Evaluating the Evidence and State of the Science of Internal Family Systems in 2026 

Join us on Friday, November 6th for this special fundraising event in support of the IFS program at the Center for Mindfulness and Compassion.

Internal Family Systems (IFS) therapy has grown significantly in its use and visibility in recent years. As more therapists, clients, and organizations become interested in IFS, important questions are being asked about the research behind the model: What does the research actually tell us? How strong is the evidence for IFS? What can we confidently say about its effectiveness, and what questions still need to be studied?

This program will offer a clear and balanced review of the current state of IFS research as of 2026. Participants will look at what has been studied so far, what we can learn from that research, and where there are still limitations or gaps in the evidence. The program involves a lecture and an interactive live question and answer session that will also explore the differences and similarities between what clinicians observe in their IFS practice and what has been demonstrated through research.

The course will review topics including:

• What it means to describe a therapy as “evidence based” and how that applies to IFS.

• The current state of IFS therapy research.

• The populations, clinical concerns, and settings in which IFS has been studied.

• The strengths and limitations of the existing IFS research.

• What we can confidently state and what we currently cannot state about IFS's effectiveness.

• Important gaps in the research and areas for future study.

• The relationship between clinical experience and research evidence.

• How clinicians can accurately and responsibly talk about the evidence for IFS with clients, colleagues, organizations, and the broader community.

The program will include a 70-minute presentation by Zev Schuman-Olivier, followed by 30 minutes of responses to written questions submitted by participants and a 30-minute live question-and-answer period. Participants will have opportunities to ask questions, engage with the research, and consider what the current evidence means for their own clinical practice.

10:30 AM — Welcome & Introductions

10:40 AM — Zev Schuman-Olivier, MD: Presentation on the Current Evidence Base and State of IFS Science
Approximately 60–70 minutes

11:40 AM — 5-minute break

11:45 AM — Zev responds to pre-submitted/written audience questions

12:15 PM — 5-minute break

12:20 PM — Live Audience Q&A

1:00 PM — Event concludes

Presenter Bio:

Zev Schuman-Olivier, MD is the Founding Center Director of the CHA Center for Mindfulness and Compassion and Director of the Mindful Mental Health Service at CHA, which includes the group-based Program for Alleviating and Resolving Trauma and Stress (PARTS). Dr. Schuman-Olivier is an Associate Professor in the Department of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School and an investigator at the Center for Technology and Behavioral Health at Dartmouth. He is Director of Addiction Research at CHA and directs the Addiction Complex and Comprehensive Evaluation and Psychiatric Training Service (ACCEPTS). As a board-certified addiction psychiatrist, he has been involved with research and clinical care of patients with addiction, mental illness, and chronic pain both in mental health and primary care settings. He has participated in the NIH Science of Behavior Change Initiative and NIH HEAL Initiatives. He is the principal investigator for the PARTS studies, which have been developing and testing novel group interventions based on an Internal Family Systems approach to trauma, PTSD, substance use disorder, and intimate partner violence. He co-developed the Mindful Behavior Change curriculum and was the principal investigator of the MINDFUL-PC project, which led the way in integrating mindfulness into primary care. He was the principal investigator of the MINDFUL-OBOT trial, a national trial of live online mindfulness training groups, which recruited people with opioid use disorder from 16 states. He is Director of the Clinical Core for the NCCIH program project grant testing synergistic integrative mind-body approaches to chronic pain treatment. In addition, he is involved in clinical trials of innovative interventions for depression, anxiety, alcohol use, and grief.

Endorsements:

“I met Dr. Schuman-Olivier in Cambridge in 2009 when he began training in IFS. He understands the IFS model well, and he has become a leader in IFS research both in Boston and nationally. I don’t know of anyone more qualified to talk on this subject. Join us on November 6th to hear the history of IFS research and learn about the most recent studies. I am impressed by the strong science conducted at the CHA Center for Mindfulness and Compassion where several IFS clinical trials have been held.  Please support their efforts to make the up-to-date evidence from IFS research freely available and accessible to clinicians and the public by donating whatever you can. The future of IFS depends on all of us.”

-Dr. Richard Schwartz, PhD

“Many clinicians who treat PTSD, addiction, eating disorders, and, more generally, shame and maladaptive guilt, have adopted the IFS approach to psychotherapy with enthusiasm and relief. Why? Well, psychotherapists are writing their stories and publishing books, but now it’s time for research! At a fundraiser on November 6th, Dr. Zev Schuman-Olivier, a board-certified addiction psychiatrist, Associate Professor of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School, and Founding Director of the CHA Center for Mindfulness and Compassion at the Cambridge Health Alliance, will talk about IFS research completed to date and directions for the future. If you use IFS professionally, care about it personally, or you’re curious about how it holds up under scrutiny, join us for this clear, comprehensive update! If you want to learn how to talk appropriately with clients or friends about what evidence is actually available for IFS right now, then don't miss this talk!”

-Martha Sweezy, PhD