No Bad Parts

Healing Trauma and Restoring Wholeness with the Internal Family Systems Model

By: Richard C. Schwartz PhD, Alanis Morissette - foreword introduction

Narrated by: Charlie Mechling

Length: 8 hrs and 10 mins

Publisher's summary

Discover an empowering new way of understanding your multifaceted mind - and healing the many parts that make you who you are.

Is there just one “you”? We’ve been taught to believe we have a single identity, and to feel fear or shame when we can’t control the inner voices that don’t match the ideal of who we think we should be. Yet Dr. Richard Schwartz’s research now challenges this “mono-mind” theory. “All of us are born with many sub-minds - or parts,” says Dr. Schwartz. “These parts are not imaginary or symbolic. They are individuals who exist as an internal family within us - and the key to health and happiness is to honor, understand, and love every part.”

Dr. Schwartz’s Internal Family Systems (IFS) model has been transforming psychology for decades. With No Bad Parts, you’ll learn why IFS has been so effective in areas such as trauma recovery, addiction therapy, and depression treatment - and how this new understanding of consciousness has the potential to radically change our lives. Here you’ll explore:

• The IFS revolution - how honoring and communicating with our parts changes our approach to mental wellness
• Overturning the cultural, scientific, and spiritual assumptions that reinforce an outdated mono-mind model
• The ego, the inner critic, the saboteur - making these often-maligned parts into powerful allies
• Burdens - why our parts become distorted and stuck in childhood traumas and cultural beliefs
• How IFS demonstrates human goodness by revealing that there are no bad parts
• The Self - discover your wise, compassionate essence of goodness that is the source of healing and harmony
• Exercises for mapping your parts, accessing the Self, working with a challenging protector, identifying each part’s triggers, and more

IFS is a paradigm-changing model because it gives us a powerful approach for healing ourselves, our culture, and our planet. As Dr. Schwartz teaches, “Our parts can sometimes be disruptive or harmful, but once they’re unburdened, they return to their essential goodness. When we learn to love all our parts, we can learn to love all people - and that will contribute to healing the world.”

©2021 Richard C. Schwartz, PhD (P)2021 Sounds True

Critic reviews

“An enormous gift - transformative, compassionate, and wise. These simple and brilliant teachings will open your mind and free your spirit and your heart.” (Jack Kornfield, PhD, author of A Path with Heart)

“Internal Family Systems (IFS) therapy, and the understanding that we all contain valuable parts that are forced into extreme roles to deal with pain and disappointment, has been one of the great advances in trauma therapy. Understanding the role they have played in our survival and being able to unburden the original traumas leads to self-compassion and inner harmony. The notion that all of our parts are welcome is truly revolutionary and opens up a path to self-acceptance and self-leadership. IFS is one of the cornerstones of effective and lasting trauma therapy.” (Bessel van der Kolk, MD, author of The Body Keeps the Score)

“In this trim and highly readable volume, Dr. Richard Schwartz articulates and deftly illustrates his Internal Family Systems model, one of the most innovative, intuitive, comprehensive, and transformational therapies to have emerged in the present century.” (Gabor Maté, MD, author of In the Realm of Hungry Ghosts: Close Encounters with Addiction)

Superb content, but painful dramatizations

The information & tools presented here are powerful. For the most part, the narrator is great; but they got actors to dramatize the client case studies, and I found them -incredibly- cringeworthy. I don’t know that there’s any better way to present that content, but faked performances of deeply personal emotions was… not the way I’d have preferred to receive that content. It demonstrated the concepts well but left me physically grimacing. Guess that’s a trailhead for some work with my own parts - just thought I’d mention it to other listeners in case they experience similar. Despite that drawback, this was still one of the best audiobooks I’ve heard all year for sheer transformative potential of the content.

Excellent!

Hands down Dr. Dick Schwartz’s best IFS book so far. He personally leads the guided meditations and case demos, which is simply priceless.
Highly recommended!

Very helpful, bit too much politics

The author is obviously an expert and exceptional exercises are available in the audiobook. You get a great overview of the theory and repeat meditations of exercises.

There are chapters basically soap boxing about politics, global warming, social inequalities. All cogent and valid thoughts, but not something I needed or wanted from an audiobook for therapy. You can easily skip these parts however.

Loved it!

The meditation exercises and IFS demo led by the author Richard Schwartz are the best parts of this audio book. So valuable, as if I attended a IFS course. The best audio book ever! Thank you Richard Schwartz for making this audio book happen!

Absolutely amazing!!!

When I started this book I was not really sure what to expect but once I started I couldn’t put it down! it has afforded me so much insight to the way that I think and behave and has granted me compassion for things that I’ve done in the past and maybe even things that I will do in the future. I would recommend this book to anyone who struggles with general anxiety disorder, borderline personality disorder, or even panic disorder. This book will help you comfort yourself and teach you that you are not alone in your daily struggles….it is definitely a game changer!!!

The book and system that could save the world

The answer to healing isn't some get healed quick pill or coaching session; it's in listening to ourselves even and especially when it's hard. If everyone utilized the method to healing that's in this book I've no dount the world would be a far better place. The missing puzzle piece to your guide to truly and finally healing.

excellent

excellent subject. I learned so much and will listen to this again to get even more out of it.

Absolutely loved it.

I loved this book. Definitely changed my perspective on things. 10 out of 10 recommend.

Worth listening to.

Having followed Subud, which spiritually separates inner Self from subordinate powers, for 54 years -- since teenage -- it is delightful & wondrous to see the same theme being brought forth in a psychotherapeutic setting!

Important book

This is an important book that applies the theory of positive psychology using the IFS techniques created by the author. The audio includes parts of counseling sessions read by Schwartz. They are very helpful.