Most of us grow up thinking we’re meant to be one neat, coherent self. But if you've ever felt torn between wanting rest and pushing through, or noticed a part of you shutting down while another part keeps smiling politely, you already know there's more happening beneath the surface. We’re made of many selves, not one.

For many years, being ‘more than one thing’ was treated as something dangerous or broken, associated with split personalities and fractured minds. But the truth is we’re more like an orchestra than a solo instrument. Just like in an orchestra, where each instrument has its own sound and a role in the larger piece, we have many parts – each carrying its own rhythm, its own protective strategy, its own way of trying to keep us safe.

Some parts are loud and insistent. Others stay small, tucked away at the edges. And underneath them all is a deeper presence trying to hold the ensemble without getting swept into the noise.

Integrative Somatic Parts Work creates room to meet this inner orchestra through the body, where these parts actually live.

The roles our parts play

Every part exists for a reason. Some keep us moving: the inner critic scans for danger, while the perfectionist pushes for safety through control. Many people will recognise the part that chases achievement, and is scared that rest equals failure. Or the responsible part that keeps everything together, like a project manager for our inner world.

Other parts step in when things feel too much. The part that numbs. The one that overworks. The scroller, the shopper, the one who distracts until the pressure eases.

And then there are the quieter ones – tender, young, often carrying the hurts no one knew how to hold.

If you picture an orchestra again, you’ll know the loud instruments aren’t wrong for being loud, but they might take up more space than they really need. When they soften, even slightly, there’s room for the delicate instruments to be heard.

Somatic parts work isn’t about getting rid of any of the instruments. It’s about understanding why each one plays the way it does, so they can move with one another rather than compete for survival.

What Internal Family Systems offers

Internal Family Systems (IFS), created by Dr Richard Schwartz, gives language and structure to what we already feel inside. After years of working with families, he recognised the same roles and dynamics were happening internally.

IFS suggests that all parts – even the sharp, reactive, confusing ones – are trying to help. They formed in moments where something felt overwhelming, and they’ve been working overtime ever since.

At the centre of this system is Self: the grounded, compassionate presence that can hold it all without becoming any single part.

You might recognise Self as the version of you who feels steady, spacious, able to respond rather than react. She doesn’t have to change anything. She just stays present enough for things to shift.

Think of her as the orchestra’s conductor. She doesn’t force harmony, she just makes it possible. She listens for what’s needed, cues the quieter parts forwards, invites the louder ones to soften, and holds the whole arrangement with warmth.

Why the body matters in parts work

You can understand your patterns perfectly and still find your shoulders braced or your breath caught in your chest. Cognitive insight doesn’t always translate into change, because your parts don’t just live in thoughts. They live in sensation.

I have a part that shows up as what I call mouse neck. She arrives when I’ve been hunched over my laptop too long, caught up in admin instead of something meaningful. She’s small, tight, and earnest. She reminds me: you’re here to be in service, not in spreadsheets.

Somatic Parts Work brings awareness into these physical places. It helps the body become a conversation partner rather than something you have to manage or override.

When the nervous system is overwhelmed, you’re blended with a protective part. There’s no room for Self. But when you tend to your body first – a fuller breath, a little more ground under your feet – space opens. That’s where the real dialogue begins.

How Somatic Parts Work sessions unfold

We start with what’s present: a tight jaw, a heaviness in the chest, a hum under the skin. You don’t need to explain it or justify it. We get curious.

If this sensation had a voice, what might it want you to know? Sometimes a part speaks in words. Sometimes through images, movement, tears, or stillness.

We go slowly. If something feels too much, we pause. Change happens through presence, not pressure.

Who Somatic Parts Work can support

If you’re someone who’s held it all together for years, parts work can feel like permission to exhale. To be complex, and to be relieved from the choice between collapse or soldier on.

If you’re highly sensitive, this work helps you meet intensity one part at a time instead of all at once.

If you’re creative and tired from keeping pace with productivity culture, your body will likely recognise this approach before your mind does. Parts work honours the deeper rhythm beneath urgency.

If you’ve talked about your patterns for years but still feel caught in the same loops, Somatic Parts Work offers a way for understanding to become embodied.

You don’t need to map every part or trace every story. The body often shifts simply because it’s finally being met with curiosity instead of correction.

What begins to open

When your parts feel that a steady presence is here – someone who won’t disappear, collapse, or fight them – things soften, and the internal argument quiets down. Life doesn’t become simple, but it stops being such a battle.

Decisions feel clearer because you’re not only hearing the loudest part. Relationships feel easier because you’re not abandoning yourself to keep the peace. There’s more breath. More space.

The invitation is small. Pause when something tightens or sparks or stirs. Listen through your body, not the mind’s stories. Notice who steps forwards without rushing to change or manage them.

Your orchestra doesn’t need perfection. It needs presence, and a little kindness. The music that follows won’t always be neat, but it will be real, textured, and unmistakably yours.