In this engaging conversation, Richard Schwartz, the founder of the Internal Family Systems (IFS) model, and Cece Sykes, an IFS Senior Trainer, delve into the intricacies of addiction from an IFS perspective. They discuss how addiction is rooted in parts of the self affected by trauma, exploring concepts like managers, firefighters, and exiles. The duo emphasizes the importance of curiosity as a gateway to healing and shares best practices for therapists. Their insights highlight the transformative power of self-compassion in recovery.
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insights INSIGHT
Addiction As Developmental Protection
Addictive processes are developmental responses to long‑standing pain, not moral failures.
IFS treats addiction as a system of parts developed to protect vulnerable exiles rather than as pathology to punish.
insights INSIGHT
The Managers‑Firefighters‑Exiles Map
IFS maps three roles: exiles, managers and firefighters that interact systemically.
When protectors relax, exiles can be healed and parts return to their naturally valuable state.
insights INSIGHT
Self Emerges When Blockers Release
The Eight Cs (curiosity, compassion, calm, clarity, etc.) signal Self-energy but efforting them can produce self‑like parts.
Removing blockers so Self naturally emerges is more effective than forcing qualities.
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Richard Schwartz and Cece Sykes, who—along with Martha Sweezy— have recently co-authored a book on Internal Family Systems for Addictions.
Richard is the Founder of the Internal Family Systems (IFS) Model, a pioneering approach to psychotherapy which can be used to treat a wide range of problems, including eating disorders, self harm, addiction, and trauma. Cece is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker and IFS Senior Trainer with over thirty years of clinical experience working with individuals, couples and families, specialising in working with the effects of trauma and addiction.
In this lively and wide-ranging discussion, we cover:
— A basic intro to the IFS Model
— The root causes of addiction from an IFS lens
— Why IFS offers a highly effective treatment modality for addictive processes
— Best practices for using IFS when treating addiction and also important things to avoid.
And more.
You can learn more about Cece's work at www.cecesykeslcsw.com and find out information about Dr Schwartz's upcoming IFS trainings by visiting www.ifs-institute.com.
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Cece Sykes, LCSW, ACSW; IFS Senior Trainer, US and international. Contributed to Levels 1 and 2 IFS training manuals and teaches L1 as well as L2 Trauma and Addiction. Cece has over thirty years of clinical experience working with individuals, couples and families, specializing in work with the effects of trauma and addiction. Her chapter on compassionate approaches to addictive process appears in IFS: Innovations and Elaborations, 2016, Routledge. Cece also has special interests in spiritual practices intersecting with therapy and in the impact of psychotherapy upon the life of the therapist and she lectures, consults and leads workshops on all of these topics. Cece lives and works in the city of Chicago.
Richard Schwartz, PhD., began his career as a systemic family therapist and an academic. Grounded in systems thinking, Dr. Schwartz developed Internal Family Systems (IFS) in response to clients’ descriptions of various parts within themselves. He focused on the relationships among these parts and noticed that there were systemic patterns to the way they were organized across clients. He also found that when the clients’ parts felt safe and were allowed to relax, the clients would experience spontaneously the qualities of confidence, openness, and compassion that Dr. Schwartz came to call the Self. He found that when in that state of Self, clients would know how to heal their parts.
A featured speaker for national professional organizations, Dr. Schwartz has published many books and over fifty articles about IFS. Learn more at: www.ifs-institute.com.
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3 Books Cece Recommends Every Therapist Should Read:
— Drug use for grown-ups: Chasing liberty in the land of fear - Dr. Carl L. Hart - https://amzn.to/41YvsCJ
— Unbroken Brain, A Revolutionary New Way of Understanding Addiction - Szalavitz, Maia - https://amzn.to/3oVEBgu
— No Bad Parts; Healing Trauma and Restoring Wholeness with IFS. Sounds- Richard Schwartz - https://amzn.to/3NuwDFu
3 Books Richard Recommends Every Therapist Should Read:
— Internal Family Systems Therapy for Addictions - Cece Sykes, Martha Sweezy, Richard C. Schwartz - https://amzn.to/3Hyyqpc
— Internal Family Systems Therapy: Second Edition - Richard Schwartz - https://amzn.to/44sagX9
— Introduction to Internal Family Systems- Richard Schwartz - https://amzn.to/3HBfgiC