Somatic Internal Family Systems Therapy

1. Somatic IFS: Integrating Body Awareness with Internal Family Systems Therapy

Somatic Internal Family Systems Therapy introduces a new therapeutic modality that blends principles of somatic therapy—like movement, touch, and breathwork—with the traditional tools of the Internal Family Systems framework.

Foundation of Somatic IFS. This innovative approach combines the established Internal Family Systems (IFS) model with body-centered practices. It recognizes that our psychological parts are not just mental constructs but are also embodied in our physical sensations, postures, and movements.

Holistic healing. By integrating somatic awareness into IFS, therapists can access deeper layers of a client's experience, leading to more comprehensive healing. This approach addresses not only cognitive and emotional aspects but also the physical manifestations of psychological issues, providing a more complete path to wellness.

2. The Five Practices of Somatic IFS: A Holistic Approach to Healing

The five practices of Somatic IFS—awareness, breathing, resonance, movement, and touch—provide a map for all of us who yearn for wholeness to enter safely into the rich territory of the bodymind.

Core practices:

• Somatic Awareness: Cultivating conscious attention to bodily sensations
• Conscious Breathing: Using breath as a tool for regulation and connection
• Radical Resonance: Developing deep empathic attunement
• Mindful Movement: Incorporating intentional movement for healing
• Attuned Touch: Utilizing safe, ethical touch in therapy when appropriate

These practices form an interconnected system, each building upon and enhancing the others. They provide a comprehensive toolkit for therapists to engage clients in a full-bodied healing process, addressing both psychological and physiological aspects of well-being.

3. Embodied Self: The Core of Somatic IFS and Path to Wholeness

Self energy is first and foremost experienced in the body.

Concept of Embodied Self. In Somatic IFS, the goal is to access and strengthen the Embodied Self – a state of being where one's core essence is fully present and integrated with the body. This state is characterized by qualities such as calmness, clarity, compassion, and confidence, all experienced as bodily sensations.

Path to wholeness. By cultivating Embodied Self, individuals can:

• Better regulate emotions
• Increase self-awareness
• Improve relationships
• Enhance overall well-being
• Access inner wisdom and resources

The practices of Somatic IFS are designed to help both therapists and clients develop and maintain this state of Embodied Self, leading to more effective healing and personal growth.

4. Somatic Awareness: Reading the Body's Story for Deeper Healing

Communications experts inform us that 70–80 percent of communication is nonverbal, conveyed through tone of voice, facial expressions, gestures, and posture.

Body as storyteller. Somatic awareness involves paying attention to the body's signals, sensations, and postures. This practice recognizes that the body often holds and expresses information that may not be accessible through verbal communication alone.

Key aspects of somatic awareness:

• Interoception: Awareness of internal bodily sensations
• Exteroception: Perception of the external environment
• Proprioception: Sense of body position and movement

By developing somatic awareness, therapists and clients can:

• Uncover hidden emotions and trauma
• Identify and work with protective parts more effectively
• Access deeper levels of self-understanding
• Enhance the overall therapeutic process

5. Conscious Breathing: Bridging Inner and Outer Worlds

Conscious Breathing depends on awareness and can also enhance one's facility with the practice of Somatic Awareness.

Breath as connection. Conscious breathing serves as a powerful tool for:

• Regulating the nervous system
• Enhancing body awareness
• Connecting inner experiences with the external environment
• Facilitating emotional regulation

Practical application. In therapy, conscious breathing can be used to:

• Ground clients in the present moment
• Help manage overwhelming emotions
• Access deeper levels of self-awareness
• Facilitate the release of tension and trauma held in the body

By incorporating conscious breathing into the therapeutic process, both therapists and clients can create a more conducive environment for healing and self-discovery.

6. Radical Resonance: Enhancing Relational Connections Through Body Awareness

Radical Resonance engages the fluid systems of the body—the blood, the lymph, the extracellular matrix surrounding all of our cells passing through the cell membrane, and the fluid within our joints and bathing our brain and spinal cord.

Embodied empathy. Radical Resonance involves developing a deep, embodied empathic attunement between therapist and client. This practice recognizes that our bodies are constantly in communication with each other on a subtle, often unconscious level.

Key aspects of Radical Resonance:

• Developing awareness of one's own bodily responses to others
• Cultivating the ability to "tune in" to clients' physical and emotional states
• Using this embodied attunement to deepen therapeutic understanding and connection

By practicing Radical Resonance, therapists can:

• Enhance their ability to understand and respond to clients' needs
• Create a safer, more supportive therapeutic environment
• Facilitate deeper healing by addressing both verbal and non-verbal aspects of communication

7. Mindful Movement: Restoring Flow and Resolving Trauma

The body story might be frozen in tense or collapsed tissues, awaiting the warming thaw of Embodied Self energy to ignite the telling of the body story through voluntary and involuntary movement.

Movement as healing. Mindful Movement in Somatic IFS recognizes that:

• Trauma and emotional issues can manifest as physical tension or restricted movement
• Conscious, intentional movement can help release these held patterns
• Movement can facilitate the expression and processing of emotions and memories

Applications in therapy:

• Using specific movements to access and work with different parts
• Incorporating spontaneous movements as part of the healing process
• Helping clients develop a more fluid, responsive relationship with their bodies

By integrating Mindful Movement into therapy, practitioners can help clients literally "move through" stuck patterns and access deeper levels of healing and self-expression.

8. Attuned Touch: Ethical and Powerful Tool for Healing

Attuned Touch is the ultimate right-brain, body-to-body communication. It has the capacity to heal the effects of harmful touch and the lack of necessary touch.

Power of touch. Attuned Touch, when used ethically and appropriately, can be a powerful therapeutic tool. It can:

• Provide a direct, non-verbal way of communicating safety and support
• Help clients reconnect with dissociated parts of themselves
• Facilitate the release of deep-seated tension and trauma

Ethical considerations. The use of touch in therapy requires:

• Clear boundaries and consent
• Appropriate training and skill
• Awareness of potential cultural and personal sensitivities

When used skillfully, Attuned Touch can enhance the therapeutic process and provide a unique pathway to healing, especially for clients who have experienced touch-related trauma or neglect.

9. Working with Protector Parts: Understanding Their Role in the Body

Protector parts use the body and the body's energies. Addictive behaviors, self-harming behaviors, weight loss or gain, acute or chronic illness, muscle tension, dissociation, and pain may be the work of a protector simply trying its best to keep the system from perceived harm.

Somatic manifestations of protectors. In Somatic IFS, protector parts are understood to manifest physically in various ways:

• Muscle tension or chronic pain
• Changes in breathing patterns
• Postural habits
• Physical symptoms or illnesses

Working with protectors somatically:

• Identifying the physical manifestations of protector parts
• Using body awareness to communicate with and understand these parts
• Employing somatic practices to help protectors feel safe and relax their grip

By addressing protectors through both psychological and somatic approaches, therapists can help clients achieve more comprehensive and lasting healing.

10. Addressing Exiles: Uncovering and Healing Deep-Seated Trauma

As long as the exile is stuck in the time and in a place where the wounding happened, it may not feel safe to share its story.

Somatic approach to exiles. Exiled parts often hold deep trauma that may be pre-verbal or dissociated. Somatic IFS provides tools to:

• Access and work with exiles through body sensations and movements
• Create safety for exiles to share their stories
• Release trauma held in the body

Key steps in working with exiles somatically:

1. Identifying bodily sensations associated with the exile
2. Creating a safe container through Embodied Self presence
3. Allowing the body to tell the exile's story through sensation and movement
4. Facilitating the release of trauma through somatic unburdening

By incorporating somatic awareness and practices, therapists can help clients access and heal exiled parts more effectively, leading to deeper and more comprehensive healing.

11. The Body Systems in Somatic IFS: Understanding Our Physical and Emotional Interconnections

Although every system of the body can be considered with each of the five practices of Somatic IFS, some have a strong association to each practice.

Integrating body systems. Somatic IFS recognizes the interconnection between psychological parts and physical body systems:

• Fascial system: Central to body awareness and interoception
• Respiratory system: Key to conscious breathing and emotional regulation
• Nervous system: Crucial for resonance and attunement
• Musculoskeletal system: Central to mindful movement and expression
• Skin and sensory systems: Essential for attuned touch and boundary awareness

Practical applications:

• Using knowledge of body systems to enhance therapeutic interventions
• Helping clients understand the physical manifestations of their psychological parts
• Integrating awareness of body systems into the healing process

By considering the role of various body systems in the therapeutic process, Somatic IFS provides a more comprehensive and integrated approach to healing.

12. Applying Somatic IFS: Practical Steps for Therapists and Clients

Somatic IFS offers a compassionate view of my clients' protector parts. Whether they are being critical, controlling, rageful, manipulative, or simply inauthentic, the protectors can be hard to cozy up to.

Implementation strategies:

1. Develop personal somatic awareness as a therapist
2. Introduce somatic practices gradually to clients
3. Use the five practices of Somatic IFS in conjunction with traditional IFS techniques
4. Pay attention to both verbal and non-verbal cues in therapy sessions
5. Help clients develop their own somatic awareness and skills

Benefits of Somatic IFS application:

• Enhanced therapeutic rapport and attunement
• Deeper access to clients' internal experiences
• More comprehensive and lasting healing outcomes
• Increased body awareness and self-regulation skills for clients

By integrating Somatic IFS practices into their work, therapists can provide a more holistic and effective approach to healing, addressing both the psychological and physiological aspects of their clients' experiences.

Last updated: September 10, 2024