Jay Earley - Self-Therapy: A Step-By-Step Guide to Creating Wholeness and Healing Your Inner Child Using IFS, A New, Cutting-Edge Psychotherapy

Jay Earley, PhD
Foreword by Richard C. Schwartz, PhD

Pattern System Books
Larkspur, CA

IFS seems to be expanding now, lots of practitioners and trainings and a certain hey this works buzz gathering around it. I cant remember how I heard about it, but Im very glad I did. Ive always been interested in therapies which employ the concept of parts/subpersonalities/ego states, but have never felt I got beyond a certain point with the concept. IFS has, so far, proven to be the missing key I needed. It takes parts therapy past anything else Ive tried for dynamic psychological self-discovery and healing.

Jay Earleys book is for the beginner who wants to practice IFS, including completely alone, which is highly feasible. As such it goes slowly, explains carefully, and contains a lot of encouragement for the initially unsure. It is however far from lacking in experienced wisdom, and I will testify you can do wonderful stuff with it and nothing else. The system is incredibly user-friendly but its also extremely deep. You know you are dealing with the real stuff of the psychethe sudden shifts, the realizations, the sheer off-the-cuff creativity, the insights given by each part painting a truly personal and dynamic picture, yet fully in control. Yes, I really would say IFS has managed to come up with the right systems-based, loose-bu-accurate formula to induce such experiences deliberately, yet organically, without any hint of being mechanical or stiff.

The main thing about IFS is that it works, and works by honouring systemic processes and knowing just what to do with them, after having plainly worked very hard to arrive at this ingenious and soulful understanding. I really do recommend it to anyone who wants to work on themselves in a deep yet safe manner, because I think youll find it effective, and fascinating. This excellent book will form a great gateway. I have never been more impressed with any therapy system.

Jason Wingate

Enormously hopeful and empowering, this book illuminates the process of Internal Family Systems (IFS) as a method of self-therapy that centers on the revolutionary principle that all of us have a Self. Presenting a view of the human psyche with this calm, compassionate, curious Self at the center, Jay Earley takes the reader step-by-step through a method of self-exploration which views overwhelming emotion and dysfunctional behavior as stemming from parts that are doing their best to help the person survive. Earleys writing is beautifully organized and clear, as compassionate and respectful as the process he is teaching, and the reader is supported and encouraged at every step. Anyone wishing to live a fuller, richer, more meaningful life, or help others do so, needs to read this book.

Ann Weiser Cornell, PhD, author of The Power of Focusing and The Radical Acceptance of Everything

The non-pathologizing and empowering aspects of the IFS Model find their ultimate expression in Dr. Earleys book, Self-Therapy. Exercises, illustrations, and session transcripts supplement this detailed approach for individuals to safely work alone or with a peer to transform their inner worlds dominated by outmoded beliefs to lives filled with love, compassion, and connection. Therapists, too, will appreciate this clear map of the inner territory of the psyche and will find this book a valuable and accessible resource for their clients.

Susan McConnell, senior IFS trainer

Jays classes have been life-transforming for me, and this wonderful book is a support for Self-leadership. I often feel heartfelt gratitude at finding myself standing strong after having been guided by Jay through my inner tangle of parts.

Elizabeth Russell, Florida

Jay has a great talent for making complex things easy to understand. The vignettes are very useful in seeing how IFS works in real life, and the help sheets are particularly valuable when you work on yourself.

Sandy Therry, M. Couns., Perth, Western Australia

Dr. Earleys clinical competence and passion for teaching IFS provide an invaluable, user-friendly companion for students and practitioners alike. His clear descriptions, outlines, illustrations, exercises, and transcriptions offer a thorough and systematic contribution to the understanding and application of this magical model for transformation and healing.

Laura S. Schmidt, MA, LMFT, Spokane, WA

Self-Therapy was a big help to me in the beginning when I didnt have much knowledge of IFS or myself. The transcripts were intriguing because I looked at other peoples experience in the book and recognized my parts. This helped me to realize that Im not the only one with these difficult feelings. In my journal I wrote out the answers to each of the questions for my parts, and this brought it all together for me.

Mindy Lamberson, Des Moines, Iowa

I read all the time, and Self-Therapy was exceptionally clear without being repettious. It goes into much more detail than other IFS books, but it doesnt feel dense or overwhelming. I found it so intriguing that I just wanted to keep reading. It is much clearer than most psychology writing and very accessible for the general public.

Linda McLyman, M.S., leadership consultant, Syracuse, NY

Self-Therapy is an invaluable resource, an absolute must for all therapists who want to move their clients beyond tolerable recovery to a more thorough process of healing. It is a gift to those of us who want to offer a gentle excavation of wounds resulting in a beautiful new landscape.

Cheryl Ades, LCSW, Louisville, KY

Jay presents an exceptionally clear explanation of the IFS model. He provides user friendly directions on how therapists and clients can use the process. I can apply it directly from this book.

Kevin J Miller, PhD, Florham Park, NJ

Jay has a very thorough understanding of IFS and an uncanny ability to break it down into small enough chunks to make it accessible to novices while still making it stimulating for experienced IFS practitioners. Self-Therapy demystifies therapy and empowers people to work on themselves to expand and heal their lives.

Kira Freed, M.A., LPC, CLC, Tucson, AZ

The inside of the psyche is so hard to describe, and Jay does a great job of making it accessible. The illustrations really helped me to get a visual notion of the concepts. Self-Therapy describes each idea in many different ways, so that something sticks for each person. It really adds to the professional IFS literature.

Kathy Grace, M.A., LPC, Chapel Hill, North Carolina

Copyright 2009 by Jay Earley. All rights reserved.

Pattern System Books
140 Marina Vista Ave.
Larkspur, CA 94939
415-924-5256

www.patternsystembooks.com

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the written prior permission of the author.

LCCN: 2009933156

Illustrations Copyright 2009 by Karen Donnelly, except for those on pp. 20, 24, 161, 162.