When Every Part Has a Story: Supporting Healing in Resource Therapy

Clinical Resource Therapist with a client discussing Resource Therapy in session

As therapists, we sit with complexity every day. Clients often describe feeling pulled in different directions. One part of them wants change, another holds back. One part longs for connection, another expects harm.

We are often witnessing a system of resource states. It is not resistance. These states do exactly what they have learned to do to manage and survive.

For me, Resource Therapy (RT) has offered a way of understanding this. It is not something to fix. It is something to listen to. My work has shaped how I understand the internal system.

Clinical Resource Counsellor in her office using parts work with a client — Jaclyn Hall, Clinical Resource Therapist and Trainer

It has also shaped how I respond to the present resource state. When we slow down, what becomes clear is this: every resource state has a story.

I’ve never been drawn to ways of working that centre heavily on diagnosis or pathologising. It’s not that understanding patterns isn’t important but framing people through what is “wrong” with them has never felt like it honours the depth of what they’ve lived through.

I’ve always been interested in understanding what’s happened to a person, how they’ve survived, and what has supported them to get through.

Importantly, what they are now wanting to shift so they can live from a place of their own choosing, rather than from responses that may no longer be serving them.

Resource Therapy aligns deeply with this.

Resource Therapy Diagnosis

While RT includes classification of resource states, I don’t experience this as labelling the person. Rather, classification helps guide the therapeutic process. It supports the therapist in understanding the function of the part. This knowledge helps to select appropriate RT therapeutic actions.

At its core, RT is concerned with understanding function, not assigning fault.

RT understands personality as a system of resource states. At any given time, one resource state is in the conscious, the part that is present and engaging. Each resource state holds its own experiences, responses, and role within the system.

Each part has a purpose. Parts outdated behaviours or heavy emotions can easily be understood in the context of what a person has lived through.

This has influenced the way I listen. Rather than moving too quickly toward change, I am listening for which state is in the conscious, and what that state is ready to change today.

In my opinion, one of the most meaningful moments in therapy is when a resource state feels understood.

Often, what presents is not just a thought or behaviour, but a lived internal experience that has been carried, at times, for many years.

A look, a tone, a moment of disconnection can activate something younger, perhaps a resource state holding the experience of not mattering, of being too much, or not enough.

A state that learned to retreat, fight to be heard, to stay quiet, or to hold everything inside.

When we offer compassionate responses, like saying, “That makes so much sense… this state has taken on this role, and has worked to protect in this way,” we can notice a shift.

The system may soften. The urgency may reduce. Shame appears to lessen. Not because anything has been “fixed,” but because something this part carries has been understood and acknowledged. This often leads to opening a doorway to deeper healing.

My Experience of this Parts Therapy

In my Clinical work as a therapist and supervisor of counsellors, I have had the privilege of hearing the stories of highly insightful clients who have understood their history. Many who could see the links between what has happened and how they respond now.

Yet, they have continued to seek more from their healing journey, but something hadn’t quite clicked.

What I have come to understand is that insight alone does not necessarily lead to change. Why? Because insight often comes from a different resource state, knowledge and not the part holding the distress and emotional pain.

Resource Therapy provides a way of working directly with the resource state holding the experience, which is where shifts may begin to occur.

This is a key component to therapeutic change.

This is especially vital in trauma work, where protective resource states are often strong. They may avoid, distract, control, or limit access to distressing material. From the outside, these may come across as barriers.

Within RT, they are understood as serving an important function. These states have developed for a reason. They are doing what they have learned to do, to protect the system.

In RT, we work with them in a trauma-informed manner. We seek to understand their role. We respect their function. We support the conditions for other resource states to come into the conscious when appropriate. This supports safety, pacing, and readiness within the work.

What this can feel like internally is not always easy to capture in clinical language. At times, it is better understood through the expressed lived experience held within a resource state.

Here is a poem written from my heart:

I have a need,
I ask for care.
I see your look,
and freeze mid-air.

I know that pain—
the silent sting,
“I’m inconvenient,
I don’t mean a thing.”

“Why don’t I matter?”
races through my mind.
I shrink, retreat,
no safe space to find.

A smile appears:
“hold your head up high,”
but inside echoes
the young one’s cry.

Healing whispers:
You can hold them now.
Call on your parts,
they will show you how.

To sit with pain,
release the shame,
to hold them close,
and speak their name.

Your worth is not
their gaze, their tone—
your feelings are valid,
they are your own.

Sitting quietly, strengthening inside,
finding the strength that was always mine,

Each breath a reminder,
each moment proof—
healing is living
your authentic truth.

Resource Therapy has deeply influenced the way I understand both people and the process of therapeutic change.

It has deepened my focus on listening to the system, to the resource state that is present, and to what may be needed in that moment.

We participate in this work by honouring the story of each Resource State. When that story is deeply heard, something can shift. There can be less shame, more compassion and a greater capacity for change. Not by overriding the system, but by working with it.

Written by Jaclyn Hall, Mental Health Professional
PACFA Accredited Clinical Counsellor and Supervisor
Advanced Clinical Resource Therapist and Trainer
EMDRAA Accredited EMDR Practitioner
Founder and Director: Calm, Connect & Heal Therapeutic Services (Click link for Jaclyn’s website)

Thanks, Jaclyn, we appreciate your sharing your vast experience and knowledge with this insightful guest article. We appreciate hearing from other therapists’ parts therapy adventures. Want to share yours? Reach out today.

Want to learn the latest developments in parts therapy? Join us at our next training, with online and hybrid options to suit your needs. Click here for Professional Parts Therapy workshops.

April 6, 2026April 5, 2026

The Magic Of The Faraway Tree. Lets Climb with a Parts Therapy Resource Therapy Lens

A technical yet whimsical diagram illustrating the Resource Therapy process. On the left, the "Faraway Tree" shows various Resource States. A psychologist figure uses a "Therapeutic Intervention Stream"—a beam of light—to reach a "Vaded/Fearful Part" hidden in the roots. The diagram on the right outlines a 3-step structured action: 1. Accessing the problem orb, 2. Transforming the orb through understanding, and 3. Integrating the resolved memory back into the "Normal/Grounded Canopy." The image includes labels for "Parts-Based & Trauma-Informed Approach" and "Direct Work with the Distressed Part.

A Return To A Childhood Story

Sometimes we can read a story long before we have the inner resources to understand what it stirs in us.

A detailed, whimsical illustration of a large, magical tree with many houses in its branches, representing the "Faraway Tree." The image is divided into a literal tree on the left and a psychological diagram on the right. In the branches (the "Normal/Grounded Canopy"), adult figures hold glowing orbs of clear, accessible memories. In the lower, darker root system (the "Vaded/Fearful Roots"), small child-like figures hold cloudy, glowing orbs representing "immature experiences" and "unresolved fear." A psychologist figure with a torch stands on a staircase leading into these deeper layers, symbolising the process of Resource Therapy and internal exploration. — The Psychological Faraway Tree: A Map of Memory and Resource States.

I recently went to see The Magic Faraway Tree with a friend. Popcorn, nostalgia, and that gentle sense of stepping into another world. But what stayed with me wasn’t just the film.

It was the memory of the books by Enid Blyton that I read as a child.

I was a strong reader for my age. I could read the story easily. But understanding it is something quite different.

If I am honest, parts of it felt slightly unsettling, a little unpredictable, even a bit scary at times.

Not in a dramatic way, but in that quiet sense of “this does not quite make sense, but something about it lands in me”.

Sitting there now, I realised why.

When Reading Comes Before Understanding

As children, we often encounter emotional worlds before we have the inner resources to fully make sense of them. We can follow the story, but we cannot always process the experience.

So something gets held.

The Tree As A Map Of The Inner World

Watching the film again as an adult, and as a psychologist, I saw something else entirely.

The tree. The different levels. The ever-changing lands. The shifts in mood and experience depending on where you are.

It felt like a map of the inner world.

Through a Resource Therapy parts lens, we understand that we are not one fixed self. We are made up of different parts, or Resource States, each with their own feelings, needs, and roles.

At any given moment, one part is more present. One part is, in a sense, “at the top of the tree”.

And when that part shifts, our whole experience can shift with it.

Understanding Behaviour Through A Parts Lens

What might look like avoidance, inconsistency, overreaction, or shutdown often is not dysfunction.

It is a part responding to something that feels too much, too fast, or too familiar.

And when we begin to see this, the question changes.

From “What is wrong here?”

To “Which part is here right now?”

That small shift opens up something important. Because instead of judging the reaction, we start to understand the response.

🌿 The Tree As The Inner System

The Faraway Tree, with its many levels and ever-changing lands, feels like a beautiful metaphor for the personality.

In Resource Therapy, we understand that we are not one fixed self.

We are made up of different parts – Resource States – each with their own role, feelings, and needs.

Just like the tree:

Different levels hold different experiences
Some are playful and adventurous
Others feel uncertain, guarded, or overwhelmed

And depending on the moment… a different part takes the lead.

🎭 Meeting The Crew

As the characters move through the lands at the top of the tree, there are shifts in mood. We also observe changes in behaviour and perspective.

From a parts lens, this is familiar.

We might recognise:

The curious, excited part that wants adventure
The cautious part scanning for safety
The overwhelmed part that needs to retreat
The joyful part that delights in the moment

None are wrong.

Each is trying, in its own way, to help.

Why Some Experiences Stay With Us

That childhood sense of unease I felt reading the books now makes sense.

It was not that something was wrong. It was that some part of me was encountering something I did not yet have the capacity to understand.

And like so many experiences, it was simply held until I did.

This is something we see often in therapy.

When experiences cannot be fully processed, parts of us hold them.

Sometimes quietly. Sometimes protectively. Sometimes in ways that only make sense much later.

The Value Of Revisiting With More Resources

What I appreciated most about revisiting this story was the change in perspective.

As a child, it felt confusing.

As an adult, it feels understandable.

And that is the work we do.

We return to experiences that once felt unclear or overwhelming. This time, we have more internal parts. We also have more understanding and more compassion for those parts of us.

For Therapists: Working With The Part That Holds The Experience

For therapists, this is where the work becomes clearer.

When we can recognise which part is present, we can work directly with it. Not around it. Not about it. With it.

This is where Resource Therapy offers a clear and practical framework for working with parts in a structured, attachment-informed way.

What Makes Resource Therapy a Parts Therapy?

Resource Therapy is a parts-based and trauma-informed approach to psychotherapy. It works directly with the part of the personality holding the problem.

Resource Therapy does more than focus only on thoughts or behaviour. It helps identify and work with specific parts, our Resource States. These carry fear, rejection, confusion, or disappointment.

It offers:

a clear map of the inner system
structured therapeutic actions
a practical way to access, understand, and resolve the source of distress

If you would like to learn more, you can explore more about Resource Therapy here.

What is Resource Therapy?
Resource Therapy is a parts-based, trauma-informed approach that works directly with the part of the personality holding distress.

What are parts in therapy?
Parts refer to different aspects of the personality that hold emotions, memories, and responses shaped by life experiences.

Why do childhood experiences feel confusing later?
We often experience emotional events before we have the capacity to fully process them. Parts of us hold those experiences until we can.

You can learn more about how Resource Therapy works in practice here.

A Gentle Reflection

Which part of me has been most present lately?

Which part might be needing more care, more understanding, or more space to be heard?
Insight

Sometimes insight comes from unexpected places.

Even a story we once read as a child.

If this way of understanding our inner selves resonates, you can explore more about Resource Therapy.

Parts Therapy training is available through the Australia Resource Therapy Institute next workshops here.

March 20, 2026April 1, 2026

When Talk Therapy Hits a Wall: Your 2026 Map to Clinical Mastery

AustralianResourceTherapyQualification2026datesfortraining

Last chance this year for a parts work program which provides you step-by-step guidance.

There is a specific, heavy silence that happens in a therapy room.

You’ve felt it.

It’s the moment the “Reporter State” stops talking. You both realize that, despite all the insight and empathy, the trauma hasn’t moved. The Vaded parts pain is still there. The Retro‘s old patterns are still looping.

To break through this plateau, you don’t need more “talking about” the problem . You need a Unique Mechanism. You need a map that leads directly to the part of the personality that holds the solution.

Why “Understanding” is the Booby Prize

As one of our recent training graduates shared: “I recommend this training 100%… I feel inspired to apply my Resource Therapy knowledge to save lives, forever grateful.” Why such a bold claim? Because Resource Therapy (RT) isn’t just another theory; it’s a Simple System.

Other models can leave a clinician Vaded in Confusion. They are often left wondering which “part” to address. RT provides 15 precise Clinical Actions. These actions bridge directly to the part of the self that needs healing.

The 2026 Training Pathway: Your Career Evolution

The most effective clinicians are those who can move beyond symptom management into deep-state resolution. We provide the tools to resolve the 8 Pathologies with surgical precision.

Pathway 1: Clinical Resource Therapy Certification Program (10 Days)

This is where you trade “guessing” for “precision.” Whether you use EMDR, CBT, or Somatic work, RT acts as the “Operating System.” It makes every other modality run faster and deeper.

The Result: 10 days of intensive, experiential mastery to become a Certified Clinical Resource Therapist.
2026 Dates:
Days 1 & 2 (Foundation Program):22 &23 June
Clinical block days 3–4:19 & 20 July 2026
Clinical block 5–6:2 & 3 August 2026
Clinical block 7–8:6 & 7 September 2026
Clinical block 9–10:27 & 28 September 2026
Status: Early Bird Registration Open. (Secure your discount and avoid disappointment by booking early.

Pathway 2: Advanced Clinical & Train the Trainer Program

For the established practitioner ready to lead. This is for the clinician moving from practitioner to pioneer. Have achieved the status of Clinical Resource Therapist. Chris and I are part of a select group of master trainers . We have been accredited to run this program by Gordon Emmerson, and Resource Therapy International.

The Result: Deep-dive mastery into complex Conflicted States and the credentials to lead your own RT workshops as part of our global faculty.
2026 Dates: 5, 6, 7, 8 & 12 July.
Status: By Application Only.

More Than a Training: A Professional Tribe

Social validation is the heart of a thriving practice. Our students consistently describe RT as the “missing piece.” It gives them the confidence to handle whatever walks through the door. It is the difference between being a “therapist guide” and being a “spectator” to your client’s pain. Let’s face it, don’t we seek to serve our clients’ goals for change?

What is Resource Therapy?

Resource Therapy (RT) is a brief, trauma-informed, psychodynamic parts therapy. Traditional models merely observe the ego-state. In contrast, RT vivifies it. It allows the therapist to re-script and resolve internal conflict at the source. This approach may lead to lasting, rapid results in line with the principles of memory reconsolidation research.

Ready to stop “Reporting” and start Resolving?

If you feel that pull toward a more effective, energized parts work practice, your next step is waiting. Don’t let a “Retro Avoiding” part delay your professional growth. Hit the button below.

VIEW ALL 2026 DATES & SECURE YOUR SPOT