Internal Family Systems

Psychotherapist Salvador Minuchin developed the concept of enmeshment to characterize family systems with weak, poorly defined boundaries. The entire family may work to prop up a single ... Read More

When you make a mistake, how do you react? Are you overly critical? Do you always blame yourself, even for the smallest mistakes? That’s your inner critic talking. The inner critic is ... Read More

Why do people develop addictions and compulsions? In general, their psychological purpose is to push out of conscious awareness anything disturbing. The unconscious mind knows how deeply ... Read More

In my last article, I described two therapeutic models, dialectical behavioral therapy (DBT) and acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT), that are useful for addressing eating and food ... Read More

I am half way through the year-long Level 1 of the Internal Family Systems (IFS) training. IFS is a psychotherapeutic modality used for helping people and their therapists understand and ... Read More

Oh no, another couple you know is getting a divorce! Do you think it’s contagious? Are you worried that break-ups are like a virus you could catch? It’s true that if you already have ... Read More

Lots of people hope for compromise in their relationship. Compromise is great when it happens; there is an easy flow, and both partners feel happy with the results. Nobody feels like they ... Read More

Relationships with our co-workers and bosses can really affect our lives! When they go well our lives are enriched. When they are difficult, we and our families can suffer. At work, the ... Read More

If you are in a multicultural marriage, you know how hard communication can be. Whether it’s about: • In-laws: how much influence and involvement they have • Privacy: how many people ... Read More

New York Times columnist, David Brooks, was recently inspired by the movie, Where the Wild Things Are. He wonders if we are one person, with an ingrained, stable character—or are we different ... Read More

Hopefully the ideas and exercises in this book have been helpful to you, and you feel confident that you can improve your relationship. Or perhaps you feel that you and your partner could ... Read More

When I began training in Internal Family Systems Therapy (IFS) several years ago, my whole life became a story of healing. I was drawn to the IFS model after reading Richard (Dick) Schwartz’s ... Read More