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From the Board

Spring has finally bloomed! After a long winter of unprecedented snow accumulation, sunshine and smiles now blanket New England, where several IFS practitioners and myself reside. (To all our friends around the world enjoying or awaiting spring, we wish you internal bloom.)

No matter the season, however, our world is still in need of hope and healing. Those of us in the helping professions have dedicated our careers and lives to help our clients meet these needs, to make our world a better place for all. Along these lines, the Foundation’s mission is designed to raise our collective effort to the next level.

Many of us are repeatedly struck by commonly shared observations about IFS: that it provides, a non-pathologizing clinical intervention, an accelerated path to emotional healing and, a model of self-awareness. IFS has also been known for supporting access to a calmer state of being, and increasing awareness and compassion toward others. IFS invigorates our practice and empowers our clients. It promises deeper positive change inside ourselves and in our world. This is why the Foundation sees it as our purpose to help bring IFS to the world.

Together with you, the Foundation plans to support independent IFS-oriented research, help promote IFS both within and beyond psychotherapy, and increase access to IFS trainings through scholarships.

As highlighted in this new “Outlook” quarterly bulletin, which we are very pleased to launch, the Foundation has taken many strategic steps. My colleagues on the Board and I continue to meet very regularly and work collaboratively and diligently to build a robust operational infrastructure and initiate activities across a number of areas. Most importantly, we are supported by a core team of caring and committed volunteers who share our vision. To you, we are very grateful.

We see “Outlook” as a place where our community can stay engaged in the work of the Foundation, where you can share your news and stories about all things IFS, and where you can get involved with like-minded individuals who are interested in making a difference. Taking advantage of new technology platforms, “Outlook” too will grow as a community news vehicle. We hope you will find its updates informative and inspiring. We invite you to share with us your ideas and insights.

As always, the Foundation greatly appreciates your continued support in our shared endeavor. Together, our efforts will bring our local and global communities ever closer to a desired state of emotional healing and well-being.

Warmly,

frank Signature

Frank G. Anderson, MD


 Inward & 

Outward

RESEARCH NEWS

 research3

Fostering an environment in which clinicians engage with researchers to conduct IFS research in various settings and across various applications is one of the Foundation’s strategic priorities. This comes in the form of financial support where possible or in various other ways: cultivating research ideas and activities; providing educational and training opportunities around research; facilitating connections among researchers and skilled IFS practitioners; and/or helping to disseminate research developments and providing a forum for dialogue around research. It is within this context, that sharing news about research will be part of the Foundation’s ongoing communication strategy.


First Research Grant Awarded by the Foundation...

After an independent review, the Foundation Board approved a funding request for an IFS research study by the Trauma Center at Justice Resource Institute in Brookline, MA. The 11-month, $23,240 project, entitled “Pilot Intervention Study: IFS Therapy for the Treatment of PTSD and Complex Trauma” is a collaboration between the Center and a group of independent consultants.

The Trauma Center’s Hilary Hogdgon, PhD, serves as the study’s Principal Investigator and Wendy Hru- bec, LICSW, who leads the team of consultants, as project manager. The study, during which 15 subjects will receive 16 weekly, 90-minute IFS sessions by IFS-certified therapists, will examine through inde- pendent evaluators changes in symptom levels at pre-treatment, mid-treatment, post-treatment, and one-month follow-up. Assessment will be conducted on scales for PTSD, dissociation and depression, as well as self-regulation, self-compassion, and intero- ceptive awareness.

The study is in its second quarter and steadily progressing. Preliminary results will be shared at the 2015 IFS Conference.

New IFS Study in Substance Abuse in Progress...

Bringing his experience as a substance abuse treatment expert clinician to the Addiction Treatment Program of the University Alabama at Birmingham (which operates within the medical school’s teaching hospital), Tom McLure, MA, MEd, is currently preparing to launch a new research study on the efficacy of IFS in the treatment of substance abuse. The study will be supported by professor emeritus researcher Nick Stinnet, PhD, and IFS- trained psychotherapist Tara Harvill, MA, LMHC, LMFT. “At this preliminary stage, Tara and I suspect that our work will likely focus on opiate addiction,” says McClure. “We will consider specific interests in consultation with a research advisory council that we’ll assemble with input from the Foundation over the next couple of months. Working in the research-rich environment of UAB Medicine will afford us many research opportunities well into the future.”



Developing Basic Resources for IFS Research...

The Foundation has funded a comprehensive annotation project, through which a series of IFS-related publications will be reviewed, archived, and summarized. Key data about the publications and editorial comments regarding its research content will be provided. The intent is in the medium term for the results to be posted in an online searchable database.

Jennifer Matheson, PhD, LMFT, is leading this effort, assisted by Kristen Myshrall, a graduate student in Marriage and Family Therapy at Central Connecticut State University. The effort, which will eventually involve in one of its future phases a volunteer under the supervision of Matheson, will review a total of 136 publications identified at this stage, which include articles, chapters, books, and graduate theses.

 

IFS invigorates our practice and empowers our clients. It promises deeper positive change inside ourselves and in our world. This is why the Foundation sees it as our purpose to help bring IFS to the world.

IFS to be reviewed for listing on NREPP...

The joint application that the Foundation and the Center for Self Leadership submitted on behalf of IFS in 2014 to the National Registry for Evidence-based Programs and Practices (NREPP) of the U.S. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration was accepted for review. Having cleared the preliminary phase of the review pro- cess, the Foundation and the Center will await the next phase of the review during which independent reviewers will rigorously evaluate the “Quality of Research” and “Readiness for Dissemination” of the IFS model. “We are very pleased that the published results of our randomized controlled trial on the effects of an IFS-based intervention on outcomes in rheumatoid arthritis will serve as the basis for this NREPP review,” said Nancy Shadick, MD, MPH, member of the Foundation Board and author, with IFS therapists, Nancy Sowell, MSW, LICSW; Suzanne Hoffman, PsyD; Shelley Hartz, RN, CS; Fran Booth, LICSW; Martha Sweezy, PhD, LICSW; Paul Neustadt, LICSW, MSS; Rina Dubin, EdD, Lic Psy; Joan Atkinson, LICSW, DCSW; Amy Friedman, LICSW; Patricia Rogers, LICSW; and Fernando Augusto, PhD, of the peer-reviewed research paper. “The listing of IFS on NREPP would be a major milestone for the model and its clinical application; it is clearly one of many steps we need to take as we continue to foster independent research about its efficacy.”

Listing on NREPP provides the public and professional practitioners with detailed information about interventions that “promote mental health or prevent or treat mental disorders, substance abuse or substance use disorders.” Inclusion of an intervention is based on empirical findings that indicate statistically significant outcomes. The proof-of-concept research study indicated that IFS had a significant effect on improving depressive symptoms, self-compassion, and joint pain.

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Outlook psychotherapy

In
Psychotherapy

 

A strong presence for IFS at the Psychotherapy Networker...

IFS was again featured at the Psychotherapy Networker Symposium, considered the largest gathering of psychotherapists. In March 2015 in Washington, DC, IFS Founding Developer Richard Schwartz, PhD, was a featured speaker at the Symposium. The Chair of the Foundation, Frank Anderson, MD, and Mike Elkin, MA, LMFT (Lead IFS Trainer), conducted IFS-related workshops. Thanks to the generosity of the Center for Self Leadership, the Foundation was represented in the exhibit hall.

Links explored between IFS and Interpersonal Neurobiology...

As a part of an ongoing series of conversations comparing, contrasting, and linking IFS to other psychotherapy practices or developments in mindfulness or neuroscience, the Center for Self Leadership hosted a two-day forum in Boston in April 2015, led by Dick Schwartz and Dan Siegel, MD. The two authors and thought leaders examined connections between IFS and Interpersonal Neurobiology in a way that may be considered historic on many levels. A number of commonalities were explored and suggestions made regarding how neuroscience may validate the basic constructs of IFS.


Beyond Psychotherapy

Pixar’s “Inside Out” to be Pre-Screened for the IFS Community...

In collaboration with the IFSNewEngland group, represented by Suzanne Hoffman, PsyD; Gail Hardenbergh, LICSW; and Fran Booth, LICSW (all Certified IFS Therapists), the Foundation will be hosting a prescreening event of this new animation in the Boston area on June 17 at 6:30pm at the Showcase Cinema de Lux at Legacy Place Theater, in Dedham, MA. A reception will follow the event. Please visit FoundationIFS.org and, for those in New England, check your emails for further details.

inside out

When the film’s trailer was shown at the 2014 IFS Conference and other venues, it generated an enthusiastic response. The animated “emotion picture,” as the credits suggest, promises to be highly entertaining, showcasing “little voices in our heads.” The connection with elements of the IFS model is strikingly obvious. 

Inspired by this connection and interest in the community, the Foundation convened a planning team that worked for several months to explore and organize a collaborative event with Pixar and Disney. Conversations with Disney’s marketing group and some of the movie’s producers and directors at Pixar ensued. And the event became reality.

The trailer and the film’s social media campaign portray the characters the way the IFS model portrays “parts.” This begs a series of questions, which most of us are whispering to each other: How will the plot evolve? How will the parts end up behaving? Is there a wise Self in the script? We must curiously await the film’s release to discover more.

This initiative is consistent with the Foundation’s interest in promoting IFS to children and the lay public.


Efforts to develop an “IFS in Business” program initiated...

The applications of IFS continue to expand steadily outside the realm of psychotherapy. Many a practitioner, upon their own initiatives, have introduced IFS into their own professional settings, from health, life and executive coaching to team-building; and from legal mediation and education to counseling of prisoners before re-entry.

Among them, a growing number of IFS-trained or- ganizational consultants and business coaches have been meeting regularly via conference call since the 2012 IFS Conference to share applications of the IFS model, receive peer coaching, and build community. “I believe it’s important to pay attention to this tribe and nurture it with regular contact,” says Brian Jaudon, who has convened and moderated these calls with participants from the U.S. and Europe. “We’re all pioneers in our own way and yet it’s good to remember that we’re all connected in our respective endeavors in our desire to bring Self leadership to the business community.”

The theme for the January 2015 call focused on IFS in Governance. Foundation Board member Mark Milton continued a conversation he had started earlier about the need to bring IFS more broadly to inform decision making and governance, and the timeliness of exploring and co-creating training programs in that space around IFS. Inspired by his presentation, an international work group from the “IFS and Business” community has begun meeting to explore an IFS training for executives and business coaches. In addition to Milton, the following IFS coaches and practitioners (Certified IFS Practitioners among them identified by an asterisk) have been engaged in this effort: Kevin Cheesebrough, Captain, USN (Ret.), ACC; Isabel d’Arenberg; Emily Filloramo; Toufic Hakim, PhD; Mark Hurwich, MBA (*); Brian Jaudon; Gabor Karsai; Anna Tansi, MSOD; and Nadine Theimann, PhD, PCC (*).

Bringing IFS to the non-therapeutic world is important because “any leadership, within an organization or interpersonal relationships (family, friends, etc.), begins with the Self of a person leading the Parts,” explains Cheesebrough, who is now convening the group. “Leading from Self enables the social awareness of others’ Self and Parts that will produce the environment for relationship management and improved leadership effectiveness.”


We aspire to continue earning your trust for your continued support. As a nonprofit organization, the Foundation depends solely on it. Please donate at FoundationIFS.org/donate/make-a-donation.


Operational
Update

Thank you for your Generous Support...

The Foundation acknowledges the financial and moral support it has received from the Center for Self Leadership and the community. Many IFS practitioners, IFS workshop participants, and users of the model have expressed their interest in advancing the mission of the Foundation by offering to help in concrete ways and/or by making significant financial contributions. On behalf of the IFS community and the beneficiaries of the Foundation’s effort, the Board thanks each and every one of you.

During its first full year of operation, 2014, the independent not-for-profit Foundation received $46,375 in total donations, either through direct giving or through our Gala event, which was held at the Annual IFS Conference in November. There were 121 attendees at the 2014 Gala and an additional 59 donors. Gifts hovered around an average of $620 and the median stood at $120. There were several gifts of $5,000. Every member of the volunteer board and the CSL staff made donations. Some non-CSL-led training programs have also sent in voluntary contributions to the Foundation.

These gifts have made possible the awarding of the first research grant, the ongoing development of an IFS-publications database, and the building of basic elements of the operational infrastructure. The Foundation is now set up to accept gifts of equity stocks, and has accepted its first such gift. A planned giving program is currently being set up.

We send a very warm sincere THANK YOU to each and every donor, as we are profoundly grateful for your support.

Foundation Registered with AmazonSmile...

If you’re an Amazon.com customer, you may want to consider making all your online shopping through Smile.Amazon.com and, without any cost to you, support the Foundation. The Foundation for Self Leadership is on the list of charitable organizations on AmazonSmile Foundation’s list.

By simply going to Smile.Amazon.com, choosing the Foundation as a beneficiary of your Amazon shopping, and making all your future purchases through the AmazonSmile platform (exact same look and products), the AmazonSmile Foundation will contribute 0.5% of all your eligible purchases to our Foundation. It is simple, quick, and painless. These indirect donations pile up... and support IFS research and advocacy and, through them, the promotion of IFS. Please join many IFS friends who have already made this a habit.

Special Cheers to our Volunteers...

The work of IFS is carried out by thousands of trained IFS practitioners and dedicated IFS trainers and, maybe more importantly, the personalized practice of Self leadership that many more clients, patients, and interested individuals incorporate into their own lives and interactions with others. The promotion of IFS depends in large measure on their professional applications and intellectual contributions.

In a similar manner, the success of the Foundation will depend especially at this stage of its develop- ment, on the efforts of volunteers, many of whom have rallied to lend their skills and creative thoughts to the various activities of the Foundation, which is fortunate to have them on board. Members of the Team will be engaged in different activities and, exemplifying constructs of the IFS model, be encouraged to work collaboratively as would parts of a healthy system.

Jill Stanzler-Katz, LICSW, who has been a practicing psychotherapist, clinical supervisor and consultant for over 30 years, has agreed to coordinate this team of volunteers. Reflecting the enthusiasm that volunteers have frequently expressed, she is “thrilled to be a part of the growth and advancement of IFS” and “loves helping to create community and cultivating leadership within organizations.” She underscored her particular interest in helping to create more diversity within the IFS community by developing ways to bring IFS into organizations and agencies serving less-advantaged populations. Such an outcome is very consistent with the Foundation’s values and priorities for its envisioned IFS training scholarship program.

The Board appreciates their gracious commitment of time and effort. We recognize the tangible successes they have already brought our organization, and we anticipate an exciting future with their able leadership.

Our Team of Volunteers:
  • Board Meetings’ Support - Barbara Levine, LICSW and Certified IFS Therapist

  • Database & OUTLOOK - Michelle Glass

  • Foundation Symposium & Events at the Annual Conference - Laura Crandall, EdM; Pam Krause, LCSW and IFS Lead Trainer; and Jennifer Matheson, PhD, LMFT

  • Fundraising Events - Fran Booth, LICSW
    and IFS Assistant Trainer; Gail Hardenberg, LICSW; and Marilyn Unger-Reipe, LICSW

  • Mailing & Distribution - Carol Graybeal, MS, LCSW and IFS Assistant Trainer

  • Research Intake - Diane Cullum-Dugan, RD, LDN

  • Team Coordinator - Jill Stanzler-Katz, MSW, LICSW, BCD

  • Website and Technical Support - Grant Leitheiser, LMFT, NCC

  • Writing Support - Keren Fortier, MSW, LICSW; Karen Locke, MA; and Laura Taylor, JD 

New Foundation Senior Coordinators: Call for Nominations...

The Foundation is seeking nominations to appoint four Senior Coordinators to coordinate and help secure funding for select areas of priority: catalyzing independent research involving IFS, promoting the development of IFS-based programs beyond psychotherapy, and developing a scholarship program to increase access to IFS trainings. One of the Senior Coordinators will also be involved in coordinating fund and resource development for the Foundation. These Foundation Senior Coordinators will be selected by the Board for a period of 6 months, renewable, to coordinate and expand activity within these three areas.

Ideal candidates will have working familiarity with IFS; proven organizational, communication, and management skills; and good leadership traits. Senior Coordinators, who will engage in the work from their own setting, will receive a modest stipend, if financially feasible. Time commitment is flexible and may be customized, as their involvement will be outcomes-driven.

To nominate (self-nominations are welcome), please send the nominee’s full name and contact, and describe (in 500 words or less) why the Foundation should consider selecting the nominee based on the criteria above and for which area of priority, and how the nominee would positively contribute to the Foundation’s mission of advancing IFS research, advocacy, and training to info@FoundationIFS.org. The Board may request additional information from candidates before making its selections.


Invitation

Imagine...

Can you imagine a world where people, businesses, and communities across all walks of life, around the world, understood and applied the constructs of IFS as a framework for self-understanding and interaction with others? Bearing in mind the Foundation’s far-reaching vision, paraphrased on the left, what sort of world can you imagine? We would really like to know. Please share with us what you ENVISION. Write us at Outlook@FoundationIFS.org. We intend to compile and share this collective vision.

 

“The notion of Self Leadership—and through it, emotional healing—is supported by empirical evidence and widely accepted as a primary treatment modality or adjunct to other therapies; and known as a model of self-knowledge and a conflict-resolution framework to as many groups, organizations, and individuals as possible.”



About
OUTLOOK

Outlook is an occasional bulletin that the Foundation for Self Leadership will publish to share news relevant to IFS, the IFS community, and developments relating to the Foundation. It is not intended to appear solely and passively in the conventional print mode; rather, it is designed to interface with the Foundation’s social media and online platforms. Nor is it a venue for sending information out; it is envisioned more so as an attempt to generate discussions within the community around issues and ideas of general interest and great impact.

The ultimate purpose of OUTLOOK is to support the Foundation’s mission of promoting the notion and agency of Self leadership. By naming it OUTLOOK, we hope it stands as a reminder that IFS is at once an external as much as an internal peace-seeking model, while holding a far-reaching view of the future. The Foundation is grateful to Volunteer Michelle Glass and Advisor Toufic Hakim, who play key roles in its production.