Internal Family Systems Therapy for Addictions: Trauma-Informed, Compassion-Based Interventions for Substance Use, Eating, Gambling and More

by Cece Sykes, Martha Sweezy, Richard C. Schwartz

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 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 to their system. Included

Genres: Psychology, Self Help

147 pages, Paperback

Published March 1, 2023

Reviews

[Nick]

Useful for therapists less familiar with IFS and interested in integrating it within their addiction work. Very similar writing and organization format to the Skills Training Manual with education and concepts related to addiction treatment translated to IFS and interwoven throughout. The authors include a fair amount of therapist-focused exercises as well, acknowledging the prevalence of recovering therapists in the addiction field. If you are familiar with IFS-informed work already and have read Cece Sykes' chapter in IFS Innovations and Elaborations, this new text may not be incredibly novel for you.

[Elizabeth Arnold]

This book is mind blowing. I’ve never considered these ideas before but they make perfect sense.

[Ticola]

Fantastic book! Maybe one of my favorite IFS books outside of No Bad Parts!

[Annabel Clare]

Very helpful in understanding addictions. This was written for therapists so a lot of it wasn’t relevant for me but very informative.

[Logan Stout]

Really liked how it explained the nuisances of the fire fighter part.