PATH is an international, online recovery community rooted in Internal Family Systems (IFS) for the Practice of Addiction and underlying Trauma Healing.
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From Addiction Recovery to Body Liberation
Published 6 days ago • 2 min read
From Addiction Recovery to Body Liberation
By Achara Tarfa
Insight Five: I am more than my behaviors - May I be willing to examine their motives with an open heart.
Last year, our community held space for a series of conversations that still resonate. We had the honor of hosting the founder of Internal Family Systems, Dr. Richard Schwartz, along with IFS Senior Lead Trainer, Cece Sykes, and Dr. Audrey Davidheiser. Each of these gatherings felt like a sacred convergence, especially as Dick and Cece joined us to bridge the worlds of addiction recovery and IFS and Audrey helped us better understand parts that hold grief.
In those sessions, we explored how addiction is not a moral failure, but the activity of protective parts trying to keep us away from overwhelming pain. We looked at the heavy burden of shame. We explored the belief of "I am bad" held by parts and how Self-leadership offers a way to meet those parts with compassion instead of condemnation. As Dick shared with us, addiction is often the activity of protective parts who are trying to keep the system safe from pain they feel is unsurvivable. That softening we experienced together is exactly where healing starts.
As we kick off our event series for this 2026 year, we are moving from the exploration of addiction into another deeply personal territory: our relationship with food and our bodies. I am so grateful to announce that our first guest of the season is Dr. Jeanne Catanzaro, Vice President of the IFS Institute. She is also a courageous and compassionate soul.
On March 26th, 2026 at 4:30 pm ET, Jeanne is joining our PATH community to share insights from her transformative work, Unburdened Eating. For over 25 years, she has worked at the intersection of trauma and eating issues, helping people navigate the often painful messages we receive about our physical selves.
From the time we are born, we are inundated with messages about what we should eat and how we should look. The pressure to conform is highest for those who don’t fit into what society traditionally values: youth, thinness, whiteness, and able-bodiedness. These external pressures often turn into internal critics, leading to chronic shame and self-loathing.
Jeanne’s approach offers a sustainable path to heal these relationships. Instead of looking for the next diet or wellness plan to "fix" what feels unacceptable, she guides us to trust the healing resource that already lies within us.
What We Will Explore Together
In our upcoming workshop, "Unburdened Eating: IFS Approach to Healing Your Relationship with Food and Your Body," Jeanne will help us understand how to:
Heal the critical and diet-minded parts that drive our behavior.
Stop the cycle of trying to fix parts of our bodies that feel "less desirable."
Connect to our bodies with genuine compassion rather than judgment.
Become more resistant to societal messages about health and attractiveness.
It is possible to accept yourself as you are and relax into a more trusting relationship with food. It is possible to help parts unburden intergenerational beliefs about food and the body. Just as we learned last year that "there are no bad parts," we are now exploring the truth that there are no bad bodies. Healing happens when we stop fighting our systems and start listening to the parts that have used food or body-shame as a way to survive.
Every registrant has an opportunity to apply for a free live IFS demo session with Jeanne during the workshop. If you are interested in volunteering for a demonstration, please complete the application form below by March 15, 2026.
Achara Tarfa is a Level 3 Certified IFS Practitioner, PATH Facilitator, as well as Co-Founder of the Global Trauma Institute. To connect with Achara, click here.
PATH programs are funded by the generous contributions of our members and communities, and we appreciate your support. To make a donation, visit: https://gofund.me/c248afb4
PATH is an international, online recovery community rooted in Internal Family Systems (IFS) for the Practice of Addiction and underlying Trauma Healing.
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