therapeutic-ifs

Inner Work Engine (Schema + IFS)

Absorbs: schema-deconstruction

Unified psychological intervention skill. Diagnoses maladaptive schemas (the what), then resolves them using IFS therapy (the how).

Triggers

"why do I keep doing this", "repeating pattern", "self-sabotage", "unpack this", "I'm stuck", "therapy mode", "ifs session", "procrastinating"

Phase 1: Schema Deconstruction (Diagnosis)

Step 1: The Structured Schema Interview

Ask these 5 questions in sequence. Each narrows the diagnostic field.

Q1: "What is the repeating behavior or pattern you want to understand?"
    └── Target: Surface-level presenting problem
        Example: "I keep hooking up with strangers"
        Example: "I can't stop working even when exhausted"
        Example: "I sabotage every relationship that gets close"

Q2: "When did this pattern START? What was happening in your life then?"
    └── Target: Temporal origin — usually maps to a developmental wound
        KEY: If origin predates age 12 → likely attachment-based
             If origin is adolescence → likely identity/peer-based
             If origin is adult → likely trauma-response or coping mechanism

Q3: "What does the behavior GIVE you in the moment? (Not later. RIGHT NOW.)"
    └── Target: The functional payoff — the need the behavior is serving
        Common payoffs:
        ├── Validation ("someone wants me")
        ├── Control ("I chose this, it wasn't done TO me")
        ├── Numbness ("I don't have to feel the pain")
        ├── Connection ("it's the closest I get to being held")
        └── Identity ("this is who I am now")

Q4: "What happens AFTER? How do you feel 24 hours later?"
    └── Target: The cost loop — if payoff fades and shame/emptiness returns,
        the behavior is a Firefighter (see Phase 2), not a genuine need-met.

Q5: "If you STOPPED this behavior completely, what feeling would
     you have to sit with?"
    └── Target: The Exile — the wounded part the behavior is protecting.
        Common Exiles:
        ├── Worthlessness ("I am fundamentally unlovable")
        ├── Abandonment ("everyone leaves")
        ├── Defectiveness ("something is wrong with me")
        ├── Invisibility ("no one sees me")
        └── Powerlessness ("I have no control over what happens to me")