I've written about Parts Work, also known as Ego States Therapy and IFS (Internal Family Systems) before (see my article: How Parts Work Can Empower You)
Also see the articles listed at the end of this article.
What is Creativity?
People often think of creativity as being related only to art, writing and other artistic works.
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| What is Creativity? |
But creativity also includes:
- Problem solving for day to day issues
- Scientific solutions
- Cooking
- Gardening
- Thinking of new ways to approach everyday tasks
- Finding new ways to deal with stress
- Finding new ways to communicate more effectively
And so on.
The list above is only a small fraction of ways to be creative (see my article: Reclaiming Your Creativity).
How Can Parts Work Therapy Help With Creativity?
Parts Work is a type of Experiential Therapy that helps you to get to know the many different aspects of your personality.
In other words, Parts Work helps you to get to know your internal psychological landscape from the inside out.
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| Parts Work Therapy Can Help With Creativity |
Parts Work therapy can be used in many different ways, including in Trauma Therapy.
It can also be used to help you to access parts of yourself that are unconscious or disowned (see my article: Discovering and Giving Voice to Disowned Parts of Yourself).
A psychotherapist who uses Parts Work can help you to discover the various parts of your personality so you can get to know these parts and use them creatively.
Clinical Vignettes
The following clinical vignettes are composites of many different cases and illustrates how Parts Work Therapy can be used to help with creativity:
Jane
Jane was having problems getting started with a book that was due to her publisher in a few months.
Every time she sat down to try to write, she felt blocked. Specifically, she felt overwhelmed by feelings of inadequacy and shame (see my articles: Shame is at the Root of Most Psychological Problems).
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| Struggling With the Internal Critic |
When she spoke with her therapist, who did Parts Work, Jane discovered that her shame and feelings of inadequacy stemmed from a part that was an internal critic.
This internal critic developed in her childhood from being told by her father that she would never amount to anything (see my article: Overcoming Emotional Blocks).
After working with this critical part, Jane was able to see that this part was keeping her emotionally blocked.
Through her Parts Work therapy, Jane was able to ask this part to "step aside" with compassion so she could access the more creative parts of herself that helped her to open up new ideas for her book.
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| Parts Work Therapy Can Help With Creativity |
Her creative parts included a much freer playful part that helped her to play with ideas and freed her up to write.
As she continued to work in Parts Work therapy, Jane learned how to feel compassion for the internal critic part and that part was transformed into a source of strength.
Once this occurred, Jane no longer had problems with writer's block.
Bill
Bill was given the task of coming up with new ideas for an old product at work.
Initially, Bill was excited about the project, but every time he tried to sit down to draft ideas, he found himself getting so anxious that he would distract himself with social media or TV as a way to avoid doing the work.
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| Procrastination as Part of Avoidance |
Knowing he couldn't procrastinate anymore, he sought help from a psychotherapist who did Parts Work therapy to overcome his problem.
Through Parts Work therapy, Bill learned that his anxiety was a protective part of himself that feared he would humiliate himself by doing a poor job with the project. His procrastination was related to this part of himself.
His Parts Work therapist helped Bill to realize this protective part stemmed from his childhood experiences in a family that was very risk averse.
As a child, whenever Bill wanted to try something new, his anxious parents would come up with all kinds of reasons why it would be dangerous for him to try anything new.
By showing compassion to the protective part of himself in Parts Work therapy, he was able to get that part of himself to relax and allow more creative parts of himself which were curious and more adventurous to come to the surface.
These creative parts allowed him to approach his work project with new energy.
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| Parts Work Therapy Can Help with Creativity |
When he presented his ideas to his team, Bill received a lot of praise from his manager and colleagues which also helped to disconfirm his fear that taking risks was dangerous. He learned instead to be open to his creativity and present his work with pride.
Conclusion
Parts Work is an umbrella term for various types of therapies, like Ego States and IFS.
Parts are aspects of your personality.
Parts are often unconscious so that you aren't aware they're creating obstacles for you.
Parts Work therapy helps to make the unconscious conscious so you can to transform these parts into creative parts.
Many parts go back to childhood and might, at first, resist giving up their protective role.
You can think of this dynamic as being similar to a defense mechanism which has been ingrained in you for a long time.
No parts are considered "bad" and no parts are discarded.
Instead, a Parts Work therapist helps you to find way to transform a part from being an obstacle to being a source of strength.
Getting Help in Parts Work Therapy
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| Getting Help in Parts Work Therapy |
If you're struggling with a problem you have been unable to resolve on your own, rather than continuing to feel stuck, you can seek help from a licensed mental health professional who does Parts Work therapy.
Parts Work therapy helps to free you from obstacles that are getting in your way so you can lead a more fulfilling life.
Also See My Other Articles on Parts Work
About Me
I am a licensed New York City psychotherapist, hypnotherapist, EFT (for couples), Somatic Experiencing, IFS, Ego States Therapist and Sex Therapist.
I work with individual adults and couples.
To find out more about me, visit my website: Josephine Ferraro, LCSW - NYC Psychotherapist.
To set up a consultation, call me at (917) 742-2624 during business hours or email me.