Talk with the critic, don't just get talked at by it.
Parts Dialogue & Self-Leadership is an Internal Family Systems (IFS) technique for getting to know internal sub-personalities (critical parts, protective parts, anxious parts) from a state of calm curiosity (Self).
Fighting or suppressing critical or anxious parts leads to inner polarization. Approaching internal parts with curiosity and compassion reveals their protective intent and allows them to soften:
“This critical voice in my head is my enemy and I need to destroy it.”
Camic guides you through speaking with an internal part from a place of calm, compassionate Self-leadership.
Schwartz, R.C. (1995, 2021). Internal Family Systems Therapy (2nd ed.). Guilford Press. Hodgdon, H.B. et al. (2022). Internal Family Systems (IFS) therapy for posttraumatic stress: Results from a randomized controlled trial. Journal of Aggression, Maltreatment & Trauma. IFS is listed in SAMHSA's National Registry of Evidence-based Programs and Practices; the evidence base is growing but smaller in RCT volume than CBT/DBT/ACT.
