Internal Family Systems (IFS)
Have you ever said, “A part of me wants to do one thing, but another part wants to do something else?”
Or decide to exercise or eat a healthy dinner when you get home, but find yourself following another directive when the time comes?
Or react to someone in a destructive way, knowing that you don't want to, but finding yourself unable to stop?
In these cases, you are experiencing what happens when a part of you takes charge and runs the show, even if it’s not in your best interests. And on the other hand, have you ever simply been in the flow of life and known what to do? This is the experience of what IFS practitioners call the Self, and it is the place from which we hope to lead our lives as much as possible.
Richard Schwartz, the founder of IFS, has developed a brilliant way to work with the internal parts, helping them release the burdens from the past that make them do what they do and find new healthy roles. As a result, the various parts can relax and stop trying to run things, allowing the Self to naturally emerge and take the lead. I experience Self as both personal, facilitating wise choices in life, and transpersonal, revealing our oneness with all that is. I have been working with this model since 2004, completed the IFS Level I, Level II, and Level III trainings, presented at five IFS annual conferences, assisted at Level I & II trainings, and have been teaching IFS to therapists since 2018. In my practice, I also combine IFS with other modalities, including Breathwork and Core Energetics , finding the synergies to be powerful in facilitating deep insights and change for clients.
