Index

Self to Self

Vol 10 No 2

Be untiring in your work, but depend not on your own strength.  That would bring you limitation.  Look to the Great White Spirit for all your needs and for the release of that inner strength.  Be undaunted, be untiring, but depend not on yourself.

~~White Eagle from AThe Quiet Mind@, p51

I delight in seeing IFS healing spring up right in my back yard.   Double delight arose when I visited my former back yard in Newberg, Oregon, where I had lived 30 years ago.  Hazelden Springbrook, a residential chemical dependency campus, has sprung up there.  While resting on those hills where I once enjoyed daily walks, I suddenly found myself looking through both of my major psychology lenses at the same time.  One lens developed during my first decade out of graduate school as I trained my eye on the addictions treatment arena.  The following decade evolved into an intensive looking within and without using the Internal Family Systems (IFS) lens.  There, at the foot of Chehalem Mountain in my actual former back yard where Hazelden Springbrook is now situated, I gazed through both lenses at once.  It felt like turning the tiny ridges of the focus wheel on binoculars to suddenly zoom in on a soaring eagle.  How natural for the wings of IFS and Twelve Step based addictions treatment to lift recovering people to new heights.

Down to earth and back home in Madison, Wisconsin, I landed with a vision of integrating IFS and the Twelve Steps.  Practical sharing with several generous IFS therapists already working with recovering addicts was my next action.  Their groundbreaking work continues to be so supportive as I explore group therapy integrating the IFS model with addiction treatment.   IFS trained Henning von Bauer and Catholic Charities in Madison, Wisconsin, enthusiastically opened their doors for our pilot group.  In February 2005, Henning and I introduced the IFS model to a small group of men and women who arrived to "jumpstart their recovery and clear emotional burdens" as we had advertised in a community brochure.

The "forming" stage of our twelve week IFS Addictions group flew quicker than I had forecast.  Checking in and speaking for parts which were present in the here and now led, over the next weeks, to checking in for parts noticed between sessions.   Parts mapping emerged cogently and clearly in the flow.

The biggest challenge of the weekly group's "storming" stage seemed to be triggering around members experiences and expectations lingering from former treatments and self help groups.   One woman declared she would quit the group immediately if we did not allow "crosstalk."  Another feared at first that the group might undermine her Alcoholics Anonymous recovery program.  She informed the group with commitment that she would walk out if her AA program was not supported.

Beginnings of the group "norming" stage fell into place as we used the trigger flash points to slow down, check inside, and speak for parts about these fears.  Henning and I met before and after each group to prepare mini lectures on ways the IFS model and recovery programs strengthened Self leadership.  We explored Self-led sponsorship, ways a Twelve Step program supports unburdening, and other recovery topics as they surfaced.  The "performing" stage of the Addictions Recovery Group shaped into a pattern which group members came to rely on.   After checking in and group support the remainder of the two hour sessions branched into one of two routes:  Fish bowl with compassionate witness for individual work with one of the group co-leaders, or, going inside as a group with a leader guiding and working with parts.  The group debriefs were rich with questions, learning opportunities, and speaking for parts.  All participants deepened in understanding of their inner worlds, the unburdening process, and how Self leadership and Self-led recovery work.

The Addictions Recovery Group members unanimously opted to "re-form" after the twelve weeks were completed.  It is a small group where Henning and I renew our commitment to keep it simple and provide quality IFS therapy.   We can see that the Internal Family Systems model has the potential to increase effectiveness of treatment for chemical dependency and process addictions.    I feel particular excitement about the restorative power of Self-leadership work in Twelve Step based therapy groups.   I want to see the serenity and Self-leadership which the Addictions Recovery Group is cultivating in our back yard spread to back yards all over the country.  My vision is to make this work available to many.

The next step in integrating IFS and The Twelve Steps in chemical dependency treatment groups is to run a clinical exploration in a residential setting.   I am working with The Center For Self Leadership to secure seed grant funding for residential research.  IFS interns and volunteers with an interest in addictions treatment are invited to join the team.  Residential chemical dependency treatment centers supportive of IFS therapy are welcome to contact Suzan McVicker at 608. 255. 9119 x3 or suznews@chorus.net 

Suzan McVicker, MA, LPC, is currently an IFS trainer based in Madison, Wisconsin. One of the IFS case consultation groups she leads has an addictions focus. Suzan served as clinical and program director for a decade in chemical dependency programs in the Chicago area. She also volunteered many years on state level providers committees and in prevention work in Illinois.