Playful Parts: The Intersection of Play Therapy and Internal Family Systems (IFS) – Carmen Jimenez Pride

Playful Parts: The Intersection of Play Therapy and Internal Family Systems (IFS) – Carmen Jimenez Pride

Description:

When kids experience trauma or other negative life events such as abuse, neglect, bullying, racism, violence, or educational difficulties, they often hold powerful negative beliefs about themselves, such as “I’m broken”, “I’m unlovable”, or “It was my fault”.

As a therapist, you know that play is a child’s natural language for expressing emotions, processing experiences, and resolving internal conflict. But did you know that you can expand this work further by incorporating Internal Family Systems (IFS) therapy into your session? By weaving the essence of IFS, parts work, with play therapy interventions, you can help kids conceptualize themselves and their experiences in a healthier way.

Watch Carmen Jimenez-Pride, LCSW, RPT-S, and Certified IFS Therapist, as she expertly pairs the therapeutic power of play with the non-pathologizing, flexible approach of IFS. Through expert explanation and demonstration, Carmen will teach you how to integrate these two powerful therapy methods so you can help young clients:

Release shame as they explore and make sense of their internal sensations and experiences
Give voice to all their “parts”, none of which are bad or wrong
Express and process painful emotions, urges, and memories without assigning blame or shame to them
Unhook from distressing beliefs about themselves and their experiences
Enhance social relationships, foster emotional wellness, and build on personal strengths
Develop cognitive flexibility and reframe self-doubt
And so much more!
Outline:

The Internal Family System (IFS) Treatment Model

Foundational assumptions of the approach
IFS concepts and terms
Differentiate between managers, firefighters, and exiles
Commonalities with other systems approaches
Therapeutic benefits of parts work
Cultural competence and humility
No Bad Parts: The IFS Process

The 6 F’s – how to identify and understand protective parts
Recognize and honor the role of each part
The 8 C’s – qualities of self-energy and their role in IFS
The non-pathologizing essence of IFS
Understanding your own parts as the therapist
CLINICAL APPLICATIONS OF IFS & PLAY

The Therapeutic Powers of Play Meets IFS

Why play therapy model lends itself seamlessly to IFS treatment outcomes
How IFS and play help access and heal wounded parts
Talk to kids about their internal world from IFS perspective
Relationship between protective parts and exiles
Exploring parts with external representation in play therapy
Limitations of the research, potential risks
Putting IFS into Practice Utilizing Play Therapy Techniques

Sandtray therapy – bringing the internal to the external
Expressive arts – giving language and expression to experiences and parts
LEGO® – based therapy – from internal to 3D
Bibliotherapy – literature to express and understand the internal system
Non-directive play – staying core to the experiential concept of IFS and letting parts speak for themselves
And more!
NLP online course

So what is NLP?
Firstly, NLP stands for Neuro-Linguistic Programming. Secondly neuro refers to your neurology;
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NLP is a set of tools and techniques, but it is so much more than that.
In conclusion, It is an attitude and a methodology of knowing how to achieve your goals and get results.