***SPOILER ALERT! To thoroughly enjoy Sherry and the Butterfly Lady, read this AFTER FINISHING the novel! ***
A significant inspiration in my book, Sherry and the Butterfly Lady, is Internal Family Systems (IFS), a psychotherapeutic model introduced by Dr. Richard Schwartz. Also known as "parts work," Dr. Schwartz, who is now on the faculty of Harvard Medical School, developed IFS in the 1980’s. IFS is now widely used in a variety of contexts, including spiritual direction.
In IFS, the participant engages their inner world in an intuitive, imaginative way that often emerges through dream-like images or symbols, identifying internal "parts" and having conversations with them, usually under the guidance of a specially trained therapist or spiritual director, such as myself, or even practicing IFS independently, as Dr. Schwartz describes in his book, No Bad Parts.
We know intuitively that there are different “voices” inside our heads, such as an inner critic or the voice of self-pity, because sometimes they actively argue with each other! IFS teaches that these parts are all well intentioned, even when they’re misguided and causing havoc. Another basic tenet is that everyone has a true self who is by nature capable of being a trustworthy leader of these inner parts. The other parts can be divided into two categories: protectors and wounded parts that need protection.
Related to that latter category is the principle that when people experience traumatic events or situations, especially as children, those wounded children continue to exist within the adult, often deeply hidden and ignored, but still influencing the adult with out-of-proportion reactions to everyday experiences and interactions with anxiety, defensiveness, shame, anger, depression, etc.
Among the tasks of the adult undergoing this therapy is to revisit a lost, wounded inner child, get to know their feelings and inner logic about the heavy burdens carried, gain trust, and if necessary, stage an imaginary confrontation with abusers, in which the adult “retrieves” the wounded child, offering the child the opportunity to be taken to a place of safety and love. Once this is accomplished and the calming relationship with the inner child is established and maintained, particularly whenever the symptoms of the previously anxious child are triggered, the IFS recipient usually experiences healing and relief in that area.
For more information about IFS, including more general principles about this method, my own practice, and how to receive a free initial consultation, see my professional website at Luminous-Heart.com.
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