Feedback on IFS therapy

[Ulax]

Last few years, I've seen quite a few recommendations for IFS therapy, and have made some recommendations for it myself.

I'd be curious to hear experiences, good or bad, from anyone who has engaged with IFS therapy.

 

[Terell Kirby]

IFS is used by many therapist and support groups worldwide.

There's also a 12 step support group call ACA (Adult Children of Alcoholics and Dysfunctional Families) which is an interesting lens on IFS related concepts. It brings God and spirituality into things, which is somewhat problematic, but community meetings / group support are helpful

[meta_male]

I've had some experiences with IFS therapy, still go from time to time. Overall, it helped me gain clarity and understand my inner world better.

At the same time, at one point for me, the work became destabilising and contributed to panic attacks and suicidal thoughts. I don't think this means it's "bad", but it shows me how important pacing and a skilled therapist is.

It's definitely not lightweight in any sense, it's heavy work that can open up intense content.

[theleelajoker]

On 5.1.2026 at 4:47 PM, meta_male said:

I've had some experiences with IFS therapy, still go from time to time. Overall, it helped me gain clarity and understand my inner world better.

At the same time, at one point for me, the work became destabilising and contributed to panic attacks and suicidal thoughts. I don't think this means it's "bad", but it shows me how important pacing and a skilled therapist is.

It's definitely not lightweight in any sense, it's heavy work that can open up intense content.

Did your IFS work include lot of changes in your believes? 

Did it cause significant shifts in your identity?

Did it cause you to have significantly more body awareness? Turning awareness more inside?

Asking because I had similar experience (but different method, not IFS) and recently read about the pattern how his happened. Helped me a LOT to understand how I will continue the work.

I experienced strong destabilizing, suicidal thoughts (not intentions) and depressive period. Not panic attacks, but other strong body reactions 

[meta_male]

21 hours ago, theleelajoker said:

Did your IFS work include lot of changes in your believes? 

Hard to tell, since my beliefs changed multiple times over the past ten years, with IFS being part of the last two. It mainly shifted beliefs about myself.

21 hours ago, theleelajoker said:

Did it cause significant shifts in your identity?

Yes, I had started identifying with being more emotional, soft and a victim of my past.

21 hours ago, theleelajoker said:

Did it cause you to have significantly more body awareness? Turning awareness more inside?

Yeah, definitely increased my body awareness and my attention turned inwards. It also led to a lot of crying. In one session, suppressed anger surfaced all at once, more than my nervous system could integrate. 
 

What was your experience, if you don't mind?

[theleelajoker]

16 hours ago, meta_male said:

 

What was your experience, if you don't mind?

https://chatgpt.com/share/6960e824-6150-8002-a0a5-a54e3fc8990f

You can use that to play around also with IFS instead of Vipassana. Helped my a lot to gain clarity 

Edited Friday at 11:40 AM by theleelajoker