Revisit - The Voices Inside Our Heads

Have you ever felt like a part of you is telling you one thing, while another part is saying the opposite? According to psychiatrist Richard Schwartz, these conflicting internal voices are not only normal, but key to better understanding who we are.

Schwartz is the creator of Internal Family Systems (IFS)—a therapeutic practice grounded in the idea that each of us is made up of a complex network of different “parts,” each with different needs, emotions, and desires. In No Bad Parts, Schwartz provides a broad overview of IFS, outlining the theory behind its basic principles and how it can help people to live a more fulfilling life.

In this guide, we’ll supplement Schwartz’s explanation with the work of other IFS therapists while also highlighting criticisms of the model. We’ll put Schwartz’s work in historical context, showing how his ideas build on fundamental principles of psychology introduced by Sigmund Freud and Carl Jung.

Have you ever felt like a part of you is telling you one thing, while another part is saying the opposite? According to psychiatrist Richard Schwartz, these conflicting internal voices are not only normal, but key to better understanding who we are.

Schwartz is the creator of Internal Family Systems (IFS)—a therapeutic practice grounded in the idea that each of us is made up of a complex network of different “parts,” each with different needs, emotions, and desires. In No Bad Parts, Schwartz provides a broad overview of IFS, outlining the theory behind its basic principles and how it can help people to live a more fulfilling life.

In this guide, we’ll supplement Schwartz’s explanation with the work of other IFS therapists while also highlighting criticisms of the model. We’ll put Schwartz’s work in historical context, showing how his ideas build on fundamental principles of psychology introduced by Sigmund Freud and Carl Jung.

Do you want to cultivate a healthy relationship with your child? Do you wish you had the tools to understand them better? In The Book You Wish Your Parents Had Read, Philippa Perry offers guidance for strengthening your bonds with your child and raising an emotionally secure individual. She argues that you can improve your parent-child relationship no matter your child’s age by examining how your parents’ style of parenting impacts your own, listening to your child, and meeting them with respect and understanding.

In this guide, we’ll discuss Perry’s advice for fostering a strong, loving parent-child relationship. Additionally, we’ll explore various ways to positively influence your child’s behavior, including the way they treat themselves and the way they learn to resolve conflicts. In our commentary, we’ll examine parenting advice from other authors and look deeper into some of the psychological principles underpinning Perry’s ideas.

In Adult Children of Emotionally Immature Parents, psychologist Lindsey Gibson dispels the myth that “parents know best,” revealing the damage that emotionally neglectful parents can do to their children. Gibson explores key features of emotionally underdeveloped parents and how their behavior impacts their children. She also provides strategies to help adults who suffered childhood emotional neglect turn their relationship with their parent from toxic to tolerable, and develop healthier emotional connections with others.

Gibson is an adult psychotherapy and personal growth counseling specialist. She wrote Adult Children of Emotionally Immature Parents to help survivors of emotional neglect free themselves from dysfunctional relationships with their parents and find emotional fulfillment.

In this guide we’ll look at traits of emotionally underdeveloped parents, coping mechanisms children employ to survive emotional neglect, challenges that those children face in adulthood, and strategies they can use to heal and move forward. We’ll also provide additional viewpoints on living through and moving beyond childhood emotional neglect.