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CECE SYKES, LCSW

Consultant | Trainer | Educator | Author

MISSION

As an optimistic psychotherapist with over thirty years experience, I remain convinced in the human capacity for tapping into a deep source of inner wisdom. Each individual can develop the self-knowledge and self-acceptance they need to confront their challenges and to restore a compassionate perspective to their lives.

Working with both systemic and experiential approaches, we will tackle the process using a lively sense of curiosity, open hearts and regular doses of humor.

about

Cece saw her first client, a thirteen-year old sexually abused runaway foster child, at a community-based family services agency in 1978. Initially trained as a structural-strategic family therapist, Cece spent the next twelve years working in Chicago with families affected by abuse, neglect and addiction. Her focus included treating adult trauma survivors and eating disordered clients, providing individual, couples and group treatment.

During this time Cece provided workshops and training on family therapy and trauma treatment at the Institute for Juvenile Research, the Department of Children and Family Services, The Family Institute at Northwestern and many other mental health agencies. She co-authored a chapter on family treatment with incest-impacted families in the late 1980's.

“A Compassionate Conversation about ‘Addictive’ Processes with Cece Sykes” | IFS Institute

In 1992 Cece opened her private practice, treating adults, couples and families. She also taught experiential psychology seminars for women at Governors State University for five years and for three years was adjunct faculty at the Jane Addams School of Social Work at the University of Illinois in Chicago.

Cece expanded her clinical focus to include the Internal Family Systems (IFS) model of psychotherapy in the late 1990's. She is a Senior Trainer for the Internal Family Systems Institute and beginning in 2004 led level one, two and three IFS training programs across the country and internationally. Cece contributed a chapter on IFS approaches to treating addictive processes, titled “An IFS Lens on Addiction: Compassion for Extreme Parts,” in the 2016 book Innovations and Elaborations in Internal Family Systems Therapy.

In 2023, Internal Family Systems Therapy for Addictions was published, a best-selling manual co-authored by Cece, IFS author Martha Sweezy, and IFS founder Richard Schwartz on how to use the IFS model to understand and treat addictive processes.

Another component of Cece's work is the intersection of psychotherapy with spirituality. She has worked with a wide range of spiritual practices, from Zen communities to groups with traditional religious beliefs and also twelve-step followers on how to fold their vision of the inner spirit into the practice of psychotherapy.

After decades spent in the field, Cece developed an interest in the impact of psychotherapy upon the life story of the clinician. She created and leads the Heart Lessons of the Journey workshops, exploring the personal narratives of psychotherapists across the globe.

SERVICES

Cece's private practice will be shifting its focus from individual and couples psychotherapy to clinical consultation and training. All clinical issues are included. Specialized areas include IFS Institute Trainings, Levels 1, 2 and 3; Compassion for Addictive Processes workshops for 1-3 days; Heart Lessons of the Therapist Journey retreats for 1-5 days. Consultation and teleconsultation groups on various clinical issues. Workshops, trainings and consultation are available in the US and internationally.

Contact

Learn More About IFS

PUBLICATIONS

Internal Family Systems Therapy for Addictions

NEW RELEASE // #1 BESTSELLER IN ITS CATEGORY

So often, addiction is viewed as a disease or an uncontrollable habit that signals a lack of willpower. In Internal Family Systems (IFS) Therapy for Addictions, the authors suggest a paradigm shift. Rather than viewing addiction as a pathology, they propose that it reflects the efforts of deeply entrenched protective parts with outmoded strategies, trapped in a desperate struggle to manage underlying emotional pain.

Therapists will learn how to avoid clinical power struggles and to access their core, compassionate Self to collaborate with clients in befriending protective parts who engage in addictive processes; healing the vulnerable, wounded parts they protect; and restoring balance to their system.

Included inside:

Experiential exercises to help clients (and therapists) get to know their own parts
Guidelines for conducting assessments in an engaging, collaborative way
Clear strategies for negotiating internal conflict and navigating polarizations between opposing parts
Case examples annotated with step-by-step explanations
Downloadable worksheets, handouts, and meditations

PURCHASE ON AMAZON

“In the midst of an overdose epidemic, we are past due for novel approaches to working with those with substance use disorders, and Internal Family Systems Therapy for Addictions does just that. This volume provides those who might not be familiar with IFS a thorough introduction. It also offers a unique lens for both conceptualizing substance use disorders and treating them, with numerous concrete tools and practical strategies that clinicians can employ. A must-read for anyone working in addictions.”

―J. Wesley Boyd, MD, PhD, professor of psychiatry and medical ethics, Baylor College of Medicine

“Until recent years, our understanding of addiction has been based on outdated and flawed assumptions―mainly that it’s either a disease or a result of a lack of willpower. The IFS approach to therapy offers both a new paradigm for understanding addictive behavior through a compassionate lens and an effective framework for treating it to create lasting change. This wonderful book provides an accessible manual to therapists who are interested in tackling addictive processes at their core using IFS. Internal Family Systems Therapy for Addictions is a timely and important contribution that is likely to change the narrative around addiction treatment.”

―Niall McKeever, founder of The Weekend University

Altogether Us:
Integrating the IFS Model with Key Modalities, Communities, and Trends

In this skillfully curated collection, author and clinical editor Jenna Riemersma invites 30 leading IFS experts to discuss how to apply the transformative insights of the IFS model with a wide range of clients, communities and modalities. Cece is the co-author of the chapter “IFS and Addiction: Compassion for the Addictive Process.”

PURCHASE ON AMAZON

Innovations and Elaborations in Internal Family Systems Therapy

In the second chapter of Innovations and Elaborations in Internal Family Systems Therapy, Cece shares her view of working with addictive processes.

PURCHASE ON AMAZON

Sykes, C. C., (2016) "An IFS Lens on Addiction: Compassion for Extreme Parts," in Sweezy, M. and Zizkind, E.L., Innovations and Elaborations, New York, NY, Routledge, 2016.

“Working with Addictive Processes in Therapy: How IFS Offers Hope”
PESI UK Blog

Clients with addiction issues too often feel cast adrift from general therapy. What can non-specialist psychotherapists do to better support such individuals? Cece Sykes is an IFS senior trainer and consultant specialising in recovery from trauma and addiction.

Ahead of a PESI UK training in Autumn 2023, she explains how a parts-based perspective on addictive processes can offer empowerment and hope to both clients and therapists – and outlines an understanding of the addictive cycle as a battle between inner teams of protectors rather than a self-destructive pathology.

Click here to read the full blog post.

Selected Articles

For the article in its entirety, click here

For this article in its entirety, click here.

UPCOMING EVENTS

Workshop: Internal Family Systems and Compassion for Addictive Processes
Cape Cod Institute
Massachusetts, USA and Online
July 22-26 2024
Learn more and register here

“In this experiential workshop, you will learn how to create clear road maps for treatment, avoid power struggles, discover the positive intentions behind ‘negative’ and extreme behaviors, and build safe inner connection to underlying trauma and attachment wounds. We will also explore how therapists can be impacted by our own stories and how to combine self-compassion with effective compassion for others.”

Heart Lessons of the Journey: Five-Day Retreat
Killarney, Ireland
Sept 30-Oct 4 2024
Learn more here

“Who is listening to our story? How did our early family life impact our choice to be here? How might our personal struggles impact our professional journey? As expert listeners, have we spent enough time hearing our own voice, tending to our own heart lessons?

Join other therapists in this welcoming and relaxed setting to explore these important questions. Enjoy time for sharing, reflection, journaling, walking, resting and laughter. We’ve found that rediscovering our story often reveals hidden strengths; sharing our sorrows and triumphs can become a roadmap to unexpected healing.”

Upcoming IFS Trainings

IFS Level 2 (November 2024 - International - Online - Dates to be Announced)
.IFS Level 2 (May 2024 - Bristol, UK - In Person)

Subscribe to Cece’s newsletter to stay updated on workshops, events, trainings, and more.

Past Events

Cece has taught IFS trainings, hosted Heart Lessons of the Journey workshops, and spoken on IFS at conferences across the globe both in person and online, including Spain, Australia, the UK, Russia, Ireland, France, and throughout the United States.

Holistic Recovery Summit
Curated by The Weekend University
Nov 27-Dec 2, 2023

Working with Suicide, Self-harm & Trauma Online Summit
Offered by PESI UK
Nov 16-17, online

2023 Trauma & Addictions Conference
Las Vegas & online
Oct 26-28, 2023

2023 Internal Family Systems Institute Conference
Denver, Colorado
Oct 26-28, 2023

Using Internal Family Systems To Heal Trauma and Addictive Processes:
Step-by-Step Compassionate Strategies To Heal Your Most Difficult Clients
Offered by PESI UK
Sept 28-29, 2023, online
15:00 BST, 9:00 am CST

An IFS Lens on Addictive Processes: A Compassionate and Innovative Approach
Offered by PSCSI Ireland
April 14/15th 2023, online

Heart Lessons of the Journey: Three-Day Retreat
Galway, Ireland
May 11-13 2023

IFS & Addiction: A Compassionate Approach to Addictions and Compulsions
Offered by Mission: Empowerment Canada
June 7-8, 2023

Heart Lessons of the Journey: a workshop for therapists
Life as a therapist is interesting and very rewarding. We become specialists in providing emotional support, devoting thousands of hours to this role. Our own deepest feelings and personal storyline remain firmly in the background. Yet our life is evolving, too.
Who is listening to our story? How did our early family life impact our choice to be here? How might our personal struggles impact our professional journey? As expert listeners, have we spent enough time hearing our own voice, tending to our own heart lessons?
Join other therapists in this welcoming and relaxed setting to explore these important questions. Enjoy time for sharing, reflection, journaling, walking, resting and laughter. We’ve found that rediscovering our story often reveals hidden strengths; sharing our sorrows and triumphs can become a roadmap to unexpected healing.

Heart Lessons of the Journey: a workshop for therapists
September 2022
USA, online

Addictive Processes and IFS Seminar
France, online
October 2022

Heart Lessons of the Journey: a workshop for therapists
Duneland Beach, IN
June 26-28, 2020

Heart Lessons of the Journey: a workshop for therapists
Bristol, England
September 21-23, 2018

IFS Level 1, 2, & 3 Trainings

IFS Level 2: A Compassionate Approach to Addictive Processes: IFS, Addictions and Eating Disorders (February 2023 - USA - online)
IFS Level 2: A Compassionate Approach to Addictive Processes: IFS, Addictions and Eating Disorders (October 2023 - Spain - online)
IFS Level 2: A Compassionate Approach to Addictive Processes: IFS, Addictions and Eating Disorders (Nov/Dec 2023 - Australia - online)
IFS Level 3 (May 2023 - Bristol, UK - in person)
IFS Level 3 (August 2023 - USA - online)
IFS Level 3 (November 2022 - USA - online)
IFS Level 2: A Compassionate Approach to Addictive Processes: IFS, Addictions and Eating Disorders (October 2022 - Russia - online)
IFS Level 1 (Spring/Summer 2022 - USA - online)
IFS Level 2: A Compassionate Approach to Addictive Processes: IFS, Addictions and Eating Disorders (April 2022 - UK - in person)
IFS Level 2: A Compassionate Approach to Addictive Processes: IFS, Addictions and Eating Disorders (February 2022 - USA - online)
IFS Level 2: A Compassionate Approach to Addictive Processes: IFS, Addictions and Eating Disorders (Jan/Feb 2022 - Spain - online)