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Therapy in a Nutshell

Mapping your Parts- This IFS Exercise Can Help You Heal Trauma

Therapy in a Nutshell

Therapy in a Nutshell -Emma McAdam

Mental Health, Health & Fitness, Education, Health & Fitness:mental Health, Self-improvement

4.8657 Ratings

🗓️ 12 December 2025

⏱️ 17 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Mapping your parts is a powerful exercise from Internal Family Systems IFS to heal from trauma Learn the skills to Regulate your Emotions, join the membership: https://courses.therapyinanutshell.com/membership Today we’re going to do something a little different. We’re going to do an exercise from Internal Family Systems called “Mapping your Parts”. In IFS we come to see our different feelings, inner voices, thoughts, urges or habits as “parts” that interact like an internal family. Because when we can see them clearly and learn to listen to them, our parts can start to work together for our good. This exercise can help you when you’re internally conflicted, or have a difficult decision to make, or when you keep reacting to a situation in a way that you don’t like or understand. IFS is a respected treatment modality for working through trauma or PTSD or Childhood Trauma. Your parts can give you a lot of insight into what’s going on. Looking for affordable online counseling? My sponsor, BetterHelp, connects you to a licensed professional from the comfort of your own home. Try it now for 10% off your first month: https://betterhelp.com/therapyinanutshell Learn more in one of my in-depth mental health courses: https://courses.therapyinanutshell.com Support my mission on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/therapyinanutshell Sign up for my newsletter: https://www.therapyinanutshell.com Check out my favorite self-help books: https://kit.co/TherapyinaNutshell/best-self-help-books  Therapy in a Nutshell and the information provided by Emma McAdam are solely intended for informational and entertainment purposes and are not a substitute for advice, diagnosis, or treatment regarding medical or mental health conditions. Although Emma McAdam is a licensed marriage and family therapist, the views expressed on this site or any related content should not be taken for medical or psychiatric advice. Always consult your physician before making any decisions related to your physical or mental health. In therapy I use a combination of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, Systems Theory, positive psychology, and a bio-psycho-social approach to treating mental illness and other challenges we all face in life. The ideas from my videos are frequently adapted from multiple sources. Many of them come from Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, especially the work of Steven Hayes, Jason Luoma, and Russ Harris. The sections on stress and the mind-body connection derive from the work of Stephen Porges (the Polyvagal theory), Peter Levine (Somatic Experiencing) Francine Shapiro (EMDR), and Bessel Van Der Kolk. I also rely heavily on the work of the Arbinger Institute for my overall understanding of our ability to choose our life's direction. And deeper than all of that, the Gospel of Jesus Christ orients my personal worldview and sense of security, peace, hope, and love https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/comeuntochrist/believe If you are in crisis, please contact the National Suicide Prevention Hotline at https://suicidepreventionlifeline.org or 1-800-273-TALK (8255) or your local emergency services. Copyright Therapy in a Nutshell, LLC

Transcript

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0:00.0

Welcome back to another episode of the Therapy in a Nutshell podcast. I'm Emma McAdam and I'm a licensed marriage and family therapist.

0:07.0

And this podcast is all about taking the life-changing, but usually kind of complicated topics of therapy and boiling them down into simple, easy to understand concepts that you can use in your daily life.

0:19.0

If you find today's episode as helpful to you, please pass it on to someone else who could benefit from it as well.

0:23.6

Each podcast episode comes from a corresponding video you can find on the Therapy in a Nutshell YouTube channel.

0:28.6

Also, these podcasts are educational and don't replace the advice or direction you may be receiving from a therapist or other health professionals.

0:36.6

Now please, enjoy the episode.

0:38.3

Ever wonder why you sabotage your own goals?

0:41.3

Or why you can feel confident one moment and terrified the next?

0:45.3

It's because you're not just one you.

0:48.3

Inside of you, there's this whole cast of characters.

0:51.3

You're cheerleader, your critic, your inner child. Sometimes they get along,

0:56.5

but sometimes they fight with each other. But what if you could get to meet them, get to know

1:00.7

them, and actually get them working together? Today we're going to be doing something a little

1:04.3

different. We're going to be doing an exercise from internal family systems called mapping your

1:08.6

parts. In IFS, we come to see our different feelings or voices

1:13.0

or thoughts or habits as parts that interact like an internal family. And the reason we do this is

1:19.1

because when we get to see them clearly and we learn to listen to them, our parts can start to work

1:24.1

together for our good. This exercise can help you when you're internally conflicted,

1:29.3

or have a difficult decision to make,

1:31.3

or when you just find yourself

1:32.3

keep reacting to a situation in a way that you don't like.

1:36.3

Your parts can give you a lot of insight into what's going on.

...

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