If you’ve been with Sauna Therapy now for over a year, you’d know that one of our favorite therapeutic techniques is Internal Family Systems. Got a problem with your boyfriend? What part is getting activated? Have a car that broke down or experienced road rage? We will ask you – what part is getting activated? But this week, during the Christmas break, we finally saw the trailer for the new Pixar film “Inside Out II.” Inside Out is a film that, well, teaches children about none other than their feelings. I like Inside Out not only for that fact that it is about feelings but also that it made visible a concept that we use almost daily here at Sauna Therapy: Parts Work. 

Identifying Your Parts 

Parts Work is a powerful tool designed to help us go deep and notice, name and label the many sub-personalities operating within our subjective and objective reality. 

Parts work helps us understand the rich, complex and unique topography of our internal landscape and can help us untangle habitually stuck patterns or conflicts that may be playing out in our lives. 

What Exactly is a Part? 

Parts work is at the nexus of various different types of theoretical branches in modern psychoanalysis: Gestalt Therapy, Internal Family Systems, and even Jungian Archetypal Work. 

While each branch of psychoanalysis, has its own theoretical lens, Parts Work, as I define it and use it in the context of therapy, is a therapeutic modality that assumes that each of us has many different parts to our minds and psyches. 

Each of these parts has a unique set of needs, lived experiences, wounds and beliefs and may be conscious or unconsciously taking over and helping us succeed or subvert our daily encounters through different behaviors, emotional triggers and more importantly dissociation. 

By bringing awareness to our different parts within us – giving each part a voice, learning what each part needs, what their roles are and how they can work more effectively within the psyche (or system) – we are then able to lovingly integrate (not eliminate!) the many aspects within us to create more choice, clarity and to help us creatively problem solve and dare I say it, even manifest. 

So How Do I Know Which Parts Are In Me? 

 The Inner Child:

Within you resides the Inner Child—a fragment of your psyche imbued with the innocence and experiences predating puberty, both pleasant and painful. Imagine this inner entity: How old is it? What attire adorns its form? Does it clutch anything in its grasp? Explore the emotional landscape—is it a beacon of joy, a harbinger of sorrow, or a vessel of fear? Identify the scenarios that unveil the Inner Child, discerning the triggers that beckon its presence. Unearth its fears and ascertain its deepest needs. Craft avenues to extend nurturing and tender care, fostering an environment of comfort and security.

The Inner Champion:

The Inner Champion stands as the sage, rooted facet within, staunchly believing in your intrinsic value and potential. Delve into the affirmations that kindle self-positivity. Whose voice does it echo? Visualize its form—human, animal, or an ethereal manifestation. Encounter this facet—how does it resonate within you? Uncover its passions and convictions regarding your potential. Identify the stimuli that nourish the Inner Champion—be it events, literature, music, or experiences. Recognize its unique talents and the profound contributions it makes to your well-being.

Two Tools & Exercises To Use With Parts Work:

After illuminating your inner facets, harness this self-awareness for creative problem-solving in daily predicaments. Engage in the following exercises, either solo or with a therapist:

1. Pillow Work: Externalize your identified parts by placing them on a pillow, allowing them space to articulate their essence. Visualize scenarios, such as a woman contemplating a relationship. Have her perch on a pillow, verbally expressing the part embodying her concerns. Witness the transformative power when parts find a voice, often desiring only the space to speak.

2. Conference Table Dialogue: Picture various parts congregating around a conference table, initiating a dialogue that encompasses diverse perspectives. Imagine a woman with multiple facets, including her Inner Champion. Facilitate a meeting, inviting each part to articulate its stance on pertinent issues. Embrace the rich exchange, as different facets converse, potentially unlocking novel and creative solutions previously concealed.