Choose a card that catches your attention. Notice what feels familiar, what doesn’t fit, and what comes up as you read.

Ask yourself: What am I noticing? What might I need? What is one small way I could respond?

A few moments count. You can leave it there.

When “I just don’t feel like myself” is the closest you can get, start with Meet the Parts. Look for a card that resembles something you’ve been noticing in your body.

Use it as a starting point to describe your experience in your own words: For me, it feels like…

You don’t have to relate to everything on the card for some of it to be useful.

Reach for Get to Know the Parts when you notice yourself pushing through, pulling away, pleasing everyone, or trying to keep everything under control.

Choose a card that resonates and gently wonder: What might this part want me to understand? What is it concerned about? What would feel supportive right now?

Let your own experience guide the exploration. The card’s name is an invitation, not a label you have to accept.

Choose one question from a card and write whatever comes. A sentence, a list, or a few scattered words are enough.

You might begin with:

● “A part of me feels…”

● “What I wish someone understood is…”

● “What I need more room for is…”

You can draw, record a voice note, or simply reflect instead.

Set aside a card that captures something you want to explore with your therapist.

You might say: “This feels familiar, but I’m not sure why,” or “This says something I’ve had trouble putting into words.”

Together, you can decide whether and how the card fits your work.

Use Meet the Parts to help organize questions about experiences you’ve been noticing. Alongside the card, write down when they began, how often they happen, and how they affect your daily life.

Bring your notes to your appointment. The cards can start a conversation; they cannot determine whether a symptom is caused by perimenopause.

Choose a card to share with a partner, friend, or trusted person.

Try: “This describes some of what I’ve been experiencing. Would you be willing to listen while I explain what it’s like for me?”

You can also name the support you want: listening, practical help, company, or space.

Start with a Meet the Parts card that reflects a physical experience. Then explore Get to Know the Parts for an inner response that feels familiar.

Ask: When this happens in my body, what feelings or responses show up? What needs my attention?

There is no required pairing. You may notice several responses—or none that match the cards.

Return to a card after a few days or weeks. Does it land differently? Is the same need still present? Has something else become more important?

Keep a brief note if that feels useful. This is an invitation to notice, without turning reflection into another task to keep up with.

Invite participants to choose a card and reflect privately before offering an opportunity to share.

Prompts might include: “What resonates?” “What would you rename?” or “What would you like more support with?”

Sharing is always optional. Participants can pass, choose a different card, or keep their reflections to themselves.

Therapists, healthcare providers, coaches, nutrition specialists, support-group facilitators, and wellness educators can use PerimenoParts™ to open conversations about perimenopause and invite people to describe their experiences in their own words.

• In therapy: Invite a client to choose a card that resonates. Explore the emotions, needs, or protective responses they identify, using the card as a starting point within your therapeutic approach.

• In healthcare visits: Use Meet the Parts to support symptom conversations and help patients articulate what they’re noticing, how it affects daily life, and what questions they want to ask.

• In groups, workshops, or retreats: Offer a card as a prompt for education, private reflection, journaling, or optional discussion. Allow participants to pass or choose a different card.

• In professional education: Use selected cards to introduce discussion about the physical and emotional experiences of perimenopause and how professionals can respond with curiosity and compassion.

Try asking: “What fits your experience? What would you change? What would you like me to understand?”

Use the cards within your training and professional scope. They are conversation and reflection tools—not diagnostic assessments or a substitute for clinical judgment or IFS training. A card does not define someone’s internal system or establish the cause of a physical symptom.

Rename a part. Skip a question. Put the cards down. These decks offer possibilities to explore, and you decide what fits and how far you want to go.