Internal Family Systems Therapy, Second Edition

4.8 4.8 out of 5 stars | 801 ratings

Price: 27.29

Last update: 01-31-2025


About this item

Now significantly revised with over 70 percent new material, this is the authoritative audio presentation of Internal Family Systems (IFS) therapy, which is taught and practiced around the world.

IFS reveals how the subpersonalities or parts of each individual's psyche relate to each other like members of a family, and how - just as in a family - polarization among parts can lead to emotional suffering. IFS originator Richard Schwartz and master clinician Martha Sweezy explain core concepts and provide practical guidelines for implementing IFS with clients who are struggling with trauma, anxiety, depression, eating disorders, addiction, and other behavioral problems. They also address strategies for treating families and couples. IFS therapy is listed in SAMHSA's National Registry of Evidence-Based Programs and Practices.

Internal Family Systems Therapyis deftly narrated by Brian Arens, a listener favorite.

Produced and published by Echo Point Books & Media, an independent bookseller in Brattleboro, Vermont.


Top reviews from the United States

  • Grace
    5.0 out of 5 stars Internal Family Systems Therapy
    Reviewed in the United States on September 18, 2024
    This book is very informative and interesting. This book first introduced me to Internal Family Systems Therapy and was very eye opening for me. Such an interesting read and I’ve learned so much from this book. I definitely recommend!
  • A Customer
    5.0 out of 5 stars Good update to the first edition....but should have kept the Case Example chapter
    Reviewed in the United States on November 2, 2020
    Good update to the first edition (includes some wrenchingly powerful details on the development of IFS, which are a teaching in themselves on not giving up on something you believe in), but I think it would have been even better had the authors kept the first edition Case Example chapter, which I think is invaluable for providing a fleshed-out overview of how IFS works. The remainder of this review is the same as my review of the first edition.

    This is a must-read for anyone wanting to understand their psychological world better. Prior to reading this, I had engaged in a fair amount of inner work....but this book, nevertheless, blew my mind. It is a very precise, safe, and powerful system for working with inner conflicts. It renders methodologies for working with inner critics that rely on the concept of the "super-ego" crude, clumsy, and inefficient, if not dangerous.

    Reading this book gave me the conceptual framework I needed to work effectively with an IFS therapist (I had been very resistant to the idea of "parts", which this book was instrumental in alleviating). Note, however, that as eye-opening as this book is on its own, it is not a substitute for working with a skilled IFS therapist (which has further blown my mind in ways I was not expecting even after reading this book).
  • Julie
    5.0 out of 5 stars This is the most important book to own and read for IFS
    Reviewed in the United States on September 29, 2021
    This book is truly a textbook in that it is chock full of important information, but it's written in a way that everyone can understand and it draws you along easily, yet each paragraph is it's own concentrated nougat of important information that I dont want to put down. Plenty of examples that are directly from therapy sessions, but the examples are not tiresome. This book is very well written and thought out and helpful.
  • SouthFloridaGirl
    5.0 out of 5 stars Very in-depth on Parts Therapy....
    Reviewed in the United States on December 29, 2020
    Definitely a book for therapists using Internal Family Systems, Parts work. I am a trained and certified Brainspotting Therapist, just recently, and have never used Parts work until a training in Brainspotting. When I went into my practicum as the client, WOW, my parts came out and I was overwhelmed at how quickly my younger parts came out and wanted to speak. Absolutely incredible. I decided this year when learning this that I immediately wanted to start using Parts work with my clients. This book, along with the original IFS book by Richard Schwartz and the workbook, are just ingenious and amazing. This particular book helped me to learn all I needed to learn about IFS and parts work in a limited amount of time to be able to immediately start using Parts work in Brainspotting therapy sessions with clients. It made me think back on sessions with clients that their parts were speaking/coming out and I wasn't addressing them. I am so excited to start using IFS/Parts work to allow clients to go even deeper into their psyche to address those deep brain issues that they so want to address. Great book!!!
  • Northwoods Jan
    5.0 out of 5 stars Love IFS
    Reviewed in the United States on October 10, 2022
    I have not started reading but wanted to give an excellent review to the seller: the book arrived quickly and was as stated! Regarding the book itself, I am familiar with Internal Family Systems (IFS) and just finished "No Bad Parts", Richard Schwartz's recent book. I ordered this book to dive deeper and, as a retired mental health therapist, I'm looking forward to learning more about this progressive and compassionate approach. The books are useful for self study though I agree with the author that deeper work, especially with more intense concerns, is best done with an IFS certified therapist.
  • Unknown
    5.0 out of 5 stars Enlightening book about human psychology.
    Reviewed in the United States on February 6, 2023
    Enlightening book about human psychology. It goes over parts theory and how those parts operate and how they can block you or others to uncover underlying trauma. This book is not necessarily for the curious only, as it is packed with a lot of information that goes in depth. People just curious should see his other book "No Bad Parts" that is geared for casual consumption or just the curious.
  • D.A.N.
    4.0 out of 5 stars Excellent content
    Reviewed in the United States on December 8, 2022
    I am finishing up Internal Family Systems Therapy, 2nd Edition (Kindle version). I am very impressed with the content which goes both deep and wide, is reflective and prescriptive, allowing me to really get a deeper feel for the value of IFS and how to use it in my own life. It is a handbook that is easy to stay connected with - at least that is my experience.

    *However the Kindle version needs to updated with a technical issue since highlighting is dysfunctional. It cannot be aimed where I want it! Once this is fixed, I am all in with 5 starts.
  • Kirsten Williams
    5.0 out of 5 stars Highly Recommended!
    Reviewed in the United States on May 24, 2023
    As a new therapist, this book is incredibly helpful. Easy to read.

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