Focus Within Newsletter Archives

Quote of the Month
If you consider your thoughts, emotions, urges, and impulses to be coming from an inner landscape that's best understood as a kind of internal family, populated by subpersonalities, many of whom are childlike and suffering, then it makes more sense to take that next step of comforting and holding these inner selves rather than just observing and objectifying them.
~Richard Schwartz

In this newsletter, we give you a taste of the ways that IFS is very different from traditional eating disorders treatment. Just at we cope best with changable weather by acknowledging Mother Nature's whims rather than trying to fight them, in IFS work we get to know a client's system as it is thus allowing it to shift.

This Month's video is a conversation between Diana and me.

And here is a Meditation of Diana's that guides you to settle in and connect your body and your Self.

“For fast-acting relief, try slowing down.” – Lily Tomlin

This month's newsletter focuses on pacing. We offer a taste of pacing:

1. In our sessions
2. In phasing in parts work as we learn the IFS model
3. In developing a keener parts detector within ourselves
4. In merging eating disorder work with IFS

One of the questions we hear most often is "How do I do parts work if I'm doing eating disorder therapy?" It can seem that the timing to include both in one session seems elusive - how to merge the two? One key point to remember is we were trained to do clinical nutrition in our ED work. Many of us never received quality counseling education so we developed skills on our own.

This month's video will inspire you to slow down, allow curiosity to be present, and demonstrates effective ways to blend IFS and clinical needs. Slow is faster. Stay with parts longer, flesh more deeply. This builds and develops longer lasting trust between you and your client and your clients and their parts. Molly's meditation will guide you toward your inner sanctuary, the place where you are neutral and most helpful, and help you identify parts of you that get in the way of counseling.

This month's taste of IFS: Pacing and Using IFS in Clinical Settings
Ready to try out parts language? Eager to reflect parts to your client that your inner parts detector noticed? All set to guide your clients in insight?
Join Diana as she outlines types of pacing in a parts work session. Disclaimer: She/her pronouns were used in the video for ease in recording only.

Accompany Molly in this meditation you can drop into prior to a session. It will also give you ideas for how to slow down when you are feeling off kilter, or overwhelmed in the middle of a session (or anytime, really!)

“In the midst of winter I found there was within me an invincible summer.”
~ Albert Camus

This is a short shout-out to let you know of a couple of publications that may be helpful on your IFS journey.

I (Diana) was interviewed last month by Dr. Kim Daniels on The Emotional Eating (and Everything Else) Podcast on how I infuse the IFS model with nutrition clients. We had a really good time discussing that we'd both started our practices steeped in diet culture, she as a bariatric surgery therapist and I as clinic manager of an academic medical weight management center, and how we swung the complete opposite way before landing in the middle. I hope you enjoy it (link below)!

Secondly, Diana has a published chapter outlining her story of finding her nutrition career and then blending IFS into the mix. It describes many of the fears dietitians have about moving into therapeutic spaces with clients when we're taught the exact opposite! Do enjoy that as well as other non-therapy ways of bringing healing into the world in Freeing Self: IFS Beyond the Therapy Room.

This month's taste of IFS:  The Power of Self to Heal Our Parts

Dick Schwartz, the developer of the IFS model, shares in a 19-minute video the power of Self energy to heal the wounds of our young parts. It's a clear and succinct description bound to entice you to learn more!

"In the beginner’s mind there are many possibilities, in the expert’s mind there are few."    ~ Suzuki

This newsletter was written to offer a way for you to move through thoughts, concerns, and worries toward a calmer state. Molly's video speaks toward the parts of us, such as concern for world affairs, that detract from our work, urgent parts that distract us in an attempt to alleviate fears we have for clients. Imagine your severely restricting client and a part of you that lovingly enforces refeeding - your client may rebel. Or offering creative ways to throw off an upcoming binge. We think we are being helpful with solutions - we aren't. Resistance, yes'ing the clinician, and dissociation are all parts clients use to deflect your ideas.

It's helpful to sit in meditation or a quiet settling to bring forth your inner compass that's often been hidden in our apprehension. Invite one of the 6 C's demonstrated in the IFS model: Curiosity, Calm, Clarity, Creativity, Compassion, Courage, Connection and Confidence to fill your body and mind. In this capacity, you best serve your client and yourself.

This month's taste of IFS  Who's Running the Show?

Molly shares here what we call 'therapist parts.' These get in our way in client sessions. Parts of us can block our flow, have us lead with an agenda that shuts down clients, and can get too preachy and teacher-like. She shares how to listen with care to guide clients toward clarity in their personal decisions related to food and body.

You may find yourselves in professional transitions, perhaps eager to learn more, and opting to add to our current knowledge base of CPT, DPT, Motivational Interviewing, and ACT by delving into IFS. You're in the right place for that first step!

We invite you to watch Diana’s video on welcoming all the parts your client brings in to a session. Molly offers a meditation you can use prior to a client session. It encourages your parts to relax and allow more of your Self energy to be present. You are welcome to use these resources for yourself and/or with clients as you see fit.

This month we also share a complete and straight forward introduction to Internal Family Systems via a webinar with Dick Schwartz and Rich Rolls that includes a wonderful demonstration of the model at the end. In this demo, you'll witness hesitant parts, resistant parts, unsure parts, and how the IFS model allows space for these and all parts!

Quote of the Month
You are more than the sum of your parts. Aristotle

Here is Diana's video on welcoming a client's parts.

And Molly's meditation for prior to a client session.

Rick Rolls podcast with Dick Schwartz describing the IFS model and working with Rick's parts.

This month we focus on helping you be in the space of presence with clients instead of dread, uncertainty or worry, that 'uh-oh, that client again' mode.

We invite you to watch Diana’s video on unblending your own parts in relation to clients so that you are in the space of receiving vs managing your client's story. Molly offers a meditation for that to happen. You are welcome to use these resources for yourself and/or with clients.

Quote of the month
Originally, the word heal meant to "make whole whole" or "to save." When we heal any level of a human system, we bring its scattered and polarized members back in to harmony so as to make the system whole again.

A Taste of IFS Video with Diana talking about our parts

A Meditation to prepare for a session

Here is a funny IFS-informed to start the day, "If My Brain Had a Morning Meeting"

This month we focus on helping clients map their parts as they present in session. When clients draw or write their parts on a piece of paper, it invites the parts to externally unblend and their energy settles down a bit. This leaves more room inside for the client's Self energy to have a meaningful dialogue with the parts.

We invite you to watch Molly’s video on mapping the parts of a system as well as a YouTube video describing IFS in Disney’s Encanto. Diana offers a meditation for parts mapping. You are welcome to use these resources for yourself and/or with clients.

As always, reach out with questions and thoughts!

Quote of the Month
There are parts that will tell us that it’s weak and too exposing to show others our true needs. The truth is that genuine strength can only come when we communicate from Self. When we do, others will sense the power in our vulnerability. ~Richard Schwartz

A 5 minute video with Molly speaking to the IFS concept of parts mapping - this offers our clients a way of connecting with and keeping track of their parts more clearly.

A guided meditation to map your parts.

Disney's Encanto Through an IFS Lens

The topic of this, our second newsletter for nutrition professionals interested in the Internal Family Systems model of counseling, is about bringing clearer sight to our clients awareness, who may be blended with feelings and beliefs of the parts of them involved with food and activity choices.

What is “blending”?

Blending is when a part of us merges with and becomes identical to Self. The part feels in control and that they are all of us. When blended, parts control our thoughts, feelings, and physical body sensations. Parts are in control and Self is obscured.

What is “unblending”?

Unblending is when the part feels the connection to our Self-energy. It may feel more spaciousness and expansive in the body so there is more room for Self-energy to flow in the system. Parts are able to unblend when it feels safe enough for them to do so. In the presence of Self, parts can relax.

In our work with disordered eating and eating disorder clients, we see blending all the time. We hope you enjoy the video we've made explaining this unblending process and the meditation for finding a critical part of you inside.

Quote of the Month
The clarity of Self gives you a kind of X-ray vision, so you see behind the other person’s protectors to their vulnerability, and in turn your heart opens to them. ~ Richard C. Schwartz

This month's taste of IFS: IFS RD-Richards-3-6-23

This is a  seven-minute video with Diana speaking to how the IFS concept of Unblending offers our clients a way of deeper understanding through clarity.

A Meditation-IFS-RD-Critical- to notice a critical part

Welcome to the first edition of a newsletter for nutrition professionals interested in the Internal Family Systems model. Each month, you'll receive either a video showing real time RD challenges using IFS skills and concepts as a solution or other snippets on how we use IFS in our work. We will share interesting quotes from leaders in the IFS world and a meditation to help guide you into the brilliant inner world of you (the best way to learn the model)!

A little about us: Molly and Diana have been registered dietitians for years. Molly added licensed clinical social worker to her boxes of hats and Diana added yoga teacher to her history of group exercise teacher and personal trainer. We independently found IFS, have staffed many IFS trainings, and together committed to bring IFS to our fellow nutrition professionals - dietitians and therapists alike - via Intro to IFS workshops and this newsletter.
We both have cats and grandchildren, love delicious food, walking outside and yoga. Molly is also a cyclist; Diana's too scared to bike in Boston!

We are delighted to be here with all of you and welcome questions and comments!
Warmly,
Molly and Diana

"In a Self-led system, the different parts maintain their separateness while communicating and collaborating with each other, while the Self conducts the inner orchestra."
IFS Institute

This month's taste of IFS video: When a Client Changes Goals
A five-minute video with Molly demonstrating how the IFS concept of Polarizations helps us understand a confusing client situation.

Path Meditation with Diana