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Meet your Parts: your inner family
the fascinating, complex, and surprisingly relatable cast of characters…inside your mind.

Internal Family Systems (IFS) is a compassionate, evidence-based therapeutic approach that invites us to understand our inner world as made up of “parts”—distinct voices, feelings, patterns, or roles inside us that have developed to help us survive, succeed, or simply get through the week without texting our ex.

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1. “Is there a part of me that would like my attention right now?”

(Notice what sensations, images, emotions, or thoughts come up.)

 

2. “Where do I notice this part in or around my body?”

(Is there a place it lives—chest, belly, head, hands, etc.?)

 

3. “What does this part seem to be feeling?”

(Anxious? Protective? Sad? Loud? Numb?)

 

4. “How do I feel toward this part?”

(Curious? Annoyed? Compassionate? Afraid? Wanting to fix it?) If your answer isn’t curious or compassionate, that’s totally okay—there may be another part reacting. You can pause and say, “I see you too,” to that second part.

 

5. “What does this part want me to know?”

(Is it trying to protect me? Carrying something from the past? Wanting connection?)

 

6. “What might this part need from me right now?”

(Just being heard? Space? Appreciation? Permission to rest?)

Part Introduction:

Gentle Curiosity Questions

 

You can say these aloud to yourself or use them in writing. Take your time. There's no pressure for answers—just noticing what arises.

Reach out
let's see how we can help. 

Land Aknowledgement

I live and practice on the traditional territory of many nations, including the Mississaugas of the Credit, the Anishinaabeg, the Chippewa, the Haudenosaunee, and the Wendat peoples, in what is traditionally called Tkaronto, covered by Treaty 13 with the Mississaugas of the Credit. I honour the enduring presence, stewardship, and sovereignty of Indigenous peoples on these lands.

 

With deep gratitude to the First Peoples and their wisdom, I acknowledge both the ongoing impacts of colonization and the harms that the fields of social work and mental health have caused—and continue to cause—to Indigenous communities.

 

As a settler and uninvited guest, I take responsibility for continually learning, unlearning, and repairing. I commit to practicing in solidarity with Indigenous peoples, supporting justice, healing, and land back, and working toward relationships rooted in accountability and respect.

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