Parts Work in Therapy: Understanding Your Inner Emotional System
May 28, 2025 | By Katie Zweig
This is a repost of our blog originally posted in 2024.
Understanding “Parts Work” in Therapy, Navigating Conflicting Emotions
As a therapist, I often help clients work through conflicting emotions. It’s human nature to have several different feelings about the same situation.
For example:
You may feel nervous about going to a party where you'll meet new people but also excited to go out and have fun.
When you're grieving a loss, a part of you may feel deep sadness, while another part feels intense anger.
Someone with an eating disorder might want to restrict food intake, while another part of them desires to eat freely and intuitively.
We all have different “parts” within us, allowing us to experience complex, and sometimes contradictory, emotions.
What Are “Parts” in Therapy?
“Parts” can be specific emotions, or they can represent a version of yourself at a certain age. One familiar example is inner child work.
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Have you ever felt like you've been transported back in time and responding to something with childlike behavior such as fighting, running away, or mentally escaping? That may be your inner child showing up. These reactions may have helped you cope in childhood and can resurface when similar emotions are triggered in adulthood.
What Does Parts Work Look Like in Therapy?
Parts work can show up in various therapy modalities, including:
At its core, parts work helps clients recognize when a part of them is showing up. From there, the therapist supports the client in creating space for that part to be seen, heard, and understood.
Often, we’ve been taught to push away the parts of ourselves that we (or society) deem unacceptable. Parts work encourages self-compassion by allowing those parts to speak and be acknowledged. Each part has a purpose and good intentions, even if its behavior isn’t always helpful at the moment.
Exploring Internal Family Systems (IFS)
The Internal Family Systems (IFS) model breaks down parts into three main categories:
1. Managers
Managers are proactive protector parts. They help us handle daily responsibilities and keep us functioning.
2. Firefighters
Firefighters are reactive protectors. They show up when we feel triggered, especially by trauma and try to “put out the fire” by distracting or numbing us.
3. Exiles
Exiles are often younger, wounded parts that carry painful or shameful memories. Managers and Firefighters work to keep us away from these exiled parts to protect us from emotional pain.
The Self
IFS also recognizes the Self, not a part, but the centered, calm, and compassionate core of who you are. The Self is confident, grounded, and capable of leading internal healing.
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Embracing All Parts of Yourself
No matter how you label them, we all have parts that carry our pain and parts that protect us from it. Therapy that incorporates parts work can help you better understand these inner roles and begin to unburden them.
With time and support, clients often find more balance and are able to live in a way that feels authentic and whole.
Reach Out
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