Book · 2021
No Bad Parts: Healing Trauma and Restoring Wholeness with the Internal Family Systems Model
by Richard C. Schwartz
A therapist explains why the voice in your head that hates you is just another part trying, badly, to protect you.
What does Reddit think of No Bad Parts: Healing Trauma and Restoring Wholeness with the Internal Family Systems Model?
400 recognized mentions across five subs, but nearly all the weight sits in three: r/internalfamilysystems, r/CPTSD, r/therapists. The clinical read is split. One therapist calls it "a good overview" of Internal Family Systems that "doesn't personally resonate a lot," so they rarely reach for it (↑239). Another disagrees hard, having read it twice in full and still recommending it, while noting flatly that "most clients have no idea what IFS is" (↑94). r/internalfamilysystems treats it as an actual self-therapy manual, pointed to alongside Jay Earley's Self Therapy when someone can't find a practitioner (↑67). The sharpest thread here isn't about the writing at all. It's a therapist defending Schwartz against a Nation piece that called IFS a scam, insisting the "parts" framework is literal, not metaphorical (↑57). Elsewhere it's just a title dropped next to Polysecure, no case made either way (↑61).
Community feedback & reader fit
Themes
- · Internal Family Systems as a named clinical framework
- · Self-guided trauma work when a therapist isn't available
- · Clinical skepticism versus client unfamiliarity with IFS
- · Defending Schwartz's "parts" model against scam accusations
Common praise
- + A therapist admits they've read it twice in full and still recommend it, even though "most clients have no idea what IFS is" (↑94).
- + r/internalfamilysystems points people here for self-therapy exercises specifically when they can't find a practitioner (↑67).
- + It gets named directly in CPTSD self-therapy threads instead of just IFS in the abstract (↑61).
Common criticism
- − One therapist calls it a fine overview that "doesn't personally resonate," and says they rarely use it (↑239).
- − A commenter has to go argue with a Nation piece calling IFS a scam, defending that Schwartz means the parts literally (↑57).
- − It shows up as a bare title next to Polysecure with no argument attached to it (↑61).
Who it's for
Pick this up if you're already doing trauma work solo and want a framework with a name attached, that's the r/CPTSD use case (↑61). Therapists curious about IFS should expect a split reaction: some read it twice and still recommend it despite clients never having heard the term (↑94), others file it as competent but personally unpersuasive (↑239). If your question is whether this is pseudoscience, r/therapists has already had that argument for you, with someone defending Schwartz's literal reading of "parts" against a Nation takedown (↑57). Nobody here agrees on a single tidy verdict, and that's the honest state of the data.
Mentions over time
Top subreddits
Which Reddit comments matter for No Bad Parts: Healing Trauma and Restoring Wholeness with the Internal Family Systems Model?
The most relevant excerpts across the subreddits where this book is mentioned — opinionated, argued takes first, then top-upvoted mentions. Click through to read the full thread.
“No one seems to be giving you a serious answer, but it's Internal Family Systems. The book *No Bad Parts* is a good overview of it, but it doesn't personally resonate a lot with me, so I don't incorporate it all that often.
“I think there’s a big gulf between listening to my intuition and tumbling into a trauma response unconsciously. Hyper vigilance is an important tool and helps keep me safe. I think was has shifted for me is my relationship and response to it. I don’t gaslight myself out of my body’s warning systems…
“I have 13 years of ED experience, and started my career on the local ED inpatient unit. Im not certain I’ve ever met another clinician who really feels like they’re “good” at this type of work lol. Anyways, If you’re trying to treat ED’s from a cognitive behavioral standpoint, it pretty much alway…
“I have not gone through the training, so this isn't me saying it's not worth it. But I think as a field, most of us put much more weight on "certifications" than potential clients do. Most clients have no idea what IFS is. With that said, I love IFS. I've read No Bad Parts twice in full, I've liste…
“Unfortunately therapy attracts some people who need to work on themselves too, it's not a reflection on you (as hard as that is to embody) You could try some self therapy using the Jay Early book Self Therapy till you find someone else? There are also good self therapy suggestions in No Bad Parts b…
“Look into IFS, internal family systems. It’s a brilliant way of learning to understand and manage your inner world. If it’s that bad, prob should start with a therapist to learn and practice, but you can also do it on your own. Some great vids on YouTube by Lucas Forstmeyer and also the book No Bad …
“Polysecure by Jessica Fern and No Bad Parts by Dick Schwartz.
“At the risk of sounding condescending, the spirit of your understanding of IFS theories is incorrect. Richard Schwartz has been super clear he views parts as very much real and *not* metaphorical. In an article from [The Nation](
“- No Bad Parts: Richard Schwartz - From Surviving to Thriving: Pete Walker (Be easy w this book, I had to take a lot of breaks reading it but I highly recommend it still) - The Tao of fully feeling(Harvesting Forgiveness out of Blame): by Pete Walker also
“I recommend to read Self Therapy by Jay Early and then No Bad Parts by Richard Schwartz. If you have a basic knowledge of IFS you could listen to No Bad Parts on audio book. I like it because Schwartz reads the exercises and you can just listen along and that is great. If you are struggling in datin…
“No bad parts by Richard Swartz IFS language in therapy has been very beneficial to many of my clients.
“I have not looked enough into IFS. I had difficulty getting through "No Bad Parts." So, I imagine that I'm really wrong about this and that it's more complex, but from what I've learned, it reminds me of "root issues" or "beliefs." It just seems like rebranding. Again, totally willing to admit I'm…
“Yay! I really started with reading "No Bad Parts" and having an IFS therapist myself, and was like, "woah i need to get serious about this. This is awesome". I am not interested in spending thousands at this time for certifications (it's back logged anyway), but I have invested hundreds in adjacent …
“No Bad Parts by Richard Schwartz - even if you're not looking to incorporate IFS into your practice, some of the IFS philosophy can be very profound. It's also a thin, quick read.
“Thirded for IFS. No bad parts. ❤️
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No Bad Parts: Healing Trauma and Restoring Wholeness with the Internal Family Systems Model — frequently asked
Is No Bad Parts respected by actual therapists, or is it pop psychology?+
One therapist says they've read it twice and recommend it despite most clients never hearing the term IFS (↑94); another calls it a fine overview that doesn't personally resonate and rarely reaches for it (↑239). Both are working clinicians, and neither view wins out in the data.
Is No Bad Parts the same as Internal Family Systems therapy?+
It's Richard Schwartz's own explainer of IFS, cited in r/therapists as the standard overview text people point newcomers to (↑239). The book gets treated as an entry point into the model, not the clinical training itself.
Does Reddit think No Bad Parts and IFS are pseudoscience?+
One thread pushes back hard on that framing. A commenter defends Schwartz against a Nation article calling IFS a scam, arguing the "parts" are meant literally, not as metaphor (↑57). That's the strongest defense on record here, and nothing in the sample argues the opposite case as directly.
Can I use No Bad Parts without a therapist?+
That's exactly how r/internalfamilysystems and r/CPTSD point to it, as a self-therapy tool alongside Jay Earley's Self Therapy when a practitioner isn't available (↑67, ↑61). Nobody in the sample calls that risky, but nobody vouches for it as a replacement for real treatment either.