What Is Internal Family Systems (IFS)?
Kindness, compassion, and curiosity
Relating to all parts in a person’s system with Internal Family Systems
AN INTERVIEW WITH KINGA ROBINSON, RCC via Insights Winter Magazine 2025
Internal Family Systems (IFS) was developed by Richard C. Schwartz through his work with clients. Schwartz was a family systems therapist who noticed, while working with a client, that they reported hearing “parts” and “voices” that were arguing in their mind. When Schwartz pressed the client to notice these voices, the client was able to distinguish one part/voice from another, which resulted in them feeling less overwhelmed.
Through curiosity and exploration, Schwartz discovered that these parts had wants, fears, beliefs, and distinct views of the world, and more so, they had polarizations and alliances with other parts within an individual’s system. In addition to parts, Schwartz discovered there was also a “Self” — an innate indestructible core of wisdom, compassion, and calm within every person — and that a respectful relationship between the parts and the Self, in which the Self was established as a benevolent leader within the system, could result in the experience of having balance within a person’s system in a way that allows a person to move through challenging experiences more smoothly and with more compassion and kindness towards themselves.
Schwartz began to use family systems therapy on the internal system of a person, as opposed to focusing on their external world (e.g., their physical family or relationships) and discovered this was helpful for his clients. This initial exploration was the foundational framework upon which the IFS model was built. Since the 1980s, IFS has grown by leaps and bounds.
“The original intent of IFS is to support clients to become Self-led, which means that their parts feel loved by the Self and trust the Self’s leadership. This relationship with the Self can bring a great measure of inner peace along with the ability to relate to life’s challenges and to other people with clarity, calm, confidence, courage, and compassion.”
This intent continues to be the primary focus of an IFS therapist’s work with their clients.
How did you come across IFS?
I came across IFS through reading the book The Body Keeps the Score by Bessel Van Der Kolk, which led me towards reading Introduction to the Internal Family Systems Model by Richard Schwartz, which was lent to me by a fellow therapist. After reading this book, I was hooked. I quickly and deeply fell in love with the IFS model because it related to all parts in a person’s system with kindness and compassion and curiosity. It was not a model that spoke for pushing against what showed up in one’s system or about getting over/past/rid of difficult or challenging experiences. Rather, it was a model for leaning in and being curious with whatever part shows up, getting to understand it more fully, and trusting that it and all the other parts in the system are doing the very best that they can, in the only way they know how, in full support of that person.
Also, I loved the concept that there is a Self in each of us that is all knowing, indestructible, compassionate, calm, wise, and caring as this concept anchored the spiritual beliefs I have always carried. This way of seeing the world brings peace, calm, and hopefulness to my system in a way like few other things.
Did you know right away that you wanted to learn more?
True to the IFS lens, I would say parts of me did know right way that I wanted to learn more and take a deep dive into IFS as fast as possible, while other parts of me wanted to slow down and allow space and time for the model to integrate into my system. As it turned out, the six-month mandatory break between being able to register for another IFS training and the lottery system of being accepted into a training allowed for both needs to be met within my system. I was granted time between each training experience to process and integrate the model and do deep dives during the training and through the peer support and consultation groups. It was a beautiful balance that worked out as I feel it was meant to.
What was that training like for Level 1?
I decided to take the Level 1 IFS training after I talked with an IFS therapist and they walked me through the various options. At the time, I was not sure about wanting to go beyond the Level 1 but I wanted to pursue training that would allow me to continue to grow in the model and would allow certification, should that become an interest in the future. It took me three attempts to be selected for the Level 1 training, as it ran on a lottery system.
The cohort I was in was led by Paul Ginter (lead trainer) and Madeleine Warren (assistant trainer) and a handful of amazing program assistants. The training was unlike any other training I had ever been in. It was both didactic and experiential in nature and allowed for ample practice of the model in small groups where we were all in the role of the client, observer, and a therapist (with a program assistant). The container in which the training was held was safe, supportive, encouraging, culturally diverse, and very respectful of every trainee’s uniqueness and level of knowledge about the model. I felt seen, heard, and validated and learned a great deal about the exceptionality of the model through the open, respectful, kind, and caring training approach. Level 1 training was a healing experience for me. It felt like I had landed in the place I was meant to be and was practising a model that supported the healing of others in a respectful, compassionate way. It was an absolute gift.
Were you able to use Level 1 training with clients right away?
I was able to implement the model with clients right away through utilizing parts language and by inviting clients to consider trying something new that might initially come off as different in its approach. I found that clients were often willing, kind, and open to the idea and played along with the experiential practices we attempted in our sessions. They were surprised by the outcome and learning that was gained through suspending their “analytical part” and leaning in to what naturally and automatically emerged from their systems. I asked clients to trust the inner voice they heard in their minds and what they noticed it saying, then to follow whatever thread emerged with curiosity, openness, and kindness.
To a great degree, IFS therapy is an experiential practice that is hard to put into words. To the analytical parts of us, perhaps, it lands as “woo woo,” but the felt experience and the internal shift that this therapeutic approach can foster is undeniable.
Were IFS Levels 2 and 3 a natural progression?
Because the Level 1 training was so internally powerful for me, I decided to take things slow and practised the model as consistently as I could to make certain that it did not lose its momentum within me, or in my work with clients, before I committed to a Level 2 training. Getting accepted to a Level 2 training took more time than it did to get into a Level 1 training — the lottery system of the trainings at the time was a real challenge— but the training itself was equally as impactful and settling for my system as my Level 1 training.
After my Level 2 experience, going for a Level 3 training was a no brainer — I was in and fully committed. When the opportunity for a Level 3 training arose, I took it. Every one of my IFS trainings to date have been a true gift to my soul. It was not only the success with my clients that inspired my ongoing training but it was also my confidence in the model and who I had become. Once one sees the world in a way that lands with them as who they are as a human, they cannot unsee it.
Which client concerns do you most commonly use IFS?
I use IFS to support clients with understanding their internal experiences better, be this an experience of anxiety, stress, depression, overwhelm, exhaustion, care-taking depletion, grief and loss, negative self-talk, or addictive/ hyper-focused processes.
Are there any circumstances where IFS should NOT be used?
I will give answering this a try in a way that makes sense to my parts. For a more accurate answer to this question and not just my personal experience, please refer to journal articles or other reputable resources for information.
I believe that the IFS model casts a wide net of what concerns and circumstances it can support, but it does come down to the education, experience, and comfort of the practitioner applying the model and the demographic of clients they are choosing to work with.
I also believe that clients interested in short-term solution-focused therapy or a therapeutic approach that is primarily focused on providing psychoeducation may benefit less from the model due to the experiential element attached to this model. Establishing a safe container in the therapy session where parts of the client feel safe to engage in the IFS process may take time, and even then, it could take time to build the trust of the protectors in the client’s system to allow access to the exiles and then to support the exiles to unburden. Not to say that this cannot happen fast in some systems, but it can take time in other systems. It all depends on the uniqueness of each person’s individual system.
Is IFS a standalone modality or can it be used with other counselling techniques?
Though it can be executed as a singular modality, IFS therapists often have training in multiple modalities. For example, a trauma therapist may have training in EMDR, somatic experiencing, and IFS. I have training in emotion focused therapy, Gottman therapy, and IFS. IFS offers a lens through which to understand one’s own internal system and the systems of others, so it lends itself well to working in conjunction with other models.
Where can RCCs learn more about IFS? Is supervision available?
If therapists are interested in exploring the IFS model, I would direct them to the Internal Family Systems Institute and to Internal Family Systems Counselling Association websites (see left). Books I recommend are Introduction to the Internal Family Systems Model by Richard Schwartz, Internal Family Systems Therapy (second edition) by Richard Schwartz and Martha Sweezy, Somatic Internal Family Systems Therapy by Susan McConnell, and Transcending Trauma by Frank G Anderson.
Supervision is available for IFS in Canada, the USA, and in various countries around the world. It is important to make sure the supervisor is qualified to provide the service the therapist is seeking and be vigilant about where and through what organization the supervisor received their training, as well as the years of experience they have working with the model and what they can offer you as a learning therapist (e.g., group supervision, individual supervision, credentials that qualify them to sign off on supervision hours that would be required for certification, etc.). All of these details can matter as supervision is an important personal and professional investment.
LEARN MORE ABOUT INTERNAL FAMILY SYSTEMS
Find information about the IFS model and gain access to training and additional learning and educational resources at these two websites:
Internal Family Systems Institute (https://ifs-institute.com/)
nternal Family Systems Counselling Association (https://ifsca.ca/)
Kinga Robinson, RCC, started work in the mental health field as a youth counsellor at a youth recovery program. From there, she has worked in a variety of areas, including with women in a second stage recovery program, as an aftercare worker, as a transitions/program support counsellor at an adult treatment facility, and with families/individuals/couples referred through Child and Youth Mental Health and then by Child Protection through the Ministry of Child and Family Development. She now works solely in private practice.