Inner Parts online
Make inner voices visible, facilitate dialogue between parts, and guide clients to self-leadership.
The Inner Parts tool for online coaching sessions.
Why work with Inner Parts?
We all carry multiple inner voices: the critic, the adventurer, the worrier, the optimist. When these voices pull in different directions, clients feel stuck, conflicted, or unable to decide. Inner parts work makes these invisible dynamics visible and workable.
Self-Awareness
When clients see their inner voices mapped out on a whiteboard, they gain an immediate, tangible understanding of what drives their behavior. Making the invisible visible is the first step toward change.
Inner Harmony
Inner conflicts drain energy and block progress. When every voice gets heard and acknowledged, clients find new ways to resolve inner tensions and move forward with clarity.
Authentic Decisions
When inner parts are aligned, decisions feel congruent and sustainable. Clients learn to act from a place of inner agreement rather than being driven by the loudest voice.
How to work with Inner Parts in coaching
A three-step process for making inner voices visible, facilitating dialogue, and guiding your client toward integration. Based on the Inner Team model by Schulz von Thun.
Explore the topic
Start by helping your client tune in to what's going on inside. What occupies them - perhaps something multilayered or hard to grasp? When they pause: what thoughts, feelings, or tensions emerge? Are there different sides within them that respond to this topic?
Opening question:
"When you think about this topic, what different voices or feelings do you notice within you? Who wants to have a say?"
Make inner parts visible
Invite your client to name and place the inner parts that emerge. Each voice gets a name that captures its character: 'The Perfectionist,' 'The Adventurer,' 'The Worrier.' What does each part say? What does it need? Place them on the whiteboard and let the inner landscape take shape.
Guiding prompt:
"If this voice had a name, what would it be? What does it want to say? What does it need from you?"
Dialogue & integration
Now let the inner parts interact. What would they say to each other? Where are there commonalities, where are there tensions? Is there a wise mediator voice that can help? Guide your client to acknowledge each part's positive intention and find a shared direction. The goal is not silencing any voice, but giving every part its rightful place.
Integration question:
"Which part deserves more attention? What changes when every voice has its place? How can you move forward with all of them on board?"
Your inner parts grow with you
Inner parts are not static. New situations bring new voices, and familiar parts may shift roles. Regular check-ins with your inner parts help clients maintain self-awareness and navigate change with greater ease. Each session builds on the last, creating a living map of inner growth.
How to use the Inner Parts tool online with clients
Our interactive whiteboard makes inner parts work seamless in online coaching sessions. Here is the step-by-step process.
Open the Inner Parts tool
Start a new coaching session and open the Inner Parts tool from the whiteboard toolbar. The tool provides a structured canvas for mapping your client's inner landscape.
Create inner parts
Your client identifies and names the inner voices that respond to their topic. Each part gets placed on the whiteboard with a name and character. The visual arrangement helps both coach and client see the inner dynamics at a glance.
Give them a voice
Each inner part gets the space to express its perspective, needs, and concerns. Add notes, labels, or speech bubbles to capture what each part wants to say. The whiteboard becomes a stage where the inner dialogue unfolds visibly.
Facilitate integration
Guide the dialogue between inner parts. Move parts closer together where they find common ground, or create space where tensions exist. Help your client find a shared direction that honors every voice. The final arrangement captures the session's outcome.
Grounded in research and practice
Inner parts work draws on two well-established approaches in psychology and coaching that both recognize our natural inner multiplicity.
The Inner Team by Schulz von Thun
Friedemann Schulz von Thun, one of Germany's most influential communication psychologists, developed the Inner Team model in 1998. The model uses the metaphor of a team with a team leader to represent our inner plurality. When facing a decision or conflict, we can listen inward and discover different 'team members': core players who define how we present ourselves, quiet voices that carry important messages, and inner antagonists that create tension. The team leader - our conscious self - can learn to moderate these voices, giving each one a hearing while maintaining clear direction. Schulz von Thun's key insight: inner dynamics mirror real-world team dynamics. When we learn to lead our inner team well, our outer communication becomes more authentic and effective.
Internal Family Systems (IFS) by Schwartz
Richard Schwartz developed Internal Family Systems in the 1980s; today it is recognized as an evidence-based practice. IFS identifies three types of inner parts: Managers (proactive protectors that strive for control), Firefighters (reactive parts that step in during emotional crisis), and Exiles (wounded parts carrying pain from past experiences). At the center lies the Self: a core state of compassion, curiosity, and calm that serves as the natural leader of our inner system. The goal of IFS is Self-leadership: when we approach our parts with curiosity rather than judgment, even the most extreme protectors can relax and take on healthier roles. IFS has shown promising results in research on depression, PTSD, and self-compassion.
Complementary perspectives
The Inner Team model and IFS share a fundamental premise: having multiple inner voices is natural and healthy, not a sign of disorder. Both approaches value every part and seek inner leadership rather than suppression. They complement each other beautifully: the Inner Team's emphasis on visualization and team dynamics makes inner parts immediately accessible, while IFS's understanding of protective roles and the Self provides deeper insight into why parts behave as they do. Together, they offer coaches a rich toolkit for working with the full spectrum of inner experience.
Your questions answered
Ready to use Inner Parts online with your clients?
Try the Inner Parts tool on metaFox.online. Three sessions with all tools completely free - no credit card required.
Try Inner Parts free