Internal Family Systems (IFS) is a framework for understanding ourselves as having many differentiated parts of us, compelled to protect us from rejection or abandonment, and developing a relationship between the person and the protective parts that are trapped in extreme roles to create a greater sense of harmony. There are many forms of “parts work” in the field of therapy, I borrow from a few different schools of thought including Hakomi and Gestalt. “Parts work” originates from Indigenous ways of knowing and healing, in ritual practices, and in nature.