ABSTRACT
Virginia Satir (1978) began to explore the parts of individuals as a means of acknowledging, integrating, and harmonizing multiple aspects —both positive and negative —of human beings. She noted that all too often people denied, distorted, or projected parts that fit uncomfortably as an adolescent or adult even though those same parts had once served the child's need for survival. She also knew that people often exaggerated parts that were used to shield or offset perceived weaknesses. Satir's Parts Party is a group approach that allows individuals to see their strengths and weaknesses in a psychodramatic scene. Within the Parts Party, the individual can explore parts that are useful, parts that are liked and disliked, and new resources, some of which are "transformed" parts that started out as negatives. Throughout the experience, a focus on the relationships between parts and a striving for harmony inform the process and provide a vehicle for personal integration (Satir & Baldwin, 1983). Satir often used a variation of the Parts Party with couples as a means of helping each person experience the richness of the other while noting the many ways in which two intimate individuals' parts can interact.
