SEAN CUTHBERT 

Grief is one of the most profound and universal experiences of being human. Yes, if you're reading this you have either grieved or you will grieve. Yet, particularly in Western cultures, grief is often met with discomfort, avoidance, or an urgency to “move on.” Western culture values productivity, achievement, and emotional control, which leaves little room for the slow, unpredictable, and sacred process of grieving. From an Internal Family Systems (IFS) perspective, our d

In Internal Family Systems (IFS) Therapy (and trauma therapy in general), dissociation is a protective strategy to understand, rather than one to try and eradicate, or get rid of. When a client zones out, becomes foggy, goes blank, loses track of the conversation, or suddenly feels disconnected from themselves, something very intelligent is happening in their internal system. The client is showing how they survived overwhelming circumstances, or their childhood as a whole.

Forgiveness is one of those words that sounds great, but can hide a mess of complexity underneath. Sometimes, clients often talk about wanting to forgive or be forgiven. Whether it be a parent to child, child to parent, partner to partner, or protective part to Self, forgiveness is sometimes the final step in healing. Sometimes, it is. But in Internal Family Systems (IFS) Therapy, what looks like forgiveness can sometimes be a protective maneuver, or in IFS language, a ma

Using the IFS model to work with procrastinating parts can transform how you see parts that seem like they are trying to hurt, into adaptive strategies that are trying to prevent pain.

Many new to IFS Therapy think parts must be classified as Managers, Firefighters, or Exiles. Yet true freedom comes from seeing that parts aren’t fixed types and they simply take on roles that evolve, revealing the deeper flexibility and healing potential within our inner system.

Protective parts in IFS Therapy are driven by fear. Find out what the 10 most common protective fears are, and how to negotiate effectively with protective parts so they will relax and trust.

Polarizations are common in Internal Family Systems (IFS) Therapy. Here, you will learn what they are and how to work with the effectively.

In Internal Family Systems (IFS) Therapy, working with protective parts is key, as these parts have survival strategies from early life.