#### The IFS Practitioner - [[🔑 Traditional IFS is not well-suited for solo work]] - [[🔑 It can be dangerous to approach Exiles unassisted]] - Early on it's easy to get [[💡 Blending|blended]] and have very little access to [[💡 Presence|Presence]]. - [[💡 Parts|Parts]] experience Self through the practitioner, learn to trust them, and their clients' Self. - [[🔑 A practitioner can only help their clients go as deep as they have gone themselves]] ###### Tasks of the Practitioner[^1] - A practitioner's primary role is to bring [[💡 Presence|Presence]] into the room, to assist the other's ability to access [[Qualities of Presence ☀️]], and to guide them through an [[💡 The IFS Session|IFS session]]. - Act as a guide and facilitator. Not an authority or expert but an experienced guide teaching their clients what they've learned so far — it's a collaborative effort. "We are them, they are us." - Do not interpret. Healing is not dependent on the interpretation, insight, or wisdom of the practitioner, but the relationship between a client's [[💡 Presence|Presence]] and their [[💡 Parts|Parts]]. - Do not predict. A part of the practitioner may feel like they know exactly what's going to happen, that it's as simple as 1 +1 = 2. Those predictions are often not true, and even if they are it's better to [[🔑 Ask, don't speculate|🔑 ask, and not speculate]]. [[🔑 Our parts will often surprise us]], so hold a [[🕯️ Beginner's Mind]]. - Trust the client's capacity as [[💡 Presence|Presence]]. - Follow the client's lead, intervene only when necessary. - [[🔑 An IFS practitioner must be Self-led]] - Let go of the idea of a rigid road map. [[🔑 Theory is a roadmap]], but a real [[💡 The IFS Session]] is much more fluid, non-linear, and messy than the pretend case studies we see in most books. - Be aware of their own parts throughout the session - How am I feeling toward the client? - Do I feel friendly toward protectors? - What's happening in my body? - Am I available for feedback from my client? - How do I feel toward my own parts? - Take a pause, breathe, and send some [[☀️ Compassion]] and to those parts. - Parts are not resistant, they're just fearful. If we start thinking about clients as resistant, *we* are [[💡 Blending|blended]]. - Use the [[🕯️ Fire Drill (You-Turn)]]. ###### Related - [[🔑 Our parts influence other people]] - [[Holding Environment]] - [[🦮 How to find an IFS therapist or practitioner]] ![[⭐️ Internal Family Systems#^35a382]] [^1]: [[📖 ✅ IFS Online Circle]] Month 6 - The Body & the Automation Nervous System & Putting it All Together - Month 6 with Toni Herbine-Blank