Dr. Richard Schwartz transformed my life. I know that's a bold claim. But if I had to locate the single experience that's had the most profound and lasting impact in my work and life, it was the week I spent studying with Dr. Schwartz.
He is the founder of Internal Family Systems, a pioneering model of psychotherapy that has become widely used, particularly when dealing with trauma. It is the most hopeful, respectful, and non-invasive modality for healing I've ever encountered.
While working as a family therapist he discovered that his clients - many of whom were dealing with intense trauma, eating disorders, or self-harming behaviors - did not find the relief he thought they would through traditional family therapy. He learned his patients were burdened by what they called “parts.” Parts of themselves that made them do things, berated them, made them panic, and resisted efforts to live life differently.
What emerged over decades of working with these patients was a model for human nature that is completely different than what most of us have grown up with; particularly here in the US, in a culture that celebrates rugged individualism and short-changes emotional, mental, cultural, and racial diversity.
The truth is that we carry many lives inside of us. We are not singular. We are not isolated and alone. We contain multitudes. And each of us, at our core, has a Self that is infinitely courageous, compassionate, and capable. To understand how to live in Self and how to heal your selves is to realize a profound shift in who, what, and how you are. From there, whole new worlds of possibility begin to open up.
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EPISODE #20 NOTES
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Spiritual Bypass
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