Description:
Educational Objectives:
*Sessions may be edited for content and to preserve confidentiality*
Outline:
Introduction to Internal Family Systems (IFS)
Panel honors Dr. Richard Schwartz and his Internal Family Systems (IFS) model.
IFS involves working with "parts" (like subpersonalities or ego states).
Parts are autonomous, naturally occurring, and shaped by life experiences.
Core IFS Concepts
Two main types of parts:
Protectors: control the outside world, numb emotion, often critical.
Exiles: hold pain and vulnerability, often hidden.
Self energy (accessed when parts step back) is characterized by “8 Cs”: curiosity, compassion, clarity, confidence, calm, creativity, courage, and connectedness.
This core Self is always present and accessible in clients.
Object Relations and State Shifts
Parts can reflect unresolved attachment issues or trauma.
State shifts (emotional/physiological) signal part activation.
Disowned parts may become harmful if not integrated.
Transactional Analysis and Ego States
Parts are similar to parent/adult/child ego states in transactional analysis.
Functional subtypes: critical parent, nurturing parent, adapted child, free child.
Ego grams can show energy distribution among parts.
Enactments help clients recognize, externalize, and manage their parts.
Experiential and Hypnotic Techniques
Use of metaphors, objects, and sculpting for experiential learning.
Hypnosis can deepen understanding and transformation of parts.
Creative, artistic interventions aid integration.
Applications in Couples Therapy
Enactments help couples visualize emotions like love and appreciation.
Therapists track state shifts in both partners during interactions.
Each partner should become the primary caretaker of their own vulnerable parts, not rely on the other to fix them.
Working with Resistance
Resistance is seen as a protective function, not pathology.
Use resistance to access deeper emotional material.
Maintain readiness to respond flexibly to whatever arises in session.
Placebo Effect and Therapist Confidence
Active placebo (engagement, suggestion) is more effective than passive.
Therapist confidence and coherence enhance therapeutic influence.
A strong narrative and belief in the process are key.
Therapist Development
Ongoing learning and open-mindedness are essential.
The ultimate goal is to help clients self-actualize.
Closing with gratitude for the collaborative learning space.
Jeffrey K. Zeig, PhD, is the Founder and Director of the Milton H. Erickson Foundation and is president of Zeig, Tucker & Theisen, Inc., publishers in the behavioral sciences. He has edited, co-edited, authored or coauthored more than 20 books on psychotherapy that appear in twelve foreign languages. Dr. Zeig is a psychologist and marriage and family therapist in private practice in Phoenix, Arizona.
Richard Schwartz, PhD, began his career as a systemic family therapist and an academic, at the University of Illinois and at Northwestern University. Grounded in systems thinking, Dr . Schwartz developed the Internal Family Systems model (IFS) in response to clients’ descriptions of various parts within themselves. In 2000, he founded the Center for Self Leadership (www.selfleadership.org), which offers three levels of trainings and workshops in IFS for professionals and the general public, both in this country and abroad. A featured speaker for national and international professional organizations, Dr. Schwartz has published five books and over fifty articles about IFS.
Stan Tatkin, PsyD, MFT, is a clinician, researcher, teacher, and developer of A Psychobiological Approach to Couple Therapy (PACT®). He has a clinical practice in Calabasas, CA, where he has specialized for the last 15 years in working with couples and individuals who wish to be in relationships. He and his wife, Tracey Boldemann-Tatkin, developed the PACT Institute for the purpose of training other psychotherapists to use this method in their clinical practice.