I.F.S. has much in common with other mindfulness-based psychological approaches and spiritual traditions, which emphasize establishing a compassionate relationship with the Self. Richard Schwartz refers to "Self" or "Self-energy" as a central healing force characterized by qualities such as Curiosity, Calmness, Clarity, Courage, Confidence, Creativity, Compassion, and Connectedness. When we make room for our "Self," it opens and strengthens a healing presence, which can reach vulnerable, injured aspects of our internal system in a safe and respectful manner. As we explore the various layers and aspects of our internal system, such an approach builds trust, compassionate curiosity, and a helpful perspective towards extreme protective patterns. The burdens we carry in the form of limiting beliefs and painful emotions, which often stem from traumatic experiences, can begin to resolve. Our sense of Self can shift in profound ways as we differentiate from the burdens our parts have mistakenly identified with as intrinsic to "us."
D.W. Winnicott (1965) coined the term "False Self" as an Object Relations phenomenon resulting from a child's adaptation to excessive ruptures in what is termed the Primary Maternal Preoccupation. The need for consistent attunement with our primary caregivers is so essential that the ego resorts to radical measures of accommodation by becoming what is imagined as necessary to maintain a connection. The child becomes what the parent seems to need them to be rather than joyfully welcoming and mirroring their authentic being. This kind of early chronic relationship trauma is now referred to as "Complex Trauma."
Much of what afflicts us as human beings can be understood as various kinds of "mistaken identity" about who we are and a loss of connection with our true Self. The problem of being overtaken by emotionality, extreme limiting beliefs, and distorted perspectives is what Schwartz describes as the phenomenon of "Blending." When we identify with our compelling emotional drama, it's similar to an actor who gets lost in their role. The "un-blending" of our parts from our Self can occur as we cultivate curiosity and genuinely invest interest into understanding how and why our parts have become personally invested and identified with various aspects of our experience. In couples counseling, for instance, Schwartz invites clients to find the part they wish to work with, focusing on it in or around their body. This mindfulness-based therapy practice encourages participants to return to the present moment in their bodies, helping their parts un-blend from their Self.
This practice opens up a relational presence that provides compassionate connection and builds trust in our Self. As our parts realize their power to un-blend, differentiate, and find their true place and connection with us, the healing presence of Self-energy allows previously overwhelming aspects of our experience to be tended to appropriately and begin to transform. Our relationship with Self becomes a means of welcoming and holding our most tender aspects in the spirit of unconditional loving kindness. In the context of grief counseling, "turning it over" to a higher power, as practiced in the 12-step tradition, can be understood as an "un-blending" step.
Carl Jung referred to the higher Self as the "Self with a capital 'S.'" He developed a therapeutic method called "Active Imagining," which involves engaging in relationship and dialogue with various aspects of our internal world expressed in dreams, artwork, and sand tray play. Donald Kalsched (The Inner World of Trauma, 1996), a modern Jungian therapist, has noted that Richard Schwartz (Internal Family Systems Therapy, 1995) developed an effective way of accessing and healing traumatized aspects of the personality. The therapeutic attitude of welcoming all parts of our experience is a central feature in I.F.S., mindfulness-based therapy, and the active imagining of Carl Jung. Though it may seem counter-intuitive to engage with what appears to be the "source" of our fear, pain, and suffering, clinical expertise in Pain Management and Cognitive Behavioral treatment for Anxiety Disorders continues to support this strategy (Stephen Levine, A Gradual Awakening, 1979, Who Dies, 1982, David Burns, When Panic Attacks, 2006, Peter Levine, Freedom from Pain, 2012).
