An introduction to parts work, Dr. Richard Schwartz’s model of therapy called “Internal Family Systems” from the book “No Bad Parts” (2021)

sum of our parts — Cerro de los Siete Colores - (The Seven Color mountain) in Jujuy, Argentina

The title of this blog post is a quote that you may have heard before, but in terms of utilizing this concept within the context of therapy, you may be unfamiliar. You also probably have heard something to the effect of, “a part of me wants to do (blank), but another part of me wants to do (blank).” This idea of multiple “parts” within us can help with better understanding the way we look at the world. This post is going to go over some of the major tenets of “parts work” by reviewing “No Bad Parts” (2021) written by Dr. Richard Schwartz.

Introduction to Parts Language

Your first reaction when hearing about “parts” of yourself may be to deny it, and say “I’m not crazy” or, “I don’t talk to myself like that.” This may be true, but identifying with your parts does not mean you have “multiple personalities” or that you’re crazy. In fact, quite the opposite. Your ability to distinguish the parts within your Self helps you understand the emotional reactions that you may have when faced with certain of life’s challenges, and work to bring more harmony and clarity to your life.
Parts language is brought to us by Dr. Schwartz, the Founder of the Internal Family Systems psychotherapy model. The model presents a unique approach to looking at the Self through the lens of an interconnected web of parts. Much like there are subsystems within our outside worlds, there are subsystems within our inner worlds as well (Schwartz, 2021).

Categorizing Your Parts

In all of us, we have multiple parts that are in contention with each other, each playing a role. Our true Self is our emotionally mature state of being, which is many times difficult for us to access because of our protectors, who seek to shield our exiles from pain and suffering.

Confused? Let’s apply this to a scenario I’m sure we’ve all experienced:

You are driving on the freeway, on a calm Saturday afternoon, and someone cuts in front of you, almost hitting your car! Let’s take a dive into your emotional reactions to better explain your parts of Self and the roles they play.

Option 1: The exiled parts of you may lead you to feeling fearful and a lack of safety and security. Usually, these are the parts of ourselves that are the most vulnerable; the parts that feel you are not important, you are not lovable, or you are deeply alone. In the scenario above, these parts may cause feelings of sadness about your place in your community at large. You may feel distant or question your connection to others. You may feel pain or some form of worthlessness. You may even feel that you deserved to be cut off.

Option 2: The protective parts of you will seek to secure safety for the vulnerable exiled part. You may not even identify with the feelings in Option 1 because the protective parts are often powerful and in control. For example, your protective parts in this scenario may want to tailgate, yell slurs out your window, flip them off, or even think/day dream about getting into a physical altercation with them so you can “teach them a lesson.” These thoughts, whether or not they may seem helpful in the moment, may not be the most healthy/ideal behaviors and may cause your true Self to feel unregulated.

Option 3: Your true Self that is emotionally mature and the effective leader will give understanding and clarity, bypassing Options 1 and 2. The true Self is the understanding, wise, emotionally mature adult that you are. The Self in this scenario would bring compassion and understanding to not only the driver (they’re in a hurry, they didn’t see you, they’re having a bad day), but also to all parts of our Self because parts work teaches us that there’s nothing inherently wrong about our parts, because they always lead with positive intent.

Our job in therapy is to work collaboratively to liberate our parts’ unhelpful roles, restore trust in the Self, reharmonize our bodies, and become more confident in our Self to lead the way so that you, on a good day, choose Option 3.

Using Parts Work in Therapy

The 8 C’s

The 8 C’s refers to Dr. Schwartz’s (IFS) model and refers to the attributes/qualities that will guide you in developing that changing culture/relationship with Self. Following these 8 C’s when looking at the Self and all your parts will lead to more harmony, understanding, and peace within the Self.

So remember that protective part of you that wanted to cause physical violence?

What we would work to do is try to better understand this protective part of you (I’m going to call this the Mad Maxx protector).

Using the 8 C’s, we would be curious about when Mad Maxx was formed, seek clarity as to what they believe their role is, be creative about what other options they have, and so on…

The fact that Mad Maxx desires violence is not the problem. We would likely learn that they feel the need to use physical violence to be powerful, heard, and successful in their protection of you.

Exploring how parts interact

The ways our protectors lead us to unwanted behaviors (such as violence, substance use, or avoiding relationships) is in response to trying to protect our most vulnerable parts of self. This unwanted dance of self protection is ultimately leading to a non-regulated emotionally immature Self.

What we do in therapy is explore how these parts interact and teach the Self, your true Self, to bring more calm and harmony in the body.

For example, we can look at how Mad Maxx views your vulnerable parts as weak, and unable to protect themselves. We would work to have them gain a better relationship with each other and you, your true Self.

Slow, slow, slow!

If you are looking for a quick fix, I’m sorry but that is not parts work. In fact, I don’t believe any form of therapy is a quick fix to complexities of our humanity. Nonetheless, parts work is a very slow, compassionate process. You may feel that you are not progressing along, or seeing results fast enough. Just like changing any culture takes time (at work, in sports teams, or in a community), so will building new relationships with the parts of Self.

I wish that not only my clients, but myself included, could more often than not treat all the parts of ourselves with this level of love. It’s what I believe creates happy healthy people, relationships, and communities.

I often use parts work when working with both couples and individual clients. Book a free consultation call here and I’d be happy to connect over the phone.

“There are no bad parts of you, just misunderstood ones” — Dr. Richard Schwartz - Founder of Internal Family Systems model

“We Are the Sum of Our Parts”