A guided meditation that's sort of like being in therapy

Have a spare 18 minutes?

If you’ve been curious about the sort of therapy I’m trained in—Internal Family Systems (IFS)—here’s your chance to see what it’s like. This 18-minute guided meditation is meant to help you better understand some behavior, reaction, or way of thinking that you want to change or at least are curious about.

Maybe you don’t like how you raised your voice to your partner the other day. Or maybe you didn’t really want to drink that fifth beer last night. Or maybe you want to stop making yourself small and accommodating other people’s feelings at work. Or maybe something else.

IFS argues that different emotions, behaviors, reactions, and thought patterns are “parts” of our personality. If you’ve seen Inside Out (2015), you know what’s up. If you haven’t, think about the last time you were conflicted about something. Part of you wanted one thing and another part wanted another.

So when you raised your voice (or drank that beer or got small), part of you had jumped behind the steering wheel of your mind and body. This part probably learned to do that earlier in your life (likely in childhood) to get through some overwhelming situation (likely with a caregiver).

There probably was another part in that same moment or at least afterwards that didn’t want you to do that. A part that might feel guilty or ashamed right now about having done it.

I love IFS because it offers a distinct, step-by-step process to get to know our little inner family of parts.

It helps us slow things down and step back from all the noise inside to figure out how we truly feel. The more I’ve practiced it (with the help of my therapist and meditations like the one below), the more I’ve been able to catch myself in the moment outside of my therapist’s office and make a different choice in what I do or say.

I like how

Ryan Rose Weaver (she/hers)

puts it in this post about IFS and the late Ralph De La Rosa (one of my mentors early in my path of becoming a therapist):

In IFS, folks are guided to help their many parts engage in more productive dialogue, which often results in innovative solutions and insights. In my experience, this is deep and effective everyday magic.

It really is effective everyday magic. It’s helped me stop overworking so much, be more present in my relationship, develop a healthier relationship with food, stop drinking alcohol, name my needs more often, and so much more.

18-minute guided Internal Family Systems (IFS) meditation

This meditation will help you identify, isolate, and learn about a part of you. It’ll set you up to do further work with this part either on your own or with a therapist (email me for ideas for next steps: jeremy@mohler.coach).

I’d love to hear your reactions to the meditation—in what ways did it clear things up for you? What part did you get in touch with? What did you find helpful? What was unhelpful?

— Jeremy

***Just a reminder that all Make Men Emotional Again content is provided for informational and education purposes only. None of it is intended to be a substitute for professional medical or psychological diagnosis, advice, or treatment. Information provided does not create an agreement for service between Jeremy Mohler, LCPC and the recipient. Consult your physician regarding the applicability of any opinions or recommendations with respect to your medical condition.***