Self-Therapy for Your Inner Critic

The Inner Critic is the part of you that judges you, demeans you, and tells you who you should be. It undermines your self-confidence and makes you feel bad about yourself. Self-Therapy for Your Inner Critic shows how to convert your Inner Critic into an ally using Internal Family Systems Therapy (IFS), a powerful new approach. It is a follow-up to Self-Therapy, a widely-used IFS self-help book, showing how to apply IFS to transforming the Inner Critic. The authors identify seven types of Inner Critics and how to work with each one. You also learn how to evoke your Inner Champion, which is a magic bullet for dealing with the effects of Inner Critic attacks.

In my work with people in a contemplative context, I have found self-judgment and harsh self-criticism to be pervasive, and often paralyzing and debilitating. Jay Earley and Bonnie Weiss have given us a detailed and elegant, yet down-to-earth, framework to help transform such inner criticism. What particularly distinguishes this very helpful book from many others is their understanding of the protective function of the inner critic in its many forms, how the inner critic is not ultimately the "enemy," but can rather, with inner work, become an inner "champion" and mentor. With numerous examples of individuals' successful work with the inner critic, sparkling insights throughout the book, and their clear charting of a path of healing and transformation, Earley and Weiss have provided a very valuable and accessible resource, one that I will recommend to my students.
-- Donald Rothberg, Ph.D., Spirit Rock Meditation Center, Woodacre, California

Jay and Bonnie have pioneered in bringing IFS out of therapy offices and into people's daily lives. This book contains key guideposts for the inner explorer in terms of what to expect when engaging inner critics... I can fully endorse this most recent contribution to their important project of popularizing IFS.
-- Richard Schwartz, PhD, creator of IFS

Jay Earley, Ph.D., is a licensed psychologist, psychotherapist, group leader, author, teacher, web entrepreneur, and theorist.

He is a big-picture thinker and innovative psychological theorist. Jay is known the clarity of his teaching and writing, his creative methods of demonstrating complex ideas, and his detailed description of therapeutic technique. In his therapy work, people rely on Jay's compassionate heart and sensitivity to group process. He has a deep understanding of the nature of therapeutic change and knows how to effect profound inner healing.

Jay focuses on Internal Family Systems Therapy in all aspects of his work. He is active in the IFS community, presenting workshops every year at the IFS conference. He teaches IFS to the general public as a practice for self-help and peer counseling. He also teaches a variety of courses and workshops applying IFS and the Pattern System to specific psychological issues such as procrastination, communication, relationships, and the inner critic. Jay has published other books on IFS, including Freedom From Your Inner Critic and Resolving Inner Conflict.

Jay has created the Pattern System, a systematic approach to understanding your personality that can lead directly to psychological healing and personal growth. He has published a series of books based on the Pattern System.