In this three-part article series extracted from Janina Fisher Ph.D.’s Trauma-informed Stabilization Treatment (TIST) therapy certification program, we’ve been sharing Janina’s guidance on the importance of being outspoken in our advocacy for all trauma survivor parts (no matter our personal preference as psychotherapists).
In Trauma Therapy Training with Janina Fisher: Being a Parts Advocate Part 1, we shared directly from the online therapist training transcript of Dr. Janina Fisher TIST certification for therapists. Here, we conclude the three-part article series with two of the examples Dr. Fisher gives on this topic. Her online continuing education trauma certification course is filled with instruction, stories, and insight. Enjoy this small excerpt!
EXCERPT from TIST CERTIFICATION with Janina Fisher Ph.D.
…if the parts feel that we get them, that we’re on their side, it’s going to be much easier to work with the client. If we’re inadvertently threatening any part, it’s going to be more difficult.
TIST Parts Advocacy Example: Annie
I think that’s why I got Annie’s angry part last week – because she was complaining about her husband and I made a remark that was somewhat sympathetic to him.
I think that was my part’s response to hearing him painted as the villain in the piece. When I said, “Yes, he’s your rock, but a rock is not a very good conversationalist,” or something to that effect, her angry part became furious. Because I wasn’t representing the feelings of the angry part, I wasn’t representing the feelings of the hurt parts who don’t get this strong, silent man when they long for someone to connect with. So my job is to try to resonate to all of the parts. I do well when I can say, “Yeah, it’s so hard and lonely for your little parts when your husband can’t even carry on a conversation. And I bet that makes your angry parts really angry.”
This therapy, in order to be successful, has to include that angry part. I really tried to reassure her that without the angry part we’re dealing with 2/3 of her or 3/4 of her, not the whole of her. So to be an advocate for all the parts… If I go to the dictionary, the definition is to support or argue for, to plead in favor of and to promote the interests of.
Truly, I wasn’t doing a very good job of promoting the angry part’s interests. Because I want so badly for Annie to feel I didn’t make a bad choice. My husband got a complicated wife, and I got a complicated man. But that was certainly not supporting the interests of the young lonely parts or wasn’t supporting the interests of the angry, justice-seeking parts. So to promote the interests of means to give voice for parts with all points of view. Often, the client presents in therapy with a part that’s arguing a particular point of view, arguing in favor of suicide, arguing in favor of self-harm, or substance abuse, or self-hatred or rejection of the parts.
Sometimes there are parts that never get advocated for because they’re silent. If I think about my clients, and I assume that also relates to your clients, most of my clients come in with particular parts that are louder than other parts.
TIST Parts Advocacy Example: Suzanne
Suzanne always comes with her complaining part front and center, telling me about every way that her husband and three children have failed her. Until I’ve heard the complaining part complain, there is nothing else that we can get done. Now, that’s challenging. Therapists don’t really want to listen to 15 or 20 minutes of complaining when we feel there’s work to be done. But to be an advocate, I have to find a way to speak for this complaining part, for the part that wants me to know that people have treated her badly. And that, of course, was her history.
Her history was, “I was treated badly, and nobody acknowledged it and nobody did anything.” Even though I may not wish to hear the litany of complaints from the complaining part, it’s important that I acknowledge that part because that part is in charge of letting me know who has done Suzanne wrong. I understand that part is speaking on behalf of the parts who’ve been done wrong. Because at the heart of Suzanne’s trauma history was a family in which adults did the children wrong and no one acknowledged it.
So I have to find a way to acknowledge that complaining part who probably I’ll call the injustice part. The part that wants me to know every unjust thing that’s happened. Then, I have to be able to advocate for that part.
Even though as a therapist, I really don’t want 15 to 20 minutes of that part every session. And actually, as I’m even thinking about saying it now, I have a whole different relationship to the complaining part. I could acknowledge to Suzanne that, “The complaining part or the injustice part is here to remind both of us that people have done you wrong this week. And that you feel overwhelmed, and parts feel overwhelmed.” Now, I’m becoming an advocate, I’m advocating for the injustice part. I’m advocating for the little parts who feel overwhelmed because every week, Suzanne also has a part that maximizes the stress in her life. She certainly has a lot of stress, I want to be clear about that. But the maximizer makes it bigger. It’s a disaster, not just a problem. Such as when her neighbor’s tree fell in her yard in a snow storm and it became a crisis. The maximizer doesn’t want things minimized.
Why? Because she came from a family of minimizers. So of course, that maximizer part is going to make sure that nobody thinks this is just another problem. Now, as a therapist, it’s easy to empathize with the part that’s sad, with the part that’s lonely, with the part that feels ashamed. It’s easy to connect with parts who want connection, with parts that want to disclose, with parts who want to learn what we have to offer. But if I pay more attention to those parts, I’m going to unbalance the system.
The system would become unbalanced this way because I´d force the protectors to be more protective, to keep me from tipping the scales toward more vulnerability. This is very hard for us therapists, because we were trained to help clients access vulnerability.
We hope sharing with you about parts advocacy, this key aspect of working with parts, as taught in the Janina Fisher TIST therapy certification training helps you better understand the foundations of the TIST model. Read more about the Trauma-informed Stabilization Treatment certification for therapists and we hope to see you soon!
Join Trauma Informed Stabilization Treatment Webinar by Dr. Janina Fisher
Helping Trauma Survivors Get Unstuck: A Fragmented Selves Approach in Therapy
In This NEW Janina Fisher Webinar you will learn:
How to understand perplexing clients using the TIST perspective so you can see the fragmented selves at work.
How to organize a treatment plan using the TIST model so you have an effective approach to care.
How TIST helps shift even the most stuck clients so they can finally make progress.
How to relieve your frustration and prevent burnout with more effective trauma treatment.
