For Psychologists

The parts framework offers a way to work with the inner critic that drives compulsive growth and the exile that carries the belief in inherent defectiveness. It also validates multiplicity while working toward integration, matching these clients' developmental orientation.

The emphasis on present-moment awareness and direct experience counters the tendency toward intellectual processing. Experiments and embodied exercises bypass the client's well-developed narrative defenses and create contact with immediate experience.

The extended relational frame provides an opportunity for these clients to be known over time, including their imperfections and stagnation, without the relationship being contingent on continued growth. The therapist's acceptance becomes the therapeutic agent.