How Internal Family Systems Therapy Helps me to manage my psychosis

Sometimes, when psychotherapy becomes mainstream, they start to attract a lot of criticism. This makes sense in a way. The emergence of new treatments is likely to raise concerns as there is high risk when it comes to mental health care. Skepticism may be a rational response, unless they have been extensively tested by many studies and have achieved a “evidence-based” status.

Recently, internal family systems Treatment It attracts such things Note. Founded in the 90s by Richard C. Schwartz, IFS was practiced relatively frequently for decades before gaining popularity in Tiktok and elsewhere. Social Media Platform.

What is internal family system therapy?

IFS therapy is distinguished from others through mental diversity (a combination of basic psychological theories, such as the idea that each individual contains a large number and the dynamics of the family system). Working first as a family therapist, Schwartz theorized that each individual has an inner life filled with diverse personalities and conflicting needs and desires.

In Family Systems Therapy, it is believed that one member of a family may have extreme conditions that create disorderly dynamics within the nuclear environment. The child may have to assume another role. For example, you’ll be kicked out of a natural child Identity Take care of your parents. Or perhaps the child’s illness is very serious, so parents must play multiple roles to manage their present situation.

Internal family systems theorize that there are “parts” that have been injured and damaged within each client. They are managed by other “parts” created to carry out daily life and navigate personal relationships.

The same “part” is usually thought to be present in all people who benefit from treatments involving patients with symptoms of psychopathology. These parts are called “exiles”, “firemen”, and “managers”. (Schwartz suggests that these parts exist in everyone, even outside of IFS therapy, but this theory has not been confirmed through extensive scientific research, as treatment remains relatively studied and is becoming more prevalent in mainstream culture recently.)

It is believed that patients are usually seeking treatment for a part called “asylum.” Childhood. Another part appears to protect the traumatized part to help manage the emotions of that part when triggered. This is called a “fire fighter.” However, the protective tools used by firefighters aren’t always the most useful, and can be an angry blast or a result, for example. Invasion.

People obviously cannot work effectively in either state, so they theorize that parts called “managers” appear to help them function on a daily basis. IFS works within individuals to heal its complex and often scattered dynamics, so that “asylum” can be heard and cared for, thereby changing the roles of “fire fighters” and “managers” and ultimately providing personal services. dream and the goal Instead of managing them trauma.

According to an article published in Nationcriticism has risen not only from the public, but also from the field itself. in Analysis published by the Association for Progressive Psychotherapy, Authors Lisa Brownstone and Madeline Hunsicker have expressed concern that IFS is increasingly being used in patients with psychotic disorders. However, I first started working in parts about 15 years ago, so I would like to share my experiences as a patient with schizoaffective disorder.

My experience with IFS and psychosis

I happened to stumbled on IFS first when I was seeking help in high school. A local therapist said she used the modality of the treatment and gently eased the concept by saying she had “some of them work.” I wasn’t thinking about anything at the time. Simply getting help was enough.

My psychosis symptoms began in high school just before I saw her. After fighting several years depressionmy first romantic division sent me into a fit of epic delusions, paranoiaand hallucinations that led me to isolate myself.

I still didn’t have a name for what was going on because this was the very beginning of my obstacles. I didn’t know I had been going through Psychosis. In fact, I wanted to avoid the labels of mental illness and “schizophrenia” accompanying me, fearing discrimination by society as a whole. But I was almost by chance treated for it by both my psychiatrist (who put me on Antipsychotics (as an off-label mood stabilizer) and my IFS therapist.

While working with parts, I learned that I can manage my voice and vision in a way that allows me to speak my voice and vision directly. It gave me the space to communicate with my inner world. Being able to pull out my parts and have conversations while the therapist provided a safe and comforting environment allowed me to organize my voice into my personality and get to know them.

Finally, I concluded that my voice stems from the “exile” (the part that was traumatized). This realization didn’t remove the voice – I’m still me stress-But that helped me integrate my voice more fluidly. I don’t know if I could have done this if I had never come across an idea that taught me.

Even when it was difficult to understand reality when my mental illness symptoms occurred at once, my voice was very easy to manage in my adult life. I feel that the experience of doing IFS early in my life has helped me to welcome myself towards the voice of my inner world without fear.

I think we all have a certain amount of parts, but we recognize that dissociated psychotic people may have more voices than others, and that IFs can have different effects on people. But based on my own experience, that could also be useful.