Somatic Internal Family Systems Therapy: Awareness, Breath, Resonance, Movement and Touch in Practice

Susan McConnell

Sep 2020 · North Atlantic Books

About this ebook

Discover the innovative intersection of somatic therapy and Internal Family Systems (IFS), featuring 5 core practices to transform modern therapeutic approaches.

Enhance your clinical practice and patient outcomes by skillfully uniting body and mind through an evidence-based therapeutic modality—endorsed by leaders in the field, including Richard Schwartz.

Somatic Internal Family Systems Therapy introduces a cutting-edge therapeutic modality that merges the elements of somatic therapy, such as movement, touch, and breathwork, with the established principles of the Internal Family Systems (IFS) model. Authored by Susan McConnell, this multifaceted approach is crafted for therapists, clinicians, somatic practitioners, mental health professionals, and anyone interested in innovative healing techniques. A valuable contribution to mental health treatment, this guide offers a new horizon for those engaged in the well-being of others.

This comprehensive, bestselling guide presents:

• 5 core practices: somatic awareness, conscious breathing, radical resonance, mindful movement, and attuned touch, designed for seamless integration into therapeutic work.
  
• Strategies to apply these practices in addressing a range of clinical conditions including depression, trauma, anxiety, eating disorders, chronic illness, and attachment disorders.
  
• Techniques to assist clients in identifying, understanding, and reconciling their 'inner worlds' or subpersonalities, leading to improved emotional health and behavior.
  
• A compelling combination of scientific insights, experiential practices, and real-world clinical stories that illuminate the theory and application of Somatic IFS.
  

Highly regarded mental health professionals, such as IFS founder Richard Schwartz, have applauded this essential guide. By weaving together holistic healing wisdom, modern neuroscience, and somatic practices expertise, this book serves as a crucial resource for psychotherapists across various disciplines and laypersons seeking an embodied self.

About the author

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.