Integrating Capacities into IFS Work
We know about the 8 Cs of Self, (Clarity, Compassion, Creativity, Calmness, Curiosity, Confidence, Courage, Connectedness) but there are even more Self qualities, which we call Capacities.
IFS Capacity Work shows how to integrate capacities into the IFS process to make it even more powerful.
Here are the main types of capacities:
Goal Capacities
These are your goal for any given IFS session. After you identify the trailhead you want to work on, you can also get in touch with what you hope to gain by working with it. For example, if you feel inadequate in certain situations at work and are unable to speak up for yourself, your goal capacities might be Self-Confidence and Assertiveness. Knowing your goal capacities in a piece of IFS work helps protectors to have hope. And you can access a goal capacity and interact with it, as described under Capacity Parts below.
IFS Capacities
IFS capacities are needed for the IFS process to move forward effectively. Examples are Attunement, Compassion, Strength, and Agency. Self doesn’t always manifest in the same way, with the same capacity. At any given moment, you can learn to recognize which IFS capacities are present and which ones you need for the current step of the IFS process to work. If you are lacking an IFS Capacity, you can access it or cultivate it.
Part’s Capacities
We know from IFS that each part contains Self within it. Capacities make this more explicit. For example, a controlling part may contain Assertiveness, and a dissociative part Spaciousness. Exiles also have capacities within them, such as Love, Sensitivity, and Playfulness. By appreciating a part’s capacities even before it is unburdened, you help the part trust you
Parts also grow during the IFS process even before they are unburdened. For example, a powerless part may develop Strength, or a helpless part may develop Agency. And there are certain capacities that parts need to develop for the IFS process to work, such as Trust and Hope. The therapist or coach can help a part manifest these.
Therapist CapacitiesIn your role as an IFS therapist or coach, you need to have all the IFS Capacities and more. Dick Schwartz has laid out the 5 Ps for IFS practitioners (Presence, Patience, Perspective, Persistence, Playfulness), and there are others. For example, Activation Awareness, so you know when a part of yours is activated during a session, or Confidence in your ability and that of IFS to heal the client’s parts. Also, Focus, Flow, Challenge, and Presence.
Capacity Parts
Capacity Parts are parts that manifest capacities. They are not protectors or exiles because they don’t have burdens. For example, one burden-free part may manifest Strength while another might manifest Intimacy. Just as protectors and exiles can speak to Self or to each other, so can Capacity Parts. For example, a capacity part that is manifesting Assertiveness can speak to a protector and reassure it that the Assertive Part can handle an upcoming life situation. This may help the protector to let go of its role.
