Which Part Of Your Internal System Is Creating Pain? Healing Chronic Pain Using IFS Therapy

So many chronic pain sufferers go from treatment to treatment seeking answers to their pain. Only to be told, ‘It’s probably in your head’. From my own personal experience, as a previous IBS sufferer, I would also be told, ‘Maybe it’s emotional?’  When I first learnt that my chronic pain could be caused by emotions, I constantly wondered, ‘But which emotions?!’

Anyone who’s been part of the SIRPA community, knows it’s not always as simple as identifying the exact emotion causing pain. In fact, even Dr Sarno (a pioneer of healing chronic pain) recognised that any emotions causing pain, would most likely be unconscious. He went as far as claiming that unresolved anger, may be the predominant emotion causing pain. However, in my own practice, people have told me they feel the onset of pain even after feeling pleasant emotions, such as joy. The truth is it’s not overly important to identify the exact emotions causing pain, it could be a variety of things. The goal of healing chronic pain is to change your relationship to the pain and then address any emotions which arrive as a result, pleasant or unpleasant.

That’s where Internal Family Systems (IFS) comes in

IFS is a form of therapy that identifies different sub personalities within each person’s mental system. The sub personalities consist of wounded parts and controlling parts, the controlling parts try to protect the person from the pain of the wounded parts. Also, at the core of everyone’s mental system is a Self part. The Self part is a compassionate, curious and confident part.

The goal of IFS therapy is to guide the client towards accessing their Self part, so that they can begin to communicate to their controlling parts. The reason we want the Self to communicate tothe controlling parts, is to ask permission to heal the wounded parts. You see, the protecting parts were most likely created for a good reason, they protect wounded parts the best way they know how. Most often, these controlling parts were developed at an early age, inherited personality traits from caregivers perhaps. When the client accesses their Self part, and asks the controlling parts permission to speak to the wounded part, the clients Self can begin the work of healing the wounded parts.

How does IFS relate to healing chronic pain?

Most people who experience chronic pain, have a negative association towards it. They fear, get frustrated, get angry or worry about their pain. In IFS terms, any negativity towards something is a controlling part. So the first step in a session would be to facilitate a dialogue between a person’s Self part (curious and compassionate) and their controlling part (fear of the pain).The direction of the dialogue would be for the Self part to address the concerns of the controlling part, thank it for its protective role, and then ask permission to speak to wounded parts. A person’s wounded parts typically take the form of an inner child, and often have some sort of story to tell. The story which is told, gradually starts to shine a light on some of the potential emotional origins of the pain. When wounded parts can be witnessed, reassured and shown love by the Self part, they begin to relax. Likewise, the controlling parts start to recognise that they no longer need to protect the wounded parts in the way they once did (no longer need to fear the pain, safe to feel it).

Establishing this new relationship to pain is critical in recovery, and IFS is a wonderful way to guide pain sufferers towards healing. In sessions, the IFS therapist merely acts as a facilitator, trusting the client’s internal system knows exactly how to heal. This form of therapy is very empowering, as client’s go away trusting their own capacity for self healing. The drastic changes which take place within a couple of sessions are life changing, as a person’s mental system returns to its natural state of equanimity.

About Jonty:

My background as a movement and meditation teacher, means I value the use of breathwork and stillness to empower people to take control of their physical, mental and emotional health. Likewise, my training as an IFS therapist uses parts work to help communicate messages of safety to the pain, which in turn greatly assists recovery. By focusing on the needs of the individual, my coaching is grounded and light hearted.