Applying somatic principles to the Internal Family Systems model
Somatic Internal Family Systems Therapy introduces a new therapeutic modality that blends principles of somatic therapy—like movement, touch, and breathwork—with the traditional tools of the Internal Family Systems framework. Broadening the benefits and applications of the IFS model, author Susan McConnell introduces 5 core practices that mental health professionals can apply to their practice: somatic awareness, conscious breathing, radical resonance, mindful movement, and attuned touch. Clinical applications include the treatment of depression, trauma, anxiety, eating disorders, chronic illness, and attachment disorders.
Within the IFS framework, clients will learn to identify their "inner worlds"—the discrete subpersonalities within each of us that hold emotions, perceptions, and belief systems, and that affect our behavior and emotional wellness. Body-based somatic tools are incorporated into therapy as patients learn to recognize different facets of their internal family and reconcile the needs of subpersonalities—like their inner child or internal manager—to bring more harmony to their physical and emotional well-being.
ISBN-13: 9781623174880
Media Type: Paperback
Publisher: North Atlantic Books
Publication Date: 09-22-2020
Pages: 320
Product Dimensions: 5.90(w) x 8.90(h) x 0.90(d)
SUSAN MCCONNELL, senior trainer for the Center for Self Leadership, has taught Internal Family Systems (IFS) in the U.S. and internationally since 1997. Somatic IFS, which McConnell developed in 2004, is a synthesis of her forty years of study, teaching, and clinical practice with bodywork, psychotherapy, and spiritual practices. McConnell holds a Master's Degree with an emphasis on Somatic Psychology, and is a Certified Internal Family Systems Therapist and a Certified Hakomi Therapist. She was also instrumental in curriculum development for IFS trainings and, as a Hakomi faculty member, for a training for bodyworkers using the Hakomi Method to explore through touch the way mind, body, heart, and spirit weave together to form the client's experiential world. McConnell has had a private practice since 1983 in Chicago, where she offers bodymind integration and consultation.
Table of Contents
Foreword ix
Acknowledgments xi
Introduction My Journey to Integrate Mind and Body 1
Chapter 1 Introduction to Somatic IFS and the Practices That Lead to Embodied Self 19
Chapter 2 Somatic Awareness: Reading the Body Story 61
Chapter 3 Conscious Breathing: Integrating Inner and Outer Worlds 93
Chapter 4 Radical Resonance: Potentiating Relational Realms 127
Chapter 5 Mindful Movement: Restoring the Flow 175
Chapter 6 Attuned Touch: Exploring the Power of Ethical Touch 213
Chapter 7 Embodied Self: The Internal System Embodied 255
Notes 293
Index 299
About the Author 307
