IFS: Types of Parts, and Examples
As I mentioned in an article comparing IFS to parts work, what we find in IFS is that parts are real - full-fledged subpersonalities within us. When our parts get traumatized, some of them absorb the pain, while others take on defensive roles in the system with the goal of protecting us from further trauma. Understanding the difference between these two categories of parts is of critical importance to helping the system heal.
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Exiles
IFS uses the term exiles to describe parts who carry the pain of our traumas. These parts absorb what is inflicted upon us, and they're stuck carrying it until we do healing work to release it. Exiles are typically young and sensitive - hence their vulnerability to trauma. The term exiles refers to the fact that these parts are often locked away inside due to their vulnerability, as well as the amount of pain that they're carrying.
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Protectors
In response to trauma, protector parts take on protective roles in our system. Their goal, quite simply, is to prevent additional pain from being taken on, and they mobilize with varying strategies to achieve this.
It's often shocking to discover that many of our day-to-day behaviors, and even a lot of what we consider our personality, is the activity of protector parts. This runs the gamut from being chronically shy, withdrawn, or numb; to being anxious, and always on the lookout for threats; to people-pleasing; to being a workaholic; all the way to addictions, violence, and most anything else you can think of.
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Protector parts are broken up into two categories based on the approach that they use to protect. Manager parts are pro-active - they work on a day-to-day basis to try to keep us safe. They're either active all the time, or they come in pro-actively in certain situations (such as being out in public) to help out. Manager parts often try to run our day-to-day life to minimize the degree to which exiled parts get triggered or upset.
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Firefighter parts, on the other hand, are reactive. They swoop in when we're triggered, and try to douse the flames of pain by any means necessary. These parts often drive addictive or compulsive behaviors, such as binging food or alcohol. They normally don't give a thought to the downsides (or collateral damage) of their actions - their focus is purely on getting rid of painful feelings once we're triggered.
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Positive Intentions
It's really important to keep in mind, however, that what I describe above isn't the natural state of our parts - it's the result of trauma. In the face of trauma our parts go from being collaborative to fragmented - and even adversarial. These ways that our parts respond to trauma, however, are the result of a highly intelligent function - this is nature's way of making the best out of bad circumstances. So we don't pathologize or make parts wrong - that's not what IFS is about. The overarching goal of IFS is healing our parts from the traumas that they've sustained, so that they can go back to their natural, healthy roles.
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Common Examples of Parts​
Below are some common roles that protector parts take on.
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Inner Critic
Inner critics are one of the most common types of part. The inner critic is a part who criticizes, shames, judges, or guilts you. Other parts of us often try to suppress or get rid of the inner critic, but this is rarely successful. As harsh as inner critics can be, they're always trying to help.
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Anger/Rage
Bursts of anger or rage are a common firefighter activity. When we "lose our temper", it's because a firefighter part got triggered and blended with us.
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People-pleasing
People-pleasing is a common manager part role. These parts learned at a young age that we were better off if we put our focus on pleasing our parents or caregivers. These parts often work to suppress anger so that we don't upset others.
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Workaholism
Workaholism is a silent epidemic, particularly in capitalist cultures. For a variety of reasons, parts of us often come to identify with our careers, and our work is often put above all else.
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Procrastination
Many people struggle daily with procrastination. No matter how much our conscious minds want to get things done, we can't do it - we feel stuck, frozen, or blocked. While we can sometimes brute-force our way through it with willpower in short doses, this isn't sustainable. The task at hand with IFS becomes getting to know the part or parts who are driving these blocks, so that we can understand what they need in order to heal.
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Depression
Depression is often a protector part trying to anesthetize the system, because it fears that the person's emotions will be too overwhelming otherwise. Depression can also, however, be the result of pain that exiles are carrying. With IFS, we never assume - we always ask the parts directly. ​
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