Internal Family Systems (IFS), also known as “parts work”, is a mindfulness-based approach to self-acceptance and somatic awareness. IFS helps people navigate competition and life with the 8 Cs: confidence, calm, compassion, courage, creativity, clarity, curiosity, and connection. IFS has proven to be highly effective for quieting the inner-critic, resolving inner conflicts, and slowing emotional reactivity.
The History of IFS
IFS is a non-pathologizing evidence-based integrative theory that was pioneered by Richard Schwartz (Schwartz, 1994). Over the past few decades, IFS informed techniques have become increasingly popular beyond the field of psychotherapy among a wide variety of professionals including first responders, school administrators, religious leaders, legal mediators, and life coaches (IFS Institute, n.d.). IFS draws heavily from person-centered therapy, mindfulness-based stress reduction, dialectical behavior therapy (DBT), acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT), and a family systems approach (Schwartz, 2013). Most other mindfulness-based techniques teach individuals to notice and accept one’s thoughts and emotions from the position of what Schwartz refers to as a “passive observer” (Schwartz, 2013). IFS, on the contrary, promotes an interactive approach that actively engages with a person’s inner ecology of parts (Haddock et al., 2017).
Foundational Tenets of IFS
IFS is made up of three foundational tenants: the multiplicity of the mind or mindfully separate “parts”, a family systems approach that recognizes the value of each member in the system, and the concept of a core Self (Schwartz, 2013). IFS asserts that the mind is a dynamic system made up of multiple parts, and that everyone’s inner world operates much like relationship systems in the external world (Schwartz, 2013; Lucero et al., 2018). Through communication with each part, individuals can gain self-insight, “unburden” or heal their wounded parts, and ultimately achieve self-leadership from a core sense of Self (Schwartz, 2013). To achieve self-leadership, the IFS approach teaches a process of inner focus and dialogue between the individual’s various parts of the system (Schwartz, 2013).
Parts of the System
IFS posits that everyone’s internal system is made up of a core Self, burdened Exiles, and protective parts that function as either Firefighters or Managers (Lucero et al., 2018).In IFS, Self is referred to as the core of a person, best equipped to lead the system, and distinguishable by its display of leadership characteristics resembling the 8 Cs (confidence, calm, compassion, courage, creativity, clarity, curiosity, and connectedness)(IFS Institute, n.d.; Schwartz et al., 2023). True to their name, Exiles are parts that have been separated or contained within the system to suppress a history of trauma or pain (IFS Institute, n.d.). Exiles are often very young, sensitive, and child-like parts (Lucero et al., 2018) that are stuck in the moment of time they were originally wounded (Schwartz et al., 2023). Managers are proactive protective parts that attempt to control or “manage” the individual’s system to mitigate activation of the exiled parts(IFS Institute, n.d.). It is common for managers to take on the role of the self-critic, caretaker, controller, analyzer, and worrier (Schwartz et al., 2024). Firefighters are reactive protective parts that attempt to numb or escape the exile’s pain by taking extreme measures in the form of either externalized behaviors such as addiction or violence, or internalized behaviors such as disassociation or depression (Schwartz, 1994; Schwartz et al., 2024).
How IFS Uniquely Benefits Athletes and Performing Artists
The application of IFS to the field of Sport & Performance Psychology has the potential to make a profound impact on athletes’ performance, relationships, and lives. When closely examining common behaviors of competitive athletes, it is easy to spot the protective behaviors of parts. In the context of sports, the role of the self-critical manager often manifests itself in athletes when mistakes are made, competitions are lost, or athletes fall short of their goals. The role of the firefighter often manifests when athletes exhibit extreme and addictive behaviors or outbursts of rage. Ultimately IFS offers a new framework for teaching athletes to increase their self-awareness and ability to self-regulate before, during, and after competition. For athletes, IFS’s mindfulness-based approach to self-acceptance and somatic awareness can quiet their inner-critic, resolve internal conflicts, and slow emotional reactivity through guided mindfulness exercises.