Internal Family Systems (IFS) stands out as a profound therapeutic approach for individuals navigating personal healing and therapists facilitating transformative sessions. Developed by Dr. Richard Schwartz, IFS introduces a distinctive framework centered around the concept of the Self. The following information was shared in a live conversation between Dr. Scott Lyons, Dr. Richard Schwartz, and Dr. Peter Levine on the topic of Internal Family Systems (IFS).

It takes an enormous amount of courage and vulnerability to talk about and get curious about burnout. At its core, burnout actually reflects a very important set of primal human needs and wishes - safety, belonging, and dignity. Burnout is simply a response to overwhelming life experiences. An adaptive strategy to the underlying need for safety, slowing down, and a holding environment where all parts of oneself are welcome, seen, heard, and acknowledged.

Are you feeling the stress of the holidays? You’re not alone. The holidays can be the most stressful time of year for many if not most of us: in the U.S., a whopping 89% of adults say that anticipating family conflict, among other factors, causes them stress at this time of year.

If you’re choosing to spend your holidays with family, here are some somatic and cognitive practices to support you as you navigate the joys and challenges of the season.

Awareness of both our own and another’s pain is a way into more transformative tenderness. Conditions of claiming and care can be crafted: to claim how trauma has shaped each of us and to care about the impact of trauma on other people. This dual capacity of attunement in activism is alchemical, potent, and preserving of liberatory community. The space between—the field—is a web that is both hurt and informed by trauma.

In the realm of business success, optimal team performance lies primarily in problem-solving strategies and a deeper understanding of human nature. Listening to validate first is an important yet often overlooked leadership skill. Its influence lies not just in its capacity to generate solutions but in its ability to calm the nervous system and leverage clear thinking.

At its core, jealousy reflects a very important set of needs and wishes. Jealousy is simply a response to life experiences. An adaptive strategy to the underlying need for safety, love, and connection.

Scrutiny of others who are in anti-oppression work with us can appear to be a beneficial element of our collective culture. Our desire to build an alternative to supremacy culture seems so naturally to lead us to vigilance. And yet, many of us have seen how our drive to hold accountability in ourselves and others can create a form of relating that is at a minimum corrosive, and at worst, a way of operating that can impact mental health, livelihoods, and remove all possibility for creating a liberatory collective.

Healing from trauma is a profound and intricate process that extends far beyond mere catharsis or storytelling. It involves re-patterning our experiences and transforming how we hold them.

Understanding the dynamics of trauma and its consequences is crucial, especially when it comes to the narratives we share and consume.

Navigating stress and trauma requires self-awareness, trauma-informed approaches, and a critical examination of the damaging effects of trauma porn. By prioritizing healing and acquiring new resources, individuals can embark on a journey of recovery and resilience.

When is it time to focus on healing - processing stuck emotions and changing old patterns of behaviour - and when is it time to focus on “doing”?

The physical experiences of conflict are often overlooked but can be incredibly painful and stress-inducing. Working with the bodily responses that can come up during conflict allows us to access a deeper perspective around processing the conflict in a healthy way.

We recently caught up with Richard Strozzi-Heckler during his Master Class on The Art of Somatic Coaching. Here’s what he had to say about developing one’s skills as a somatic coach.

We recently caught up with the some of the faculty from our Mind-Body Coaching Certificate and asked them what advice they would offer to someone starting out their coaching journey.

Find out what they had to say….

We recently caught up with Richard Strozzi-Heckler during our One-Day Summit. Here’s what he had to say about the body as a domain of action, learning, and dignity.

We recently caught up with the some of the faculty from our Mind-Body Coaching Certificate and asked them what they find unique and exciting about the program.

Find out what they had to say….

We recently caught up with Richard Strozzi-Heckler during our One-Day Summit. Here’s what he had to say about the power of coaching and the mind-body connection.

Working with our triggers to re-tune our nervous system and re-write our story.

Part Two of Kai Cheng Thom’s explorative and empathic approach on the topic of Embodied Conflict Resolution.

We cannot practice embodiment without practicing awareness of who we are and where we come from, and we cannot practice conflict resolution without being aware of the metaphorical water in which we swim.
- Kai Cheng Thom