The Q&A Session with Martha Sweezy

This episode is a recording of an open Q&A session with Martha Sweezy. All questions were submitted by participants and focused primarily on Martha’s area of expertise: shame and guilt. We hope you enjoy Martha’s wisdom.

Today we are welcoming back Cece Sykes. Cece is a senior trainer at the Internal Family Systems Institute with over thirty-five years of clinical experience specializing in recovery from trauma and addiction. Her chapter on addictive processes appears in IFS: Innovations & Elaborations. She is a co-author of the book, Treating Addictive Processes with Internal Family Systems Therapy, published in 2023. Cece also developed the Heart Lessons of the Journey retreat for an on-going study of therapist narratives. She lectures and consults internationally on these and other related subjects. Cece lives and works in the Chicago area.  Today, we will be speaking with her about the Nature and Healing of Exiles in IFS therapy.  

In this episode, we welcome Ana Morante, Ann-Katrin Bockmann, and Mary Petro to discuss the topic of Self-led motherhood. They will be sharing several important projects that integrate IFS principles and techniques to help support mothers around the world, including those at various stages of their motherhood journey and those who are parenting under extremely challenging conditions, such as poverty and life in war-torn regions. Here is a link to the project’s website,  for those interested in joining this project. 

Today we will be speaking with Joanne about the second edition of her book, Trauma and Dissociation Informed Internal Family Systems: How to Successfully Treat Complex PTSD and Dissociative Disorders, and asking Joanne some follow-up questions to the interview we did with her two years ago, in November 2022. We find this conversation very interesting and valuable for those using IFS with clients with severe complex trauma. We hope you enjoy it and find it useful.

Our guest today is Sarah Bergenfield, a Somatic Psychologist, and a Level 3-trained and Certified IFS practitioner, specializing in autism. Sarah holds a master’s degree in embodiment studies and wrote her thesis on autism as an embodied condition that impacts the brain, body, and mind. Sarah is a student in the Applied Neuroscience program at Kings College in London and begins her Ph.D. in Psychology in September at the California Institute of Integral Studies. She is a wife, mom to three children, and dog mom to Magnus, her assistance dog. Sarah is the co-author of the book, Embodying Autism – Navigating your Autistic Brain, Body, and Mind, written with Martha Sweezey and published next year by New Harbinger. She is an international speaker and educator on the topic of understanding autism as an embodied condition. We will be speaking with Sarah about the nature of autism (Episode Part 1) and (Episode Part 2) how IFS concepts and techniques can be understood through the lens of autism, how IFS therapy can be helpful for autistic clients, and some special considerations to keep in mind when working with autistic clients with IFS.  Hope you enjoy the episode and find it useful.

Our guest today is Sarah Bergenfield, a Somatic Psychologist, and a Level 3-trained and Certified IFS practitioner, specializing in autism. Sarah holds a master’s degree in embodiment studies and wrote her thesis on autism as an embodied condition that impacts the brain, body, and mind. Sarah is a student in the Applied Neuroscience program at Kings College in London and begins her Ph.D. in Psychology in September at the California Institute of Integral Studies. She is a wife, mom to three children, and dog mom to Magnus, her assistance dog. Sarah is the co-author of the book, Embodying Autism – Navigating your Autistic Brain, Body, and Mind, written with Martha Sweezey and published next year by New Harbinger. She is an international speaker and educator on the topic of understanding autism as an embodied condition. We will be speaking with Sarah about the nature of autism (Episode Part 1) and (Episode Part 2) how IFS concepts and techniques can be understood through the lens of autism, how IFS therapy can be helpful for autistic clients, and some special considerations to keep in mind when working with autistic clients with IFS.  Hope you enjoy the episode and find it useful.

Among the topics we address are the Dual Nature of Self, Self’s “Agenda,” IFS as a Constraint-Release Model, Self as the Agent of Healing, the wisdom of Self, Self’s Development, Trauma and Self,  Self and the Body, Restoring Trust in Self, and Self and Vulnerability.

In this episode, we discuss understanding OCD through an IFS lens. We explore particular challenges in treating OCD that arise from the interplay of the neurological and psychological factors that underly the condition. We also discuss how IFS integrates effective elements of other empirically validated treatments for OCD, and why IFS enhances the effectiveness of these interventions.  Melissa Mose, LMFT, has been in private practice for 30 years and has specialized in working with OCD for roughly half of that. She is currently the president of OCD Southern California, an affiliate of the International OCD Foundation and she is an international speaker and educator on Obsessive Compulsive disorder. As a Level 3 trained and certified Internal Family Systems therapist and an IFSI-approved professional consultant, Melissa is committed to developing a more compassionate, IFS-informed approach to evidence-based treatment for OCD. She is currently working on several projects designed to raise awareness, improve early identification and a wider range of treatment options for individuals with OCD. 

In this episode, we explore the nature and healing of exiles. We discuss finding and connecting with exiles, approaches to dealing with protectors’ fears of overwhelm, the healing and integration process, and more.  Einat is a psychotherapist with over 30 years of clinical experience with individuals, couples, families, and groups. She has lived and worked with IFS since the early days of the model and learned closely and directly from Dr. Richard Schwartz. She is a certified IFS therapist and supervisor and a Senior International Lead Trainer for IFSI. She is also the co-founder and co-director of The Israeli Institute for IFS that brought IFS to Israel and has trained hundreds of Israeli therapists in  the model since 2008. Einat taught family and couples therapy at Tel Aviv University, presented multiple times at the IFS Annual Conference, and has led IFS trainings, seminars and workshops all over the world. She is married, has 4 children and one grandchild, and lives in Israel. She feels that all aspects of her life have been greatly influenced and shaped by the loving and spacious perspective IFS offers, for which she is deeply grateful.

Today on Explorations in Psychotherapy, we are welcoming IFS Lead Trainer, Paul Neustadt. Paul is a clinical social worker who has worked in community mental health and the counseling program of a working class state university, and he has been the director of a community based counseling and prevention program. He is an IFS senior co-lead trainer who also provides IFS consultation for individuals and groups. He has given workshops on The Gifts of Our Exiles: Reconnecting with Our True Self; Direct Access: An Essential Skill of IFS; Self Led Parenting; Self Led Feedback; Skeptical Parts; and other topics. He has written a chapter called “From Reactive to Self Led Parenting” in a book edited by Martha Sweezy and Ellen Ziskind. Today, we will be talking with him about the process of finding our own way with the IFS model as therapists and practitioners. You can contact Paul at [email protected]