Using IFS Therapy Skills with individuals and families caught within the cycle of addiction

Do you have clients who arrive at your office and desperately want to stop drinking or gambling or, clients who want their loved one to stop using drugs or other addictive behaviours? It can feel like you are going in circles, with your therapist parts anxiously responding to the urgency of the clients’ desire for physical and relational wellbeing. 

Traditionally working with addiction has focused on ceasing the use of substances or actions driving the addictive process. Embracing IFS thereapy will allow clinicians to recognize that the parts engaged with the addictive process have positive intent so rather than eliminating them, we seek to assist them to find preferred ways of doing their job.  

This modality can help identify the web of parts triggered by the personal, social and moral issues surrounding addictive behaviours. By helping people understand how their parts are protecting both inner and outer family systems IFS therapy can decrease the shame and reactivity of the cycle of addiction. Utilizae IFS therapy as a way to help clients reconnect with core values and their innate capacity to “Self”-regulate rather than relying on somebody else to change. 

This presentation will reveal how to use traditional AOD tools such as “the stages of change” to scaffold the IFS thereapy process. It will also explore how different therapeutic modalities can help clients identify different parts. Finally, the presentation will explore how to use IFS therapy when working within institutions that have mandatory processes such as “suicide safety plans” or standardized comprehensive AOD assessments in place. 

This product is not endorsed by, sponsored by, or affiliated with the IFS Institute and does not qualify for IFS Institute credits or certification.