2023-01-05 Thu 13:57 PM ![[moses_pixar_throwing_the_baby_out_with_the_bathwater_ef99a40f-9112-46dd-90c2-6c9bfa277e1e.png]] >One of the most important discoveries of IFS is that extreme parts who appear irrationally self-destructive and aggressive are not what they appear to be....The importance of distinguishing between parts (who are valuable) and their burdens (which need to be unloaded) cannot be overemphasized. Most psychotherapies and spiritual traditions mistake parts for their burdens and, consequently, go to great lengths to try to throw the baby out with the bathwater. >-[[Ref. Richard Schwartz and Martha Sweezy 2019 - Internal Family Systems therapy, 2nd edition]] (p. 55) In [[Internal Family Systems (IFS)|IFS]], the notion of the "[[Burden]]" is critical because it allows for an ontological decoupling of the *[[Part_IFS|part]]* from the *motivations* that drive the part's thoughts, feelings, and behaviors. This naturally directs curative energy to the right place: relieving the part of the burden. If the part and the burden remain coupled, then the natural inclination, especially when the part is exhibiting apparently aggressive, mean, or antisocial behavior, is to think that the path to health is to deny, kill, or excise that part. But as anyone who has tried to do such a thing in their own psyche knows, this effort will only make matters worse. It simply does not work. I think it's appropriate for Schwartz to call this a "discovery" of IFS. Intuitively, we can imagine two paths to an [[Integrated psyche]]: one could *excise* the misbehaving parts, or one could *integrate* the dis-integrated parts. Empirically, only the latter works. But you still need to make a change, and it turns out you can do that by helping parts let go of something they don't need. > [!-cf-]+ [[Related notes]] > - [[No bad parts]]