In this episode, I am joined by Internal Family Systems (IFS) therapy expert Cece Sykes, LCSW. IFS has changed my life, my relationships, how I coach and how I continue on my own path to recovery, self-discovery and never-ending growth.

🔑IFS therapy is the key that will unlock your inner world.

🎥 ⁠WATCH the EXTRA 17 MIN. THERAPY DEMO VIDEO HERE!⁠

This episode includes...

3:30 - Cece's bio

6:00 - Cece's background8:28 - How she found IFS (psst. 🤫 in Chicago with IFS creator Richard Schwartz, Ph.D)

13:30 - Core Assumptions - the IFS fundamentals17:30 - What is childhood trauma - an illustration

24:10 - The Polarization Cycle of Addictive Behaviors - Soothe, Shame, Repeat

28:09 - Breaking Free from Patterns

30:10 - Addiction and the Brain - Creating New Neuropathways

32:00 - Compassion and Grace

40:00 - Mission Statement of IFS

40:50 - Attachment Disruption

41:55 - Doing the Work Alone and w/ Support

LINKS

🎥 WATCH the THERAPY DEMO VIDEO HERE!

🤫 5 Easy Steps to Quiet Your Inner Critic - Free Guide

🚺 CAVE Club - 30-Day Free Trial!

💻 Wendy Tamis Robbins - Learn More

➡️ Cece Sykes Website

🔐 IFS Institute Website

BIO: Cece Sykes, an LCSW, saw her first client forty-six years ago. Initially trained as a structural-strategic family therapist, Cece spent the next twelve years working in Chicago with families affected by abuse, neglect and addiction. Her focus included treating adult trauma survivors and eating disordered clients, providing individual, couples and group treatment.

During this time Cece provided workshops and training on family therapy and trauma treatment at the Institute for Juvenile Research, the Department of Children and Family Services, The Family Institute at Northwestern and many other mental health agencies. She co-authored a chapter on family treatment with incest-impacted families in the late 1980's.

In 1992, Cece opened her private practice, treating adults, couples and families. She also taught experiential psychology seminars for women at Governors State University for five years and for three years was adjunct faculty at the Jane Addams School of Social Work at the University of Illinois in Chicago.

Cece expanded her clinical focus to include the Internal Family Systems (IFS) model of psychotherapy in the late 1990's. She is a Senior Trainer for the Internal Family Systems Institute and beginning in 2004 led level one, two and three IFS training programs across the country and internationally. Cece contributed a chapter on IFS approaches to treating addictive processes, titled “An IFS Lens on Addiction: Compassion for Extreme Parts,” in the 2016 book Innovations and Elaborations in Internal Family Systems Therapy. 

In 2023, Internal Family Systems Therapy for Addictions was published, a best-selling manual co-authored by Cece, IFS author Martha Sweezy, and IFS founder Richard Schwartz on how to use the IFS model to understand and treat addictive processes.

Another component of Cece's work is the intersection of psychotherapy with spirituality. She has worked with  a wide range of spiritual practices, from Zen communities to groups with traditional religious beliefs and also twelve-step followers on how to fold their vision of the inner spirit into the practice of psychotherapy. 

After decades spent in the field, Cece developed an interest in the impact of psychotherapy upon the life story of the clinician. She created and leads the Heart Lessons of the Journey workshops, exploring the personal narratives of psychotherapists across the globe.

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