ABSTRACT
In internal family systems (IFS) child therapy, therapists are of course paying attention to what is going on in the external world of the child: parents, siblings, school, and peers. However, the therapeutic work itself is focused on creating more harmony for the parts in the child's internal family system. Therefore, the angry dinosaur is viewed as an internal part of the child, and the work is focused on creating a good relationship between the child's Self and the part. When a part is externalized, it moves from the interior world of the child to the exterior world of play. Parts can be embodied in many different ways—by dolls, or dinosaurs, or Lego people, to name a few. The child plays with the object as if it is a character with agency and feelings. The IFS therapist sees these externalizations as parts of the child.
