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IFS therapy supports the cultivation of a resourced 'self-holding' capacity that can be nourished and grown within yourself. Generating and accessing this 'self-energetic' space within your own system and sharing it in contact with others can allow deeper mutual connectedness and authentic relating - the following are some examples of the felt, sensed and embodied qualities at it's core:
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8 C's: Curiosity, compassion, connection, courage, clarity, creativity, confidence, calm |
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Internal Family Systems is a client led, pscyho-spiritual framework finding its roots of present emergence within a Family Therapy and Systems Theory clinical context, whilst holding resonant liminality spanning cross cultural animist cosmologies. Amongst its myriad applications it has an established and growing evidence base demonstrating its capacity in supporting the healing of trauma patterns, and naturally and safely supporting psychedelic preparation, journeying and integration. It is a model precisely attuned to tending complex ecologies; of the multiple aspects of ourselves, within ourselves - which we experience as distinct, and often conflicting, beliefs, thoughts, sensations, energies, and feelings.
Within IFS, being 'in Self', or increasing self-energy describes becoming attuned at core with ‘source’ energy. Something many indigenous, wisdom and earth centred cultures and cosmologies, connected to deep ecological interdependent and reciprocal relationships hold as sacred existence. In europatriarchal western culture and psy-disciplines being in ‘Self’ can be understood as slowing down and opening energetically to vibrational connection with Earth frequencies - meeting and attuning to the energetic world that holds us with reverence. Internally relating, utilising ‘self-energy’ during therapy facilitates a widening ‘window of tolerance’, which within this model facilitates a process of 'unblending' from parts of ourselves (which also hold ‘self-energy’) - coming to deeply understand the burdens and wisdom they carry and have likely carried buried for many years. Externally relating, accessing and resourcing through ‘self-energy’ can support finding separation enough to speak for and on behalf of our felt, sensed, and thought blended states, burdened parts, wounds - supporting us to build trust within our capacity to hold ourselves when triggered or moving through our day, and respond in relationships from a more centred and less reactive place. Some might say finding truer choice, or free will within our specific relational contexts - becoming more ‘Self led’.
In coming to know the patterns, relationships and configurations of interconnected elements within us, making up our intricate intimate ecology - safely, slowly and compassionately - it is possible to support our internal system to move and transform - directed by its own instinctual and innate wisdom, so that we can:
Within IFS, being 'in Self', or increasing self-energy describes becoming attuned at core with ‘source’ energy. Something many indigenous, wisdom and earth centred cultures and cosmologies, connected to deep ecological interdependent and reciprocal relationships hold as sacred existence. In europatriarchal western culture and psy-disciplines being in ‘Self’ can be understood as slowing down and opening energetically to vibrational connection with Earth frequencies - meeting and attuning to the energetic world that holds us with reverence. Internally relating, utilising ‘self-energy’ during therapy facilitates a widening ‘window of tolerance’, which within this model facilitates a process of 'unblending' from parts of ourselves (which also hold ‘self-energy’) - coming to deeply understand the burdens and wisdom they carry and have likely carried buried for many years. Externally relating, accessing and resourcing through ‘self-energy’ can support finding separation enough to speak for and on behalf of our felt, sensed, and thought blended states, burdened parts, wounds - supporting us to build trust within our capacity to hold ourselves when triggered or moving through our day, and respond in relationships from a more centred and less reactive place. Some might say finding truer choice, or free will within our specific relational contexts - becoming more ‘Self led’.
In coming to know the patterns, relationships and configurations of interconnected elements within us, making up our intricate intimate ecology - safely, slowly and compassionately - it is possible to support our internal system to move and transform - directed by its own instinctual and innate wisdom, so that we can:
- Re-member ourselves | of our essence and emergence outside of extreme shapes or roles taken on by parts of us to manage situations or protect against threats. With clarity and consent in cultivating intentional embodied space, built on relationally paced trust, conditions for generative depth healing emerge. Tending to present day and historical experiential wounds becomes more safely possible.
- Release through self energy | to reach healing that crosses threshold change, inner alchemising. The practice of IFS takes us to a liminal space where we are able to sense into both often undiscovered depth terrain within ourselves, whilst simultaneously coming into a fullness of connection with innate healing energies, holding frequencies of ‘self’, ‘source’ energy. Wherein unburdening and release of long-carried beliefs, energies, conditioned tendencies, habituated linear patterning forming ‘roles’ is possible in ceremony driven embodied ways. Enabling profound and transformative shifts in functioning, perceiving and experiencing. This depth work supports the healing of personal, intergenerational and cultural legacy burdens within our systems.
- Reconfiguring of personal and transpersonal ecology | supporting new webs of meaning and patternings of 'us' as an 'ecosystem'. Gently and joyfully over time shifting the entirety of the roles and relationships within our inner system, and subsequently transforming relationships we have with ourselves alongside other systems in the external world, both human and non-human. Making space for emergence in new ways of perceiving, being and relating by calling forward those qualities we wish to intentionally live into and nurturing them. Becoming commitments to value aligned clarity.
- Return to alignment with ourselves | returning to core essence, guidance, open channels of intuition within self energetic flow, free of egoic agenda. Navigating a space wherein we can sense, negotiate and affect intentional change - releasing ourselves from unwanted unconscious internalised drives, habituated patterns and auto-piloted fantasies influenced by pervasive cultural influences, oppressive world contexts, racialised locations and the complexity of relational attachments. All moving within and influenced by structures and institutions of oppression, domination and capital.
- Reclamation space | Patterns of cultural and intergenerational legacy play out within our internal system, manifesting within our conscious psyche oftentimes as knowable and relatable feelings such as stuckness, shame, self-sabotage, denial, minimisation, imposter syndrome, addiction, disconnection, dissociation, perfectionism, need to control, overcome, beat or be better than, annihilate, appease, fawn etc… depending on our intersectional identities, across contexts and lived experiences.
INTERNAL SYSTEM CHANGE
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Constraint Release Model
Identifying constraining parts Bringing space to the system Building trust through Self presence Opening connection inside and out Releasing held wounds and burdens |
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