IFS (Internal Family Systems) Health Therapy: Treating Trauma-Related Physical Illness & Toxic Stress

Many chronic health conditions—from inflammation and digestive disorders to metabolic syndrome and autoimmune diseases—are increasingly linked to the lasting effects of chronic stress and trauma. But how do these experiences become embedded in the body, and how can we help?

In IFS (Internal Family Systems) Health Therapy , Nancy Sowell, in collaboration with Martha Sweezy and IFS founder Richard Schwartz, draws upon thirty years of clinical practice and behavioral medicine experience to present a groundbreaking mind-body approach that views protective and vulnerable inner “parts” as key drivers of physical health concerns. From this perspective, relief emerges as clients support these internal parts and release trauma-related burdens.

Through vivid case examples, experiential exercises, and practical tools, clinicians will learn how to use a clear three-phase framework to:

• Understand how trauma and chronic stress contribute to illness
• Conduct an IFS-informed health therapy assessment
• Identify and befriend protective parts that affect physical symptoms
• Help vulnerable parts release trauma-related burdens
• Collaborate with other health professionals to support whole-person care

Adversity can alter a person’s mind and body, but it does not extinguish the Self’s capacity to heal. This book equips you with the tools to support that capacity.

Nancy Sowell, LICSW, is an IFS senior trainer, consultant, and speaker who teaches internationally and in the US and maintains an IFS health therapy practice. She is a Harvard Medical School teaching associate at the Center for Mindfulness and Compassion at the Cambridge Health Alliance, where she has served for many years as a clinical consultant and IFS trainer. Her work integrates personal history, mindful awareness of the body, emotions, thoughts, and deeply held beliefs that influence our mood, behavior, relationships, and health. As the Behavioral Medicine program manager in the Division of Rheumatology, Immunology, and Allergy at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, she co-created an IFS program that demonstrated positive outcomes for patients with rheumatoid arthritis. She knows both personally and professionally the power of the Self in healing and restoring health. Visit her website: http://www.nancysowell.com.

Martha Sweezy, PhD, is a part-time assistant professor in psychiatry at Harvard Medical School, a research and training consultant at the Center for Mindfulness and Compassion at the Cambridge Health Alliance, and a psychotherapist in private practice. She writes a blog on topics related to IFS in Psychology Today and cohosts a podcast with Hanna Soumerai-Rae and Fionna Kate Rice called System Updates: IFS Chitchat. She has authored, coauthored, and coedited eleven books on various applications of IFS, including Internal Family Systems Therapy for Shame and Guilt. She teaches IFS therapy nationally and internationally. Visit her website: https://marthasweezy.com.

Richard C. Schwartz, PhD, is the creator of IFS. His IFS Institute offers training for professionals and the general public. He is currently on the faculty of the Department of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School, and he has published five books, including No Bad Parts: Healing Trauma and Restoring Wholeness with the Internal Family Systems Model.