πΌ: π‘ Parts
"Protector" is a job title assigned to Parts who become tethered to Exiles and work tirelessly to either prevent their activation or soothe them once they have been activated β it is not a kind of Part, but a role some Parts are in. For most of us, the first Part we consciously interact with will be in this role, because theyβre usually the most easily-accessed members of our ecosystem.
Protectors are what other models call "defenses," "adaptations," "coping strategies," "coping mechanisms," "adaptations," or "resistances," but they're much more complex than that. Those defenses are Protector Strategies π‘οΈ, and π Parts are not their roles, but beings who are in those roles.[1] Protectors know that π Exiles are capable of overwhelming us, so they take it upon themselves to contain and hide Exiles deep in our subconscious and keep them there using various Protector Strategies π‘οΈ. These Parts have a purpose and inherent gifts which are being blocked by their protective obligations.[2] They spend enormous amounts of time doing their jobs and are often exhausted.
A part can act protectively without being a Protector. To be a Protector the part must be tethered to one or more π‘ Exiles. Protectors would not do what they do or go to such extreme lengths if the exiles they protect and protect us from were healed. Liberated parts may act protectively from time-to-time because they care about us, but they otherwise do what they're meant to.
Protectors fall into one of two categories.