Inner Conference Table

The Conference Table is a great technique for UNBLENDING and EXTERNALIZING parts. 

Developed by IFS Lead Trainer Michi Rose, the Conference Table is a manager-friendly, easy technique for getting parts out in front of you on paper. 

Particularly when someone feels overwhelmed by too many parts, the Conference Table is a great way to get them organized! 

It’s also useful for situations that bring up a lot of parts — the top two times I use it are 

1. Career decisions 

2. Moving 

I believe the Conference Table is an essential, basic unblending tool for everyone to have in their IFS toolbox, which is why I always include it in my basic Deeper Intimacy with Yourself (DIY) IFS Practice Group four-class series. 

The DIY classes are currently running à la carte—you can try one and see how you like it without committing to the entire series. 

Each class has a similar structure; the only difference is the technique we focus on. In this way, it functions as BOTH a learning / teaching class and an ongoing experiential practice group. You can take it once to learn the technique, then continue to drop in to future groups to continue practicing. 

Mind Mapping (also called “Parts Mapping")

Mind Mapping is a great technique for UNBLENDING and EXTERNALIZING parts. 

Mind mapping is a manger and usually firefighter-friendly, easy technique for getting parts out in front of you on paper. 

Particularly when someone feels overwhelmed by too many parts, mind mapping is a great way to get them out of the head and organized on paper — but not over-organized. Unlike the Conference Table, which has more structure, mind mapping is slightly looser, and therefore it’s a little bit more firefighter-friendly.

It’s so easy and free-flowing, it lends itself to supporting IFS work in almost any situation, and therefore I believe mind mapping is an essential, basic unblending tool for everyone to have in their IFS toolbox. That’s why I always include it in my basic Deeper Intimacy with Yourself (DIY) IFS Practice Group four-class series. 

Parts Art

Another name for this class is simply “parts doodling” or “sketching.” You do NOT need to be artistic to take this class!
This is the main technique Richard Schwartz, the founder of IFS, uses in all his introductory workshops. It’s a simple method for unblending and externalizing parts—you simply stay with a part and represent it on paper in WHATEVER WAY YOU WANT!

It could just be a scribble. Or a circle. Or a cloud. Or a stick figure. Whatever the part wants. You stay with that representation of the part and get to know it, until it seems to shift…another part arrives. Then you do the same process for the next part. Scribble / draw / represent, stay with, until it shifts…and then you’re on to the next. Eventually you’ll have a page full of parts. As you get to know and represent each part, you can label them or write down notes about what you learn. It’s that simple!

Because it is such an easy, accessible technique, I always include it in this initial series of four Deeper Intimacy with Yourself (DIY) IFS practice groups.

Finger Puppets / Externalizing with Objects

Using Finger Puppets or Other Objects is a great technique for UNBLENDING and EXTERNALIZING parts. 

Using Finger Puppets or Other Objects is usually wildly loved by exiles, sometimes liked by firefighters, and sometimes makes managers uncomfortable, which is why I save it for the last class in the series. 

Although it’s an easy technique for getting parts out in front of you, some managers feel uncomfortable with puppets, feeling they might be too childish. It is possible to use any type of object to externalize parts, from scarves to rocks to cards to stuffed animals to finger puppets — so you can negotiate with managers around objects that feel comfortable for them.

Using objects makes IFS work incredibly tangible and relatable. For me, nothing has come close to the way using finger puppets revolutionized my IFS work, which is why I am extremely passionate about sharing it! 

I’ve been using finger puppets for IFS since around 2005, for almost two decades. Not only do I have an enormous depth of understanding about how to use finger puppets to do IFS work, I am also a  puppets aficionado, and I know places to buy fair-trade, handmade finger puppets; the types of materials that work best; the cultures that make the best finger puppets…you name it. I’m a finger puppet expert!

Using Finger Puppets or Other Objects is so simple, so creative, so fun and free-flowing, it lends itself to supporting IFS work in almost any situation, and therefore I believe it’s an essential, basic unblending tool for everyone to have in their IFS toolbox. That’s why I always include it in my basic Deeper Intimacy with Yourself (DIY) IFS Practice Group four-class series