Comments (4)

  1. Philipa 16.02.2018 at 23:26

    Thanks for the article Tim, great stuff.
    Working as a ‘parts’ therapist myself, I have seen the joy of unlocking parts that have been stuck in fear or rejection. Very rewarding work.
    Thanks

  2. Tim Hill 17.02.2018 at 13:32

    I’m glad you found it interesting, Philipa. I think this is such a useful way of seeing ourselves; we are just too complex and internally inconsistent to see ourselves as a unified whole, and seeing us as as having various parts helps bridge this gap. Another perspective that I sometimes use is seeing each person as a collection of young parent-less siblings, all trying to get along and look after ourselves. That’s especially useful for those of us who wish to cut out and discard parts of our personality. Instead, seeing us as a group of siblings makes us confront the question about how we can find a way to ‘get along together’ as an integrated person.

  3. Nicole Hind 20.02.2018 at 12:42

    I relate to this idea of ‘parts’. In Narrative we spend some time helping people see problems and skills as external of themselves- it’s useful because we can move away from the idea that ‘this is just who I am and cannot change’ towards ‘this thing seems smaller, more manageable- no longer operating in secret- and i have ways to build from to deal with it’. The idea of ‘parts of self’ feels a little similar, making everything much less overwhelming and much more ‘possible’ (what do i want to keep and what do i want to leave behind?) I also love your comment about seeing ourselves as ‘siblings’, some food for thought there. Thanks for another helpful post Tim.

  4. Tim Hill 20.02.2018 at 14:10

    Thanks Nicole; that’s an interesting perspective. I can imagine seeing problems and skills as external to ourselves both emphasises the idea of a core that is beyond skills and problems, but also that we can take on new skills and attributes more easily because we’ve done that before, and that we only need to hold them for as long as they are useful to us.

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