Richard Schwartz — Healing The Self Article

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Richard Schwartz — Healing The Self

Psychologist Richard Schwartz is the co-author, along with Michael Nichols, of a book called Family Therapy: Concepts and Methods

Author: A Aaronson

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This book has been used across the country and around the world as an important tool to help mental health professionals learn to treat couples and family therapy with a deft hand using the latest research and education. While the book is important, Richard Schwartz himself would probably call Internal Family Systems (of which the book is an offshoot) his greatest professional accomplishment.

His brainchild, Internal Family Systems is a program that was developed after Richard Schwartz began evaluating many of the things his clients were telling him. Again and again, they spoke of their inner feelings and he began to notice a pattern developing. Many of his clients described feeling a strange branching inside, with some parts of themselves struggling against each other, with some of these parts exhibiting extreme behavior. He developed a theory that these many parts were controlled under normal circumstances by an overall consciousness. He called this consciousness the Self. However, when any of those parts felt as though their needs were not being met, the power balance was thrown out of whack and the Self no longer could maintain control.

Using the concepts behind IFS, he was able to make significant breakthroughs with a number of patients. Realizing that many health professionals could benefit from these concepts, he started the Center for Self Leadership. The Center is in Oak Park, Illinois and it is open to both mental health professionals and laymen interested in furthering their understanding of the mind and gaining control over their inner selves. There are three levels of training at the center, each of them field with workshops and classes that can help anyone come to a higher understanding of the principles and techniques behind the IFS system.

Besides having a large part in The Center for Self Leadership, he has taken his ideas on the road on a number of occasions, holding workshops and giving lectures at various locations around the world. For those individuals who would like to learn more about the IFS method but can’t afford or don’t have the opportunity to see Richard Schwartz in person, there are several other ways to get a good grasp on the methods. One of these is to read his books, which are filled with anecdotes and specific teachings. Another is to find and download podcasts of his recorded lectures, which lets you hear his system in his own words at a fraction of the cost.

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If you're interested in finding out more about Richard Schwartz, visit http://www.psychotherapynetworker.org.

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