www.movementforlife.com/desert www.DesertHealthNews.com January/February 2026 Medical News The Valley's Leading Resource for Health and Wellness 7 Gwen Harville-Washington, LCSW Licensed Clinical Social Worker Specializing in Internal Family Systems Embracing Our Vulnerability Upcoming Offerings: WOMEN’S GROUP Coming together to create community and heal past wounds GROUP FOR CLINICAL THERAPISTS Support for professionals supporting others Groups are limited to 8 participants. To be placed on the interest list and for further information, please contact Gwen at (909) 210-5895 or gwen.alpa@gmail.com. Eisenhower Health is the local favorite for patients and physicians alike. Our not-for-profit status gives doctors the environment they need to do their best work. Here, they can focus on providing patients comprehensive, compassionate care because we don’t have to worry about pleasing shareholders — we answer only to the community we serve, and that means you. We reinvest every dollar we make into enhancing our services and infrastructure. And that translates into exceptional care for everyone in the community. At Eisenhower Health, our bottom line is providing great care. Learn more at EisenhowerHealth.org/Growth Our Patients Are Our Priority. “You Don’t Become a Doctor to Keep Shareholders Happy. You Do It to Keep People Healthy.” ~Eric Leroux, MD, MBA, VP and Chief Quality Officer EisenhowerHealth.org/Growth • Orthopedic rehab with board certified PTs to restore mobility and strength • Sports performance to boost your game including pickleball • Work injury recovery to get you back on track Power up your game Cathedral City 35325 Date Palm Dr. Ste 131 Cathedral City, CA 92234 (760) 202-0368 Indio 81557 Dr Carreon Blvd. Ste C4 Indio, CA 92201 (760) 347-6195 Have you noticed situations in which you are more likely to be reactive? Recently, I asked my spouse if he’d like to attend a community event with me. The first thing I noticed was his facial expression. He seemed annoyed. He then began to explain the reasons he did not want to attend. My initial reaction was frustration, followed by hurt feelings. I thought, “why is it always such a big deal,” and “why can’t he try things before automatically thinking of reasons not to participate.” Just as I was about to react to these feelings and thoughts, I paused. I noticed that part of me felt rejected and was about to tell my husband, “I just won’t ask you if you want to go anywhere anymore. I’ll just go with friends.” But with pause, I was able to recognize what was happening inside. This allowed me to respond differently, and I was able to say, “Think about it and we can discuss it a bit more tomorrow.” We all have parts of us that get activated from time to time. These parts can cause us to become very reactive, or to shut down or distract ourselves in some way. Internal Family Systems (IFS) is a therapeutic approach to addressing these parts of our personality. Created by family therapist Richard Schwartz, PhD, in the 1980s, IFS views the mind as composed of multiple "parts," like an inner family, rather than a single self, and aims to access the core "Self,” to help transform internal conflict into inner harmony. In developing the therapeutic process, Dr. Schartz identified four parts of the personality: Exiles are the parts that carry our wounds from childhood, adolescence and young adulthood. They may be buried in our subconscious but try to come into our conscious awareness. They are the very vulnerable parts of our personality and we may have multiple Exiles. In Listening When Parts Speak, author Tamala Floyd explains how parts become exiled: Exiles are usually young, vulnerable parts of us that hide from awareness for selfprotection or that protectors attempt to keep hidden for fear that they will destabilize the system with pain and vulnerability. When we are young and unburdened, these parts may express as joyous, curious, playful and energetic. However, they receive the message from family, cultural groups and society that their natural way of being is unacceptable. Children come to understand that who they are is not okay, and to receive love and care, they need to change who and how they are. This creates the need to exile or cut off parts of themselves from the whole. Children are vulnerable and dependent on adults, and if rejecting parts of themselves is the cost of their safety, love and care, the system adjusts to increase the likelihood the child will receive the care needed to survive. The system will keep adjusting to outside forces, exiling more parts if necessary. There are two other parts that act as protectors to keep exiles buried in our subconscious: Managers and Firefighters. Managers are the parts of our personality that work very proactively to keep our Exiles tucked away, for fear they will overwhelm us. We can have multiple Managers working to ensure we don’t do anything that makes us look bad or weak. Examples include our inner critic, the part that makes sure everything is in order, and that we are seen in a positive light. I like to think of Managers as those parts that keep all the plates spinning. Every Part of Me An introduction to Internal Family Systems By Gwen Harville-Washington, LCSW Continued on page 13
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