Internal Family Systems Therapy (IFS) provides a revolutionary treatment plan for PTSD, anxiety, depression, substance abuse, eating disorders and more. Using a non-pathologizing, accelerated approach -- rooted in neuroscience -- IFS applies inner resources and self-compassion for healing emotional wounding at its core. This new manual offers straight-forward explanations and illustrates a wide variety of applications. Easy to read and highly practical. Step-by-step techniques Annotated case examples Unique meditations Downloadable exercises, worksheets IFS is Evidence-Based Thirty years ago, IFS creator Richard Schwartz, PhD, listened to his clients describing the behaviors and fears of their most extreme parts. He found that the inner world of all his clients was characterized by parts who had a positive intent for the client but had taken on extreme roles in an effort to be safe. He also discovered that these extreme parts would become less disruptive and more cooperative once their concerns were addressed and they felt safer. IFS views psychic multiplicity as the norm: we all have parts. In addition, every part has a good intention for the client, and every part has value. When clients listen to all their parts, they can heal their wounded parts. Today, IFS, which has established a legacy of efficiency and effectiveness in treating many mental health issues, is being heralded by Dr. Bessel van der Kolk as a treatment that all clinicians should know.

This book has been replaced by Internal Family Systems Therapy, Second Edition, ISBN 978-1-4625-4146-1.

Now significantly revised with over 70% new material, this is the authoritative presentation of Internal Family Systems (IFS) therapy, which is taught and practiced around the world. IFS reveals how the subpersonalities or "parts" of each individual's psyche relate to each other like members of a family, and how--just as in a family--polarization among parts can lead to emotional suffering. IFS originator Richard Schwartz and master clinician Martha Sweezy explain core concepts and provide practical guidelines for implementing IFS with clients who are struggling with trauma, anxiety, depression, eating disorders, addiction, and other behavioral problems. They also address strategies for treating families and couples. IFS therapy is listed in SAMHSA's National Registry of Evidence-Based Programs and Practices. New to This Edition *Extensively revised to reflect 25 years of conceptual refinement, expansion of IFS techniques, and a growing evidence base. *Chapters on the Self, the body and physical illness, the role of the therapist, specific clinical strategies, and couple therapy. *Enhanced clinical utility, with significantly more "how-to" details, case examples, and sample dialogues. *Quick-reference boxes summarizing key points, and end-of-chapter summaries. See also Internal Family Systems Therapy for Shame and Guilt, by Martha Sweezy.

Discover the innovative intersection of somatic therapy and Internal Family Systems (IFS), featuring 5 core practices to transform modern therapeutic approaches. Enhance your clinical practice and patient outcomes by skillfully uniting body and mind through an evidence-based therapeutic modality—endorsed by leaders in the field, including Richard Schwartz. Somatic Internal Family Systems Therapy introduces a cutting-edge therapeutic modality that merges the elements of somatic therapy, such as movement, touch, and breathwork, with the established principles of the Internal Family Systems (IFS) model. Authored by Susan McConnell, this multifaceted approach is crafted for therapists, clinicians, somatic practitioners, mental health professionals, and anyone interested in innovative healing techniques. A valuable contribution to mental health treatment, this guide offers a new horizon for those engaged in the well-being of others. This comprehensive, bestselling guide presents: 5 core practices: somatic awareness, conscious breathing, radical resonance, mindful movement, and attuned touch, designed for seamless integration into therapeutic work. Strategies to apply these practices in addressing a range of clinical conditions including depression, trauma, anxiety, eating disorders, chronic illness, and attachment disorders. Techniques to assist clients in identifying, understanding, and reconciling their 'inner worlds' or subpersonalities, leading to improved emotional health and behavior. A compelling combination of scientific insights, experiential practices, and real-world clinical stories that illuminate the theory and application of Somatic IFS. Highly regarded mental health professionals, such as IFS founder Richard Schwartz, have applauded this essential guide. By weaving together holistic healing wisdom, modern neuroscience, and somatic practices expertise, this book serves as a crucial resource for psychotherapists across various disciplines and laypersons seeking an embodied self.

Hope and light are on the horizon to help clients overcome the challenges of healing and releasing the pain of relational trauma. The highly acclaimed Transcending Trauma explores a unique, compassionate, and evidence-based approach to resolving complex and dissociative trauma. In this transformative book Frank Anderson, MD, masterfully details an IFS path to therapy that allows clients to access their inherent capacity for healing - called Self-energy - while also helping them welcome, as opposed to manage, the extreme emotions frequently associated with trauma. Included are clinical case examples, summary charts, current neuroscience research, and personal stories that will enable your clients to reclaim self-connection, experience self-love, and regain the ability to connect with and love others. Designed with clinicians in mind, this book offers a comprehensive map to complex trauma treatment that will enable readers to: - Learn how to stay calm and steady in the presence of extreme symptoms - Discover a different approach to resolving attachment trauma - Gain confidence when addressing shame, neglect, and dissociation - Understand the neurobiology of PTSD and dissociation - Integrate neuroscience-informed therapeutic interventions - Effectively address common comorbidities - Incorporate IFS with other models of treatment

Couples in distress enter therapy holding two goals that they now experience as mutually exclusive: to feel loved and to feel understood. Toni Herbine-Blank’s powerful new brand of couple therapy, Intimacy from the Inside Out (IFIO), offers a comprehensive conceptual map for achieving both goals. In a tour de force of elegant case illustrations wrapped around clear instruction, this book shows the IFIO therapist working with the natural subdivisions – or parts – of the human mind in a dyad, guiding and supporting couples to understand how they project childhood injury into current relationships and then, feeling threatened, frustrated and angry, lose track of their underlying needs to feel safe, connected and loved. With a focus on generating internal attachment stability to sustain each partner through the moments when the other is unavailable, couples in IFIO therapy reconnect with their essential needs, change their conversations and learn to make requests that invite rather than threaten in order to get those needs met.

Internal Family Systems Therapy with Children details the application of IFS in child psychotherapy. The weaving together of theory, step-by-step instruction, and case material gives child therapists a clear roadmap for understanding and utilizing the healing power of this modality. In addition, any IFS therapist will deepen their understanding of the theory and practice of Internal Family Systems by reading how it is practiced with children. This book also covers the use of IFS in parent guidance, an important aspect of any therapeutic work with families or adult individuals with children. The poignant and humorous vignettes of children’s therapy along with their IFS artwork make it an enjoyable and informative read. Applies the increasingly-popular Internal Family Systems model to children Integrates theory, step-by-step instruction, and case material to demonstrate to therapists how to use IFS with children Contains a chapter on using IFS in parent guidance Includes a foreword by Richard Schwartz, the developer of the Internal Family Systems model

Discover an empowering new way of understanding your multifaceted mind—and healing the many parts that make you who you are. Is there just one “you”? We’ve been taught to believe we have a single identity, and to feel fear or shame when we can’t control the inner voices that don’t match the ideal of who we think we should be. Yet Dr. Richard Schwartz’s research now challenges this “mono-mind” theory. “All of us are born with many sub-minds—or parts,” says Dr. Schwartz. “These parts are not imaginary or symbolic. They are individuals who exist as an internal family within us—and the key to health and happiness is to honor, understand, and love every part.” Dr. Schwartz’s Internal Family Systems (IFS) model has been transforming psychology for decades. With No Bad Parts, you’ll learn why IFS has been so effective in areas such as trauma recovery, addiction therapy, and depression treatment—and how this new understanding of consciousness has the potential to radically change our lives. Here you’ll explore: • The IFS revolution—how honoring and communicating with our parts changes our approach to mental wellness • Overturning the cultural, scientific, and spiritual assumptions that reinforce an outdated mono-mind model • The ego, the inner critic, the saboteur—making these often-maligned parts into powerful allies • Burdens—why our parts become distorted and stuck in childhood traumas and cultural beliefs • How IFS demonstrates human goodness by revealing that there are no bad parts • The Self—discover your wise, compassionate essence of goodness that is the source of healing and harmony • Exercises for mapping your parts, accessing the Self, working with a challenging protector, identifying each part’s triggers, and more IFS is a paradigm-changing model because it gives us a powerful approach for healing ourselves, our culture, and our planet. As Dr. Schwartz teaches, “Our parts can sometimes be disruptive or harmful, but once they’re unburdened, they return to their essential goodness. When we learn to love all our parts, we can learn to love all people—and that will contribute to healing the world.”

Drawing on the evidence-based Internal Family System (IFS) therapy model, An Internal Family Systems Guide to Recovery from Eating Disorders: Healing Part by Part addresses the necessity of healing the eating disorder sufferer’s three groups of inner "Parts": the Mentors, the Advocates, and the Kids. In order to reconnect to their sense of Self and to achieve an inner balance necessary for recovery, the reader learns to address the unique needs of each of their "Parts." Written in an accessible style, this book combines compassionate examples from the author’s client cases and her own recovery with a step-by-step framework for identifying and healing the readers’ Parts using the IFS model. Each chapter ends with questions for the reader to answer to further enhance their personal recovery. An Internal Family Systems Guide to Recovery from Eating Disorders:Healing Part by Part will be essential to mental health professionals treating clients with eating disorders and to the clients themselves.