Using Expressive Arts in IFS Therapy
By Netta Sadovsky, LSW
Creative expression has facilitated self-inquiry for millenia, including through the arts therapies developed in the late 20th century. Applying some of the insights and tools of the expressive arts to a newer healing modality called Internal Family Systems therapy can facilitate powerful healing and self-discovery.
Internal Family Systems (IFS) therapy is a process of facilitating relationships between our inner parts-of-self. You can find more detailed descriptions of IFS therapy here on our blog and here on the IFS website. IFS pairs well with many of the interventions associated with art therapy, because of the way that the IFS process invites parts-of-self to speak in languages beyond words, including emotion, sensation, image, and gesture. Below are some examples of ways arts-based tools can combine with IFS therapy to empower your healing journey.
Free Drawing
An IFS therapist may invite a client to begin a session with free drawing, creating images without any specific instructions or plan. This practice may enable the client to access some feelings and thoughts that are harder to express in language. Parts that are younger or more comfortable expressing through images may take the lead in the drawing process. After giving some time to draw, the IFS therapist might invite the client to reflect together about which part(s) of them might be drawing, and what they might be communicating about their world.
Guided Imagery and Visualization
An IFS therapist might use guided imagery to help a client explore their psyche visually, quickly generating images and worlds without needing to manipulate physical materials. The therapist might begin by asking the client to close their eyes and notice if they see themselves in any particular setting. The client may be surprised to find a setting emerge around them, and the therapist can guide along the visualization, asking questions like “what is happening now?” “is there anyone else around?” and “what do you want to do next?” As the scene progresses, the therapist might ask the client which part(s) seemed to be leading the visualization, and what the imagery shows about what the part(s) want, fear, and dream for themselves.
Guided Movement
Some parts-of-self like to communicate through the visual realm, and other parts may prefer to speak through movement and posture. An IFS therapist might guide a client to express themselves through movement by starting with a brief meditation, and then inviting gentle movement and simple stretches that the body is craving. The therapist may then guide the client’s awareness to a particular part they have been exploring together, and ask the client if the part wants to move in any particular way. The therapist can guide the client to allow their part to embody gestures, movements, or postures, and perhaps to amplify those and see how that feels. After this type of exercise, the therapist and client can reflect on what they learned about the part’s experience from the way they were inclined to move.
IFS is a powerful therapeutic approach for forming a better understanding of our many-faceted selves, and by adding the tools of art therapy, IFS can reach even deeper into areas of your experience that may communicate underneath and beyond language. If you’re getting stuck in talk therapy, sense there are aspects of your experience that don’t feel well expressed in language, or notice a craving to draw or move or otherwise express creatively when asked about your emotional state, IFS combined with expressive arts might be a good fit for your therapy journey.