Richard Schwartz

This week on Comes A Time Oteil and Mike welcome forward-looking psychotherapist, Richard Schwartz, onto the show. You’ll hear the guys talk about the genesis and benefits of Richard’s Internal Family Systems model of psychotherapy, different religious interpretations of the “Self,” and the importance of listening to negative parts of yourself instead of ignoring them. Richard also walks Oteil through an exercise to help him sort out his “negative” internal parts, and fills the guys in on practical tips on finding higher versions of themselves, while detailing the developmental process and applications of IFS. Richard Schwartz began his career as a family therapist and an academic at the University of Illinois at Chicago. There, he discovered that family therapy alone did not achieve full symptom relief and in asking patients why, he learned that they were plagued by what they called “parts.” These patients became his teachers as they described how their parts formed networks of inner relationships that resembled the families he had been working with. He also found that as they focused on and thereby separated from their parts, they would shift into a state characterized by qualities like curiosity, calm, confidence and compassion. He called that inner essence the Self and was amazed to find it even in severely diagnosed and traumatized patients. From these explorations the Internal Family Systems (IFS) model was born, and since then it’s grown into an evidence-based, widely-used form of psychotherapy. It provides a non-pathologizing, optimistic, and empowering perspective and a practical and effective set of techniques for working with individuals, couples, families, and more recently, corporations and classrooms.  ----------- *DISCLAIMER: This podcast does NOT provide medical advice. The information contained in this podcast is for informational and entertainment purposes only. No material in this podcast is intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified healthcare provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition or treatment and before undertaking a new health care regimen* ----------- Visit SunsetlakeCBD.com and use the promo code TIME for 20% off premium CBD products Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices