Glossary

This is a glossary of the Internal Family Systems (IFS) model of the mind, plus some related concepts and techniques we like, value, and find useful.

We find that we often want to refer to some concept when we write out articles, and we find it useful to have a single source of truth for these concepts.

There are other glossaries out there, but we decided to keep our own, a bit for helping us keep track of our own thoughts, a bit for helping us communicate with others, and because at times our views are not 100% canonical (we will note this in the glossary).

IFS Specific

Internal Family Systems (IFS)

Parts Work

Inner Alignment

Direct Access (IFS)

Self

Self-energy

Critical mass of self energy

Parts (in IFS)

Protectors

Proactive parts - managers

Reactive parts - firefighters

Vulnerable parts - exiles

Polarization

Burdens

Trailheads

Blending & Unblending

Personal vs. Legacy Burdens

Witnessing & Retrieval

Unburdening

Self-Leadership

Parts Mapping

The 8 C’s of Self

The 6 F’s of Working with a Protector

Exile Retrieval Imagery

IFS-Informed Communication

Self vs. Manager Functioning

Self-like Parts

Collective Systems

IFIO (Intimacy from the Inside Out)

Related

Values Clarification

Titration

Mindfulness

Negotiation

Compassion

Boundaries

Attachment

Cultural Trauma

Rituals

Integration

Corrective Emotional Experience (CEE)

Window of Tolerance

Co-regulation

Rupture and Repair

Mentalization (Reflective Function)

Empathy

Empathy vs. Compassion

Attachment Styles

Felt Sense

Practice

Spiritual Bypassing

Metta Bhavana (Loving-kindness Meditation)

The Four Immeasurables (Brahmaviharas)

Equanimity (Upekkha)