Integrating Internal Family Systems and Art Therapy
With Jillian DeVries
Internal Family Systems (IFS) offers a compassionate way of understanding our inner world as being made up of different “parts,” each carrying its own feelings, needs, beliefs, and protective intentions. Sometimes these parts can feel deeply polarized—one part may want to move forward while another longs to stay safe; one may seek control while another desperately wants to let go. Rather than judging, silencing, or trying to get rid of these parts, IFS invites us to meet them with curiosity and compassion. Art therapy offers a gentle, creative way into this process, giving our inner experiences a place to be expressed through colour, movement, image, texture, and mark-making. In the process of creating, we may slow down enough to notice what is happening within us, including experiences that may be difficult to put into words.
A simple way to creatively explore polarized parts is through bilateral drawing. Choose a colour and material (such as a marker, crayon, etc) to represent each of the two polarized parts you would like to explore, and choose which hand will represent each part. Using both hands simultaneously, allow both hands to move freely across the page without worrying about creating something beautiful or making sense of the image. The hands might move toward one another, pull apart, overlap, or find their own rhythm. Afterwards, we can gently become curious about what emerged: What did each part seem to need (i.e. speed, pressure, etc)? What happened when neither part had to “win”? What was it like for these parts to coexist on the page? Were there any moments where the two parts moved together? Through this kind of creative exploration, art therapy and IFS can create space for the complexity of our inner worlds to be seen and experienced differently, helping us move from inner conflict toward greater understanding, self-compassion, and connection with ourselves.
