2023-01-06 Fri 05:04 AM ![[moses_in_a_space_of_pure_white_a_radiant_glowing_soul_gives_com_d6cb17bc-0d7f-4fe8-81fd-64cf85e41425.png]] [[Internal Family Systems (IFS)|IFS]] distinguishes between two different ways that communication with a [[Person-as-a-whole|Person]]'s [[Part_IFS|Part]]s can happen in a therapy setting. - [[Direct access]] is when the therapist's [[Self_ifs|Self]] speaks directly to the client's parts. (Eg, "How old do you think Sarah is?") - [[In-sight]] is when the client's Self communicates internally with the client's parts. In this case the therapist's Self communicates only with the client's Self (Eg, "Ask the part how old it thinks you are."). > if the client is jittery, tearful, self-critical, angry, confused, sleepy, dissociative, or in some other way extreme, we can expect to use a good deal of direct access, in which the therapist’s Self talks with the client’s parts. > - [[Ref. Richard Schwartz and Martha Sweezy 2019 - Internal Family Systems therapy, 2nd edition]] (p. 104) > Clients are particularly reliant on the therapeutic relationship when they cannot access their Selves quickly, which is often the case for people who have experienced severe, chronic abuse and have strong protective systems that keep the Self hidden or out of the body. Although this stalemate around accessing the Self is usually temporary, it impedes co-therapy between the client’s Self and the therapist’s Self. Therefore the therapist’s Self has to step in and speak directly to the client’s parts until the client’s Self is available. We call this intervention *direct access*. > > Although direct access is an invaluable option, it exposes the therapist to the transferred expectations and accusations of extreme parts. As a result, the therapist who uses direct access can feel besieged and can be challenged to maintain Self-leadership. This challenge is made a lot easier when we keep in mind that we are dealing with a young part who is frozen in another time. Our Self-energy will help the target part see the difference between hurtful people from the past and us. And while the therapist’s Self may need to be a primary attachment figure for the clients’ parts for a while, this is only until the client’s parts are willing to let the client’s Self take the lead. > -[[Ref. Richard Schwartz and Martha Sweezy 2019 - Internal Family Systems therapy, 2nd edition]] (p. 83)