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Working with reactive clients whose systems are also sensitive, self-destructive and overrun and with addictions can be challenging.  Hopelessness and feelings of failure about recovery can negatively affect progress and may impact the therapeutic relationship.  Creating collaborative, empowering practices can help these clients approach their extreme emotions and behavior with real compassion and hope for the future.

The Internal Family Systems (IFS) model is a comprehensive, evidenced-based, experiential psychotherapy. It combines selective mindfulness practices with systems theory and provides a non-judgmental and attuned approach to these complex issues. In this workshop we will re-envision addictive processes with an IFS lens, as applied to substance abuse, disordered eating, anger, sexual difficulties and other common compulsions. In addition, how to safely address the emotional pain or trauma that typically underlies these self-damaging survival strategies will also be discussed.

Lecture, discussion, experiential exercises and live demonstration will be included as we focus on how to safely navigate and provide healing for the inner worlds of these vulnerable populations.

Participants will learn:

•  The foundational methods of Internal Systems Theory (IFS), including concepts of self-leadership and sub-personalities or ‘parts.’ 

• An IFS view of numerous addictive processes, including substance abuse, disordered eating, anger and sexual difficulties.

• Helping clients understand and work differently with their extreme emotions and compulsive behaviors including compulsive acting out and abusive self-talk.

• Creating collaborative clinical relationships that can minimize both dependency issues and reactive power struggles and encourage client empowerment. 

About the Presenter:  Cece Sykes, LCSW is an IFS Senior Trainer and Consultant with over thirty years of clinical experience with individuals, couples and families. She specializes in recovery from trauma and addiction and her chapter on IFS treatment of addictive process appears in IFS: Innovations and Elaborations (Routledge, 2016). Cece lectures and consults internationally on these and other related subjects. She lives and works in the city of Chicago.