Self-Therapy review

A step-by-step manual for doing Internal Family Systems on your own, and an honest note about when not to.

Specifications

Specifications above come from the publisher's listing. Treat pricing as approximate, since Amazon pricing moves.

What it does well

• It is a method, not an essay. Earley gives you a sequence, and following a sequence is what most people who say they want to do inner work actually need.
• The parts framing is unusually humane. Nothing in you is treated as the problem, including the parts causing the most trouble, which lowers the self-attack that stalls this work.
• It maps directly onto what an IFS therapist does, so it prepares you to work with one rather than replacing that.
• The distinction between protectors and exiles is the practical heart of it and it is explained clearly enough to use.
• It is written for solo practice, which means it addresses the mechanics of doing this without another person in the room.

Where it falls short

• Solo parts work with severe trauma is the wrong plan. IFS deliberately approaches material that protectors exist to keep out, and a protector overwhelmed without support is not a neutral event. Earley says as much, and it deserves saying again here.
• IFS has a growing evidence base and it is still a much younger and thinner one than cognitive behavioural therapy or EMDR. It is promising rather than settled.
• The method requires a sustained, slow, internal attention that a lot of people find difficult without guidance, and the book cannot notice that you have stopped.
• The parts language becomes a way of narrating yourself if you let it, and describing a part is not the same as working with one.
• If you are dissociative, in crisis, or find internal attention destabilising, this is a book to read with a therapist, not instead of one.

What owners report

Reader reports fall into two clear groups. People who wanted a procedure describe this as the most usable book on IFS available, and they use the word usable specifically. People who came for an introduction to the ideas prefer Richard Schwartz's own writing, which is warmer and less procedural.

The recurring caution in published reports mirrors the book's own: several readers describe finding solo work heavier than expected and moving to an IFS therapist, which is not a failure of the book and is worth anticipating.

Who it suits

• Readers who understand the IFS model and want a procedure.
• People already working with an IFS therapist who want to practise between sessions.
• Anyone who prefers a manual to an essay.

Who should skip it

• Anyone with severe or dissociative trauma working without professional support.
• Readers wanting a first introduction to IFS, who should start with No Bad Parts.
• People in crisis.

Alternatives worth considering

Common questions

What is Internal Family Systems?

A therapeutic model that treats the mind as made up of parts, including protectors that manage danger and exiles that carry painful material, with a core Self that can relate to all of them. The aim is not to remove parts but to build a relationship with them. It is used clinically and is increasingly popular in self-help.

Is IFS evidence-based?

It has a growing research base and it is considerably younger and thinner than the evidence for cognitive behavioural therapy or EMDR. Describing it as promising is fair; describing it as established would not be. It is a reasonable thing to try with a trained therapist and a reasonable thing to be cautious about doing alone.

Can I do IFS on myself?

Many people do some of it, and there are real limits. The model works by approaching material that protective parts exist to keep away from you, and if that material is severe, going there without support can overwhelm. If you have significant trauma or any dissociative experience, do this with an IFS therapist.

Self-Therapy or No Bad Parts?

No Bad Parts first, for the ideas and the tone, then Self-Therapy for the method. Earley's book assumes you want a procedure and gives you one; Schwartz's explains why the procedure looks the way it does. Our comparison covers what each one delivers.

What is a protector part?

A part of you whose job is to prevent you feeling something worse. Criticism, perfectionism, numbing, overworking and people-pleasing are all commonly protective. The IFS position is that protectors are not enemies and that pushing past one rather than getting its agreement is what makes inner work backfire.

Keep reading

• No Bad Parts vs Self-Therapy
• Emotional triggers as doorways
• Complex PTSD review
• The Body Keeps the Score review

This review draws on published specifications, manufacturer figures and the consensus of verified owner reviews. We have not tested this product ourselves, and we say so rather than implying otherwise. As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases.