systemic Echoes: Family Constellations

While not a parts model in the traditional sense, Bert Hellinger’s Family Constellations added a powerful layer. His work focused on the idea that unresolved systemic trauma could live on in the internal world of descendants. Parts of us may carry the burdens of others, ancestors, lost siblings, and family secrets.

Constellations externalised these inner dynamics in space, offering clients the chance to see how loyalty to suffering may be embedded in a part of them. These insights paved the way for greater compassion and awareness of the unconscious loyalties that parts may carry.


The Dialoguers: Voice Dialogue

Enter Hal and Sidra Stone, who invited us to meet our inner voices with intention. Their method, Voice Dialogue, gave form to familiar parts – the Inner Critic, the Pleaser, the Vulnerable Child, and encouraged clients to speak as the part. No fixing. No fusing. Just listening.

Their approach normalised multiplicity and championed the idea that every part has value. Even the saboteur is protecting something. Their legacy lies in the permission they gave us to dialogue with complexity, not just simplify it.


The Inner Family: Internal Family Systems (IFS)

Richard Schwartz took these ideas mainstream with Internal Family Systems (IFS). His model framed the psyche as an inner family of “parts,” with a central Self that is calm, compassionate, and confident. The goal of IFS is to heal wounded “exiles” and transform protective “managers” and “firefighters” so the Self can lead.

IFS became incredibly popular because of its non-pathologising language and its accessible way of working. However, it can sometimes lean heavily into spiritual concepts, rely on Self, which isn’t always accessible, and doesn’t always offer therapists a clear treatment path for trauma-driven behaviours.


Enter Resource Therapy: The Clinical Compass

Resource Therapy (RT), developed by Dr Gordon Emmerson in Australia, brings together the depth of Ego State Therapy with the precision of clinical intervention. It’s the next generation in parts-based therapy – trauma-informed, client-centred, and neurologically attuned.

Here’s what makes Resource Therapy unique:

  • Parts are called Resource States, and they are physiological, not just symbolic. That means they’re real, distinct states with specific neural pathways.
  • RT works only with the part that holds the issue. We don’t just talk about the anxious part – we bring it out and speak directly with it. With deep respect and compassion.
  • Knows we can have the best part suited to the occasion at the helm. Captain Conscious pilots the way with the appropriate skills and abilities.
  • The model offers a detailed diagnostic system with eight types of Resource pathologies, including:
    • Vaded with Fear (e.g. panic, phobias, PTSD)
    • Vaded with Rejection (e.g. low self-worth, perfectionism)
    • Retro Avoiding (e.g. addictions, avoidance behaviours)
    • Conflicted States (inner tension and paralysis)
  • RT uses 15 specific therapeutic actions – including Vivify Specific, Bridging, Expression, Introject Speak, Relief, and Resource Finding – giving clinicians a clear roadmap for deep, lasting change.
  • And it all rests on the brilliant ship metaphor. Each person is a ship with many crew members. When the right part is at the helm, we sail smoothly. When a wounded or outdated state grabs the wheel at the wrong time, we veer off course. RT helps clients restore internal harmony so the most skilled captain can steer.

Integration, Not Elimination

From Federn’s clinical focus to Hellinger’s ancestral insight, from Voice Dialogue’s inner conversations to IFS’s compassionate Self, each model has gifted us a new way to see the inner world. They remind us that healing is not about silencing parts, but about hearing them, honouring them, and helping them come back into relationship with the whole.

Resource Therapy builds on this legacy, providing a sophisticated, trauma-attuned approach that empowers therapists to work directly with the state that needs healing. It doesn’t ask, “What’s wrong with you?” – it asks, “Which part of you is hurting, and how can we help you?”

When we stop seeing ourselves as broken and start recognising the parts of us trying their best to survive, we open the door to real healing.

And when the right part is at the helm, the whole ship can sail towards freedom.

Parts, Pain, and Progress: What Therapist Gold Offers You and Your Clients

Therapist Gold Treating Fear Based Trauma and Attachment Trauma book Author Gordon Emmerson

Therapist Gold: Treating Fear-Based and Attachment Trauma is the latest must-read by Professor Gordon Emmerson, founder of Resource Therapy, and Christiane Essing, an international master trainers in Resource Therapy and psychotherapist.

Thoughtful, practical, and grounded in real clinical work, this book is a valuable resource for therapists working with fear, complex trauma, and attachment wounds.

Whether you’re just beginning your parts-based therapy journey or already immersed in Resource Therapy, Therapist Gold will deepen your understanding and sharpen your skills.

Why This Book Belongs in Every Trauma Therapist’s Toolkit

This essential guide dives deep into two of the most prevalent – and often treatment-resistant – areas we see in clinical practice:

1. Fear-Based Trauma
The hidden driver behind panic attacks, phobias, generalised anxiety, PTSD, agoraphobia, and other fear-related disorders.

2. Attachment Trauma
Rooted in early relational wounds, this trauma underpins feelings of inadequacy (‘I’m not good enough’), people-pleasing, fear of intimacy, eating disorders, and compulsive overachievement.

Both types of trauma are also core contributors to addictions, OCD, and other behaviours that serve as coping strategies – often unconscious efforts to self-soothe and avoid deep emotional pain.

What sets this book apart is its integration of Resource Therapy theory and techniques, offering a clear and compassionate framework for helping clients identify and heal the specific personality parts (Resource States) that hold trauma.

Therapists will learn how to work directly with these parts to:

  • Uncover the true origins of presenting issues
  • Provide deep relief for long-standing emotional pain
  • Shift clients from survival mode to healthy self-regulation and empowerment

Whether you are new to parts therapy or a seasoned clinician, this book offers practical interventions and profound insight to support transformational healing.

🛳️ Grounded in the latest trauma research and parts-based approaches, this book is a valuable companion to our Clinical Resource Therapy training.


A Hands-on Guide to Resource Therapy in Action

This book is written for the therapy room, not the ivory tower.

It is filled with therapist–client dialogues, case examples, and clear guidance on using Resource Therapy Actions effectively and ethically. You’ll learn how to:

  • Bridge to eVaded States holding fear, shame, hurt, abandonment, or anger
  • Use RT techniques that support emotional shifts for lasting results
  • Respect protector parts while gently accessing deeper pain
  • Create the conditions for memory reconsolidation – helping clients update old emotional patterns with new, healing experiences

This is the kind of practical wisdom therapists can use right away.

What is Memory Reconsolidation – and Why Does it Matter?

Memory reconsolidation is a process in the brain that allows emotional memories to be updated and healed when accessed in the right way.

Resource Therapy provides a structured, respectful pathway to do just that.

When a Vaded State ( RT technical term) is accessed safely and the emotional truth is expressed and processed, the brain has an opportunity to reorganise that memory. Instead of being stuck in fear or confusion, clients experience genuine relief, clarity, and transformation.

Therapist Gold shows you how to make that happen, session by session.

Meet the Authors

Professor Gordon Emmerson, PhD, is the founder of Resource Therapy. A psychologist (now retired) and author, Gordon developed this model from decades of work in ego state therapy and trauma recovery. Resource Therapy is now a globally respected clinical approach used by psychologists, counsellors, social workers, and trauma therapists across the world. His other books include Healthy Parts Happy Self and Resource Therapy Casebook. Known for his clarity, compassion, and commitment to client-centred care, Gordon continues to inspire a growing international community of therapists.

Christiane Essing is a psychotherapist based in Germany. She works with children, adolescents, and adults, using psychotherapy, and Resource Therapy. She also translated and interpreted Gordon’s entire training into German, and currently serves as Executive Director of Training on the Board of Resource Therapy International.


How to Order Your Gold Nugget of Learning

You can purchase Therapist Gold: Treating Fear-Based and Attachment Trauma via Amazon using our official link below. As an Amazon Associate, I earn a small commission from qualifying purchases at no extra cost to you. This helps support our work in bringing Resource Therapy training and tools to more therapists globally.

🛒 Order on Amazon

Therapist Gold lives up to its name. It is a heartfelt, practical guide that helps us do the real work – connecting with the parts of our clients that have been hurt, helping them heal, and staying grounded in the process.

If you are serious about parts-based therapy, trauma healing, and making a real difference in the therapy room, this book is for you.

💡 Want to go deeper?

Perfect for training and beyond

This book is an ideal companion read for those completing:

It is also highly recommended for therapists seeking to refresh their skills, feel more confident with RT Actions, and deepen their trauma-informed work with parts.

Enjoy reading Therapy Gold over a nice cup of tea or coffee. If you’re like me, possibly a pencil and highlighter!


Professor Gordon Emmerson to Join Me Online May 10

It will be fun and interactive as we will be able to ask any burning questions you have to a master of psychology -

We are very honored to have Gordon Emmerson the founder of Resource Therapy join us at our next RT community event.

Gordon Emmerson Ph.D. is to Resource Therapy,, what Francine Shapiro is to EMDR, Freud, and Watson to Psychology. He’s a living legend and as those of us who know him know he is a very humble person and in my opinion a genius like those aforementioned. Parts therapies like Resource Therapy are the future of psychology. Please join us – it’s free.

Gordon Emmerson and Philipa Thornton discuss Resource Therapy and the future of psychology
Gordon Emmerson and Philipa Thornton discuss Resource Therapy and the future of psychology

Zoom Meeting Gordon Emmerson & Philipa Thornton Discuss Resource Therapy.
When: May 10, 2020 09:00 Canberra, Melbourne, Sydney

Register in advance for this meeting:https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZEvdO2gqzgoHtPzrqUiF7pxDeZXmF-_ixJq

After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting. Hurry places limited and this will fill quickly.

This time should suit our American friends who have only had the replays for now. Our Europe and Asia buddies won’t miss out, please sign up for your replay session to be sent to you via email.

Gordon and I will be talking all things Parts and RT you will gain valuable insights, come and ask your questions and curiosities. No experience necessary just an interest in helping clients deal with trauma and psychological issues.

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