No Bad Parts: Healing Trauma and Restoring Wholeness with the Internal Family Systems Model

“I’m going to invite you to try on this different paradigm of multiplicity that IFS espouses and consider the possibility that you and everybody else is a multiple personality. And that is a good thing.”

This quote introduces a central concept of IFS therapy that challenges the conventional view of a unitary mind. Schwartz employs a conversational tone to make a radical idea more approachable, using the metaphor of “trying on” a new perspective to encourage openness. The phrase “multiple personality” is deliberately provocative, subverting its usual negative connotations by asserting it as “a good thing.” This statement reflects the theme of Understanding Parts and the Self as Inherently Good, suggesting that multiplicity is not only normal but also beneficial. By including “everybody else,” Schwartz universalizes this concept, implying its relevance to all human experience.

“Unburdening is another aspect of IFS that seems spiritual, because as soon as the burdens leave parts’ bodies, parts immediately transform into their original, valuable states. It’s as if a curse was lifted from an inner Sleeping Beauty, or ogre, or addict. The newly unburdened part almost universally says it feels much lighter and wants to play or rest, after which it finds a new role.”

Schwartz elucidates the transformative process of “unburdening” in IFS, highlighting its seemingly spiritual nature. The italicized term emphasizes its significance within the therapy. Schwartz uses metaphors drawn from fairy tales to illustrate the dramatic shift that occurs during unburdening. The allusion to lifting a curse evokes the theme of The Connection Between IFS and Spirituality, suggesting a near-miraculous transformation.