The Basic Six Part System Model

Developed by Julie Dubovoy Aguggia, LCSW-R

Most of us experience internal conflict throughout our lives, others more often. The information you hear comes from a part within you. It has a role and a function to help you make decisions in life. In fact, we have multiple parts within us, all of which attempt to guide our authentic selves so we can be the best version of ourselves. However, when disturbing events happen in our lives, the coordination of these parts becomes more challenging.

The concept of Parts is not new. In fact, there is a deep history of formidable Psychologists weighing in on their conceptualities of the personality within the Self. You have probably been introduced to parts but are unaware of the terminology we clinicians use. Theorists would agree that Parts are normal to hear internally. They provide internal thoughts, feelings, and somatic (body) information. Some people relate "hearing things" to being "crazy" or schizophrenic. I will briefly differentiate the two to address any concerns you might have. Those with a Psychotic Disorder will hear voices that tend to give commands that are delusional (not in reality). Schizophrenia is an organic disorder, which means that the brain does not develop typically. It is not the person's fault and medication can help decrease those atypical voices. For those of us with a typical brain, that internal information is part of helping our Authentic Self navigate through life.

The purpose of understanding our Parts is to recognize that we are not “bad,” stupid," or "unworthy" as you might have felt in your life. You will soon discover as you travel inwardly that only a Part of you feels this irrational belief. Oftentimes, people will express that a Part of them feels stupid, but another part of them knows that they are not. This is commonly known as internal conflict. Many of us have tried to just go by what we logically think, but it is difficult to shut out emotions, as they usually sneak their way back in.

I propose that the outside version of our body is devoid of trauma and is called the Authentic Self (AS). We were born with internal Parts to help the Authentic Self navigate our environment and meet our needs. These Parts all have a role and function to help the Authentic Self. We were all born worthy, equal, and lovable. Our Parts were born efficient and can work together. However, based on the experiences in your life, those Parts can start to struggle with the external pressure of others and difficult events endured. Parts will start to struggle depending on the severity and frequency of negative experiences by your caregivers and/or situations in your environment. These Parts can begin to respond to distressing times by no longer working together as one unit. The cohesion that they once had can break, form alliances within, or become antagonistic with each other. It can then feel difficult to navigate relationships at work, friends, and family.

The Six Basic Parts of this model arose from studying themes in how my clients described their internal experiences. For years, I jotted down every part that a client was able to identify. I discovered that a multitude of clients reported similar internal information. I realized that these themes bore common roles in assisting the Authentic Self. This begins my journey into developing this model. I integrate this model into my consultations with my clients, and I lecture this model to other clinicians as well.