Meet Different Parts Of You
Internal Family Systems (IFS) is based on the theory that the human system is made up of parts. Simply put, you have your work part, your friend part, your anxious part, your scared part, your driven part; this goes on and on. Our parts work individually to keep our system balanced.
Most of us don’t realize that because of our past history, we may have traumatized or dysfunctional parts that are in charge of our entire system. Our parts carry with them distorted cognitions like “I am not enough,” or “I am not safe” and they behave accordingly. For example, a child who believes they are not safe and copes through binge eating sugar can grow into an adult with a coping mechanism that doesn’t serve them as an adult. Eating sugar might have worked to soothe a frightened child but that coping skill would not work to keep an adult safe. This is where the horses come in.
Horses can only see what we see in ourselves. Working with horses allows individuals to identify parts in the system that may need to be unburdened by the self. This is a powerful and advanced therapeutic concept, yet once a client can experience equine parts work they quickly assimilate and begin to take necessary steps to healing and emotional health.