I got asked this in a comment. Figured it may be useful here too.

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Parts work is based on the structured dissociation model. The notion is that when things are too unendurable, your brain creates a "survival machine" a sub system that handles the unendurable times. You can end up with quite a collection.

In a young person (preverbal) these schema, or ways to deal with the situation are entirely based on the four basic responses -- flee, fight, freeze, faun. Later on they can be far more complex, developing into full blown alternate personallities in DID.

Consider the child of neglectful abusive mom. Sometimes she is angry and hits him. Sometimes she can be approached. If you know you might get hit, this interferes with approaching. But you have to approach to get fed, get clothed etc. So when the violence starts, You shut off, and a part takes over. The part reacts, based on past experience, on freeze or faun, or flee. (child is unlikely to fight)

As you get older you can develop more parts, or parts can become more capable.

Now visualize the following scenario. Part of you has learned that being very quiet and super polite is the way to keep from getting hit. And that creating a hole, and vanishing into it works. The hitting times *must* be your fault. Otherwise the person who is providing meals and clothing and shelter is a monster, and treating mom as a monster won't get you points in the survival game. I get beaten because I'm a bad person. Enter toxic shame.

Or you learn that when you seek affection, you get it sometimes, and sometimes you are emotionally kicked to the curb. Part of you learns extreme self reliance, and you reject people who get too close. Most of you craves affection.

Parts work is the process of meditation, and looking inward, and finding these parts, viewing them, projecting curiosity and compassion, "talking" to them, telling them they are safe now, and that many years have passed.

While complex survival strategy networks, our brain is used to dealing with people. It works well to deal with these parts as simplified younger versions of myself.

Sometimes in the process of self healing, a part becomes a facet of you. This has happened to me a bunch of times over the last 60 years.

Often we blend with one of our parts. If we blend too far, we become that person. They hijack us. This can easily happen in an intense flashback. If we can be mindful, we can feel the blend coming, and can counteract. If we can be dual aware, we can be both be ourselves and the the part. This is where we can reassure the part that it's safe now, and start building a relationship again. Meditation teaches how to be mindful and dual aware.

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I actually like most of my parts more than I like Me.

Right now I have:

5 teenage parts:

Ghost: He's a "cold flee/freeze" type. Watchful, ready to run, to hide. Doesn't say much. I like him best.

Rebel: He's often full of cold anger. Doesn't let it out much. Bitingly sarcastic.

Slipstick: Complete nerd. Doesn't let people get close.

Ghost and Rebel came about when my father vanished from my life at age 14. He was there, but heart surgery had him on the heart lung machine too long and he was brain dammaged from a series of micro strokes. Much of the time he didn't know who I was.

Slipstick protected me from attaching then rejection. Quirky, polite, disdainful, arrogant, arrogant at times. Slipstick and Rebel saw to it that I didn't date and wasn't interested in dating.

I also have Watcher. He's the gay side of me that only watches and dreams about being gay. Not very well developed.

Puritan comes from puberty, and all the angst of being told by the priests and nuns that masturbation was a mortal sin in conflict with growing dick and balls. My sex ed consisted of watching dogs fuck. No role modeling of romance from my folks. I was really messed up. While I've convinced him to be a bit mroe liberal, I think he's the source of my integrity. Puritan doesn't appear as person so much as a termite mound. Go figure....

Younger: Scrapper, and Little ghost. I became aware of scrapper when I interviewed with my current therapist. Scrapper thought that my new therapist would alienate the bond between my sister and I. This is one of the good "conversations" I had with a part. I explained to Scrapper that Misty had my best interests at heart, and to give her a chance. Scrapper agreed, and I don't hear from him much.

I also have Little Ghost. He seems to be a younger simpler version of Ghost. Wary, silent. But in my meditations, Scrapper and Ghost sit togehter, always, and they seem to be content together.

These two came about, I think, when I was 8. My dad had colon cancer. In 1960 this was a big deal. While he recovered from this, he became even more remote. But it could also be connected to losing my sister the year before. She got herself pregnant, and parents sent her away because of the scandal. NO mention of this was made to me and my big brother. She just vanished.

Further back is Socks. Socks is a toddler about 3 or a bit younger. *something* happened, and I went from having the normal todder's indifference to being naked to instisting on covering up, including socks, even in the house, and including sleeping. Sis and Mom later figured I'd been molested by a neighbour 2 doors down. I think it was my brother 10 years older. 13 year old males are psychopaths.

Further back yet is a younger part. I don't know enough to name him. I met him in an extraordinary vivid dream in a dark house, with an argument going on 2 rooms away. By swapping images with him, I was able to understand that one of the people argueing was mom, but the other wasn't my dad. I think I'm remembering a conflluence of Mom arguing with my doctor over eye surgery. But Blue Stripe (beause of he yellow tee with narrow blue stripes) wanted to leave, so I picked him up. He's always with Socks at my meditations. I often share a couch with the two youngest next to me, flanked by Scrapper and Little Ghost. They (I...) like the close contact.

Further back are a bunch of Littles. Animated balls of fluff. I suspect that each is what in IFS would be a memory bundle. Right now they seem to be happy just bouncing around like a flock of puppies. They have a gatekeeper, Protector of the Realm" who appears as an Ent from Lord of the Rings. He will not let harm come to the littles. It took some time before I could even talk to them.

Older is aragorn, (LoTR had a big influence on me age 15-22) He's a protector who deals with trust issues. He's another I've had a true conversation with. We agreed that I wasn't the person I was. I asked him to stay on in his role but as an advisor instead of as a guard ready to fend off everyone.

Facets: These are no longer disctinct, if they ever were.

Teacher: Teacher is well integrated, and handles much of my teaching/counseling tasks. Me hates being social, but if I can make it into an exchange of intormation, then Teacher can take over. Teacher came about as a means of coping with severe anxiety of being in front of a class of moderately unwilling teenagers day after day.

Explorer: Explorer saved lives. Literally. Part of my job was running wilderness trips. Explorer evaluates risks, and takes charge when things go pear shaped. Explorer came into his own, handing a canoe incident in a canyon full of melted glacier that came close to killing three students.

Wordsmith and Shutterbug: Two creatives. Wordsmith puts words in a row, and loves puns. Shuterbug is the creative photographer.

(In case you are wondering, not of my evaluations have come back positive for DID, but I am somewhat out there on the Dissociative screening test I took.)

Anyway: IFS (Internal Family Systems) is the currently dominant parts modality therapy. Somatic Experiencing is also up there. Bruce Perry, Janina Fisher also do parts work.

MOre info: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ef0_LA9fHrY&list=PLCJ2fBBavCJE8m311eCdtNScTuIAhGjnY

This is Teri Olds. She explains parts initially as schema, then as sub personalities. She makes a lot of sense to me.

Google reviews of the book below, and read them. Then borrow the book from your library

The Book "Healing the Fractured Selves of Trauma Survivors" by Janina Fisher

She also has a workbook, "Transforming the living legacy of trauma"

Fisher talks in her intro about the self hatred, the internal conflicts. The therapy sessions that get so far,then get stuck. She really gets it.

Fisher found that approaching these shattered selves with curiosity and compassion, reassuring them that the causes of their fear and anger are no longer here, and that they are safe now helps a bunch.

Where I cannot show compassion for myself, I can show compassion for a younger me. I can give Slipstick, my nerdy self of 15, the hugs he rarely got from his parents. I can sit on a bench next to Ghost and watch the chickadees play. Ghost says little, but sitting in quiet contemplation makes us both content. I can agree with Rebel's outrage, and point out the ways his plots can go awry, and he too gets a big hug.

And in showing regard for these younger selves, I show regard for myself.

Here are a few reviews:

https://psychcentral.com/lib/dissociation-fragmentation-and-self-understanding

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/22760492-healing-the-fragmented-selves-of-trauma-survivors Read the comments too.

An excerpt from the intro I posted on Reddit:

https://www.reddit.com/r/CPTSD/comments/thartj/excerpt_intro_to_fishers_healing_the_shattered/

• Read the intro to Janina Fisher's book "Healing the Fractured Selves of Trauma Survivors" up to where she starts describing chapters.
• Then skim read the first few paras of each chapter, the first para after each subheading, and the example cases.
• Read the appendices next.
• Read the last 2-3 chapters on actual practice.
• Go back and start at the beginning.
• Have a printout of the methods in the appendices with you. Or shoot pix with your phone. Use these a cheat sheets for yourself.

The workbook is easier to understand, but overall is not a great workbook.

There are other similar system. Pat Ogden and somatic experiencing; Pete Walker and Internal Family Systems.

PTSD CPTSD and DID are all dissociative disorders involving part of the personality splitting off due to intolerable emotional stress. Any book or therapist should say somewhere "Structured Dissociation" and "Trauma trained" "Parts mediation" is the general term for this style of therapy. "Trauma informed" is only window dressing.

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