Gut-brain head-brain in IFS

towards more conversation

cover image made by author of this article

This hopefully begins more conversation between IFS learners and gut-brain head-brain learners.

In working with a client the other day, the usefulness of the “two brains” model plus IFS proved to have tremendous natural synergy.

In the client session, I used gut-brain head-brain to clarify the IFS polarity of a healthy chooser Self; as distinct from, multiple internal parts.

Short version for those already familiar with gut-brain head-brain

Eight Cs: Calmness, Curiosity, Clarity, Connectedness, Compassion, Creativity, Courage, Confidence.

The Eight Cs are positive qualities. In the context of IFS practice, these come predominantly from the heart and above. If an individual is expressing at least one of them, this evidences their healthy chooser Self is leading at the moment.

If an individual is expressing almost anything else, this points to the gut-brain leading.

If others corroborate this observation, it suggests an easy way for clients to discern if at the moment they are being led by their gut-brain or from the heart and above.