Key Concepts

You don't need a background in therapy to use AllOfYou, but a few core ideas will help you get more out of the app. Here is a plain-language introduction to the concepts that shape the experience.

Parts

In IFS, a "part" is any inner voice, feeling, belief, or pattern of behaviour that shows up in you — especially in moments of stress, conflict, or strong emotion. Parts are not problems to be fixed; they are aspects of you that developed for good reasons. AllOfYou recognises four common part types:

• Protectors — parts that work to keep you safe, often by managing or controlling situations
• Managers — a type of protector that tries to keep difficult feelings at bay through planning, perfectionism, or people-pleasing
• Firefighters — protectors that react impulsively when pain breaks through (for example, through distraction, numbing, or lashing out)
• Exiles — younger or more vulnerable parts that carry pain, shame, or unmet needs, and are often hidden away by the protectors

The Self

The Self is not a part — it is the calm, curious, compassionate centre of who you are. In sessions, your goal is to speak from the Self rather than from a part. The AI facilitator gently supports you in finding and maintaining that Self-energy.

Self-energy

The Self shows up as eight qualities — calm, curiosity, compassion, confidence, courage, clarity, creativity and connectedness (from Richard Schwartz's Internal Family Systems). A reflection shows how much of each has been around lately.

Sessions

A session is a structured dialogue between your Self and one or more of your parts, facilitated by the AI. Sessions give parts a chance to be heard and understood. You can choose from different session types depending on what you need.

Check-ins

A check-in is a quick (under two minutes) snapshot of your inner state — which parts feel active right now and how intensely. Check-ins build a timeline you can review in Insights.