Description: So often, addiction is viewed as a disease or an uncontrollable habit that signals a lack of willpower. In Internal Family Systems (IFS) Therapy for Addictions, IFS educator Cece Sykes, IFS author Martha Sweezy, and IFS founder, Richard Schwartz, suggest a paradigm shift. Rather than viewing addiction as a pathology, they propose that it reflects the behavior of polarized, protective parts struggling to manage underlying emotional pain. In this manual, therapists will learn how to access their core, compassionate Self and collaborate with clients in befriending protective parts who engage in addictive processes; healing the vulnerable, wounded parts they protect; and restoring balance in their system. Included inside: - Experiential exercises to help clients (and therapists) get to know their own parts - Guidelines for conducting assessments in an engaging, collaborative way - Clear strategies for negotiating internal conflict and navigating polarization between opposing parts - Case examples annotated with step-by-step explanations - Downloadable worksheets, handouts, and meditations
Brief description: Richard D. Schwartz, PhD, developed the Internal Family Systems (IFS) in response to clients descriptions of experiencing various parts many extreme within themselves. He noticed that when these parts felt safe and had their concerns addressed, they were less disruptive and would accede to the wise leadership of what Dr. Schwartz came to call the Self. Because IFS locates the source of healing within the client, the therapist is freed to focus on guiding the client s access to his or her true Self and supporting the client in harnessing its wisdom.
Review Quotes:
"Now more than ever, we need widely available compassionate treatment approaches to addiction and substance use disorder, yet many generalist therapists avoid seeing clients who need help with addictions. Sometimes this is because they were taught this wasn't within their scope of practice by supervisors. Or it may be because they've had intimidating experiences with unrelenting or overwhelming addictive behavior, they've experienced the wrath of an angry client, they fear the client will overdose, they can't tolerate the sinkhole of the client's ambivalence, or they've felt futile and useless after repetitive cycles of addictive recurrences and bearing witness to a client's decline. If any of this rings a bell and you would prefer to feel empowered with clients who engage in addictive processes, read this book. It illustrates three master clinicians using the innovative internal family systems (IFS) approach to help clients deescalate inner conflicts and navigate addictive behaviors." --Zev Schuman-Olivier, MD, director of the Center for Mindfulness and Compassion and director of Addiction Research, Cambridge Health Alliance, and assistant professor in psychiatry, Harvard Medical School
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