The 6 F’s of Working with a Protector
A practical sequence: Find, Focus, Flesh out, Feel toward, beFriend, Fear.
Description
Richard Schwartz’s shorthand for approaching protectors. Each “F” keeps you in Self:
- Find the Part.
- Focus attention on it.
- Flesh out details (feel, age, role).
- Feel toward it from Self-energy.
- beFriend it with respect.
- Fear explores what it worries would happen if it didn’t do its job.
Following this tends to bring Consent.
What The 6 F’s of Working with a Protector is NOT:
A linear rigid script; a trick to bypass Parts; talking points without presence.
Examples:
You sense a critic, learn it fears humiliation, and thank it for vigilance.
A perfectionist reveals it guards against rejection… then softens.
You pause before moving on to an exile until it truly feels safe.