Internal Family Systems

Hey everyone. So my therapist says that she wants to use IFS therapy for treating my DID. Have any of you done this? Was it a generally positive experience? I have always used CBT/DBT so this is new. I’m just looking for general information. We all are different.

Thanks,
LB DID

Hi LB DID,
Welcome to the forum! I hope you find this a good and helpful "place."

My therapist is a DID specialist, and she also has a lot of IFS training. I have done some IFS. But more than that, I think IFS concepts informed her mindset and approach to therapy.

Some interesting things about our experience of IFS:
1. IFS core idea: "All parts are valuable, but some may want to update their job descriptions."

2. IFS presents the idea that there is an authentic or core self. This is not a specific part, but an expression of the person being aware and true to their own values and reality.

3. When I tried the IFS format formally, I was a little jarred by (my perception of) how "parts" were considered instruments. We did gain some insight, but we didn't feel moved to continue with the formal process of IFS, though we do like the problem solving approach.

4. Trying IFS as a person with DID helped us understand, though, how different the experience of having DID "parts" is from having a more single identity experience of "parts."

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Based on my experience, I'd say it's worth a try. If the therapist has DID experience, it's all the more promising.

These are the standard of care treatment guidelines for DID:

https://www.isst-d.org/wp-content/uploa ... ED2011.pdf

As long as the treatment follows those principles (all alters are equally important, etc), it can draw from different approaches like IFS. As Nondescript said, IFS can be adapted to work for DID, even though it was developed to help with ego states of singletons.

When IFS is used for people without DID, I think the concept of the core self is taken more literally, as being the "main" personality, with the (non-dissociated) parts being sub-personalities. Obviously, that wouldn't work with DID, where all the parts are alters, including the host, and all are equally important clients of the therapist.