Check out an independent recent article about IFS Therapy, referring to it as the "Revolutionary Treatment that Could Change Psychotherapy Forever," and explore new resources from the Foundation's "innervention" program.
The Foundation is proud to have hosted the July 2020 virtual panel “Innervening: Uncovering Legacy Burdens of Racism.” As part of its “innervention” series, this informative and engaging panel of IFS leaders and professionals delved deep into how racism can be explained and addressed by using the IFS model of parts and Self and looking inwards.
By understanding our parts and collective traumas we can identify what creates these unwanted feelings and thoughts while also providing a roadmap to overcoming them. Using these concepts helps us explore ways towards self-improvement and behavior during times of racial tension. At one point the moderator posed the following question, “What parts have been most activated in your system today given the current events in the societal calls for greater racial equity and justice?” This is a question worth exploring for all of us who seek to grow and evolve as individuals AND for those of us seeking to be an ally and contribute to the larger conversation about racial justice and equality.
The panel consisted of moderator Requina Barnes (LICSW) and panelists Chris Burris (LCMHCS, LMFT), Fatimah Finney (LMHC), Nancy Sowell (MSW, LICSW), and Deran Young (LCSW). The Foundation is grateful for their involvement and rich insights. As Executive Director, Toufic Hakim, PhD, who produced this event stated, “This is the sort of dialogue and exploration that we must be having these days as our inner systems and societal systems get activated and traumatized again and again.” He added: “It’s high time for personal and societal healing and regeneration. A requisite step to that desired outcome is mustering the personal and collective courage to face reality, take stock in our history with all its blemishes, and own our missteps along the way, be they unconscious or deliberate, with deep compassion and humility.”
The November 2020 issue of OUTLOOK also features more information on this panel and its panelists, including a detailed summary of the entire conversation. A recording of the panel can be found on the Foundation’s YouTube Channel.
With a unanimous and enthusiastic endorsement by its Board of Directors and staff associates, the Foundation for Self Leadership published a statement expressing firmly that it stands in solidarity with all of those across the world who are fighting for human rights, equality, and justice. The Foundation is deeply committed to supporting these essential human and societal ideals and operating in a way that espouses these values every day.
“It is important for us to double our efforts to promote a more peaceful, inclusive world while also aiding those are seeking to use the IFS model to improve their own lives along with the lives of those around them,” said Vicki McCoy, MA, Chair of the Board and Executive Director Toufic Hakim, PhD, on behalf of the organization. They echoed the essence of the statement, underscoring the belief that “each of us holds the right, as a breathing human, to think independently, speak freely, and be treated with dignity.”
The statement goes on to affirm that the Foundation for Self-Leadership “stands with our all brothers and sisters, of every color and creed, every background, identity and experience, who place love above hate and a strong desire to learn and understand before judgment and condemnation… with all those who proactively strive for equity, justice and peace and who desire to bring hope and be a light in the world that drives out the darkness.”
The Foundation is looking for new volunteers & Kelly Gaule begins her term as a board member.
The Foundation for Self Leadership is very pleased to announce that, following a rigorous independent review, it has approved the funding for a second study of IFS as a treatment of PTSD. This new large study will build on a previous pilot study of IFS and complex trauma, also funded by the Foundation through generous community support.
Referred to as Program for Alleviating and Resolving Trauma and Stress (PARTS Study), this rigorous Phase II randomized clinical trial will be formally launched on September 1, 2020. It will examine over the next two years IFS vs. a nature-based stress reduction program as a treatment for PTSD and opioid use. It will be conducted at the Harvard-affiliated Cambridge Health Alliance community mental health center in Massachusetts, USA.