IFS and Psychodrama
Rebecca Walters, MS TEP

IFS (Internal Family Systems) and Psychodrama are both experiential therapies that can be integrated to enhance healing. IFS focuses on the internal system of a person, viewing each of us as composed of various “parts”. IFS incorporates so much more than the brain, it includes body, mind, emotions and spirit. Psychodrama involves externalizing internal experiences through role-playing and action methods. Both approaches emphasize creating a safe and accepting environment for exploring internal states and facilitating change. Here is how they work together:

Externalizing Parts
Psychodrama’s focus on externalization can be particularly useful in IFS therapy. By externalizing Internal Parts, clients can embody and interact with their different “parts” in a psychodramatic setting, gaining a new perspective and experiencing them in a more tangible way.  This helps with Understanding Parts. By externalizing a part, a client can observe it more objectively, understand its role and function, and see how it interacts with other parts.

Transforming Relationships:
Externalizing parts allows for the possibility of changing the relationship between the client’s “Self” (the core of their being in IFS) and the parts. This can help transformation of relationships with others in the present, even people from the past or the future.

Working Through Trauma:
Psychodrama can be used to safely address past traumas, allowing for the processing of emotions and the development and practicing of new coping mechanisms.

Accessing Inner Resources:
Both therapies help individuals access their inner resources. IFS emphasizes the “Self,” which is inherently wise and compassionate, and Psychodrama provides a safe space to encounter, explore and utilize inner resources through action and role-play.

Creating a Safe Space:
Both therapies prioritize creating a safe and accepting environment for exploring internal experiences, which is crucial for healing and growth.

Psychodrama Enhancing IFS:
Psychodrama can help clients embody their parts, externalize their internal conflicts, and work through past traumas, all of which can be beneficial for integrating IFS principles.

Examples of Integration:
A client in IFS therapy might be struggling with a critical part. Through psychodrama, they can externalize this part, allowing it to be expressed and witnessed. The client’s “Self” can then interact with the part, offering compassion and understanding. A client who experienced childhood trauma might visit a traumatic scene with enrolled and embodied support, allowing them to process the emotions and develop new, healthier responses with the support of their “Self”.

In essence, IFS provides the theoretical framework, and Psychodrama offers the practical tools to explore and transform the internal world, leading to deeper healing and self-understanding.

Rebecca Walters, MS, LMHC (Licensed Mental Health Counselor), LCAT (Licensed Creative Arts Therapist). She is certified as a Trainer, Educator and Practitioner by the American Board of Examiners in Psychodrama, Sociometry and Group Psychotherapy. She is the founder and co-director of the Hudson Valley Psychodrama Institute (1989) in New York.

Original artwork by Susan Aaron.