Workshop Description:

This workshop will explore the integration of Internal Family Systems (IFS) and the use of art making when treating clients with eating disorders.

IFS is based on the concept of multiplicity, where there is Self and three groups of inner parts: exiles, managers and firefighters. Self is innate, present at birth, and includes qualities such as curiosity, compassion, and creativity. When Self is fully differentiated from our parts, it is capable of leading the internal system towards healing and recovery (Schwartz, 2020).

Art is used in treatment as an effective form of expression, to depict the healing journey, and to enhance both the client's experience and the clinician's work. Case materials will illustrate how the presenter has integrated eating disorder treatment and art-making with IFS.

This presentation will also involve an experiential part where attendees will use a body outline to illustrate their own parts and Self. Utilizing theoretical knowledge, case examples and the participants own art making, this presentation will provide clinicians with a framework for applying these interventions to the eating disorder population.

The overview of IFS will offer a foundational understanding of its process but will not be a comprehensive training in IFS. Prior experience in art therapy or IFS is not needed to benefit from this presentation.

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Learning Objectives:

1. Identify the three types of Parts, defining examples of roles they each utilize within the internal family system as it relates to eating disorders.

2. Participants will be able to describe the six F's of the IFS model and how it applies in art making.

3. Describe three ways IFS informed art processing questions can used to identify parts and their relationship to each other, fostering unblending and increasing self-compassion for both the clinician and the client.