IFS Glossary
Internal Family Systems can seem a little bit complicated at first, but it needn’t be. Here are some simple definitions of the terms you might come across as you read about IFS.
Blended/blending - when a part is at the forefront of consciousness, in the driver’s seat - a person’s thoughts, feelings and behaviours are those of the part.
Burden - feelings and beliefs that an exile holds from their past experiences, or a protector holds from the experiences of an exile.
Exile - an injured or traumatised part that represents aspects of ourselves at a younger age when the negative experience occurred. The other parts work to prevent their feelings from being felt. They are often children and are referred to as the inner child in other types of therapy, however in IFS we know that there is almost always more than one.
Firefighters - protective parts that try to extinguish the flames of an exile’s emotions when they surface, such as with anger, escapism, distractions, electronic devices, disordered eating, substances, self harm, suicidality, dissociation.
Managers - protective parts that try to prevent an exile’s feelings from coming to the surface in the first place with strategies like criticising oneself and others, keeping in control, achieving goals, working hard, perfectionism, going on with normal life, causing physical symptoms.
Part - a sub-personality that makes up a person’s personality, the source of their thoughts, emotions and behaviours, with their own perspectives, feelings, needs and beliefs.
Parts work - a type of therapy that works with parts, including but not limited to IFS. Other kinds of parts work include Gestalt therapy, Voice Dialogue, Jungian Archetypal work, Ego State Therapy, and to some extent, Psychodynamic Therapy, Transactional Analysis and the “wise mind” concept in Dialectical Behavior Therapy
Protectors - the parts that do their utmost to protect the exiles from further pain, and their feelings being felt. They can be sub-divided into managers and firefighters, though this isn’t so important in the therapeutic process itself.
Self - the core of our being, what is present when parts unblend. A source of wisdom, and self-energy
Self-energy - Qualities of the self described by the 8 Cs: Curiosity, Compassion, Creativity, Courage, Clarity, Calmness, Confidence, Connectedness and the 5 Ps: Playfulness, Patience, Presence, Perspective, and Persistence.
Unburdening - a process where the negative feelings and beliefs of a part are witnessed by the Self then let go of.
Unblend - when parts step out from the driver’s seat, and let the Self lead the system. This is the phase of a session when parts are asked to step back, though it can also happen spontaneously such as through meditation.
