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In this episode, I sit down with Chris Burris — senior lead IFS trainer, trauma therapist, and creator of Healing Circles — after spending five days at his home in Asheville, North Carolina participating in one of his experiential trainings. We explore how Chris brought Internal Family Systems into group therapy and how community can become not simply a source of support, but an active part of the healing process. We dig into intention setting, commitment, group “sculpting,” unburdening, and how an intentional community can help us revisit deeply held beliefs about ourselves and other people.
This interview is followed by an audio diary taking you inside my own Healing Circles experience.
In this episode:
• Chris Burris’s path from family systems work to long-term trauma therapy
• A near-death experience and early experiences that shaped his spiritual curiosity
• Why IFS understands the mind as a system of parts, protectors, and exiles
• Moving from “integration” toward becoming a happier inner family
• What unburdening looks like — and how the body can let go
• How a childhood wound around dyslexia can create a lifelong belief
• What “intentional community” means — and why it matters for healing
• How Healing Circles begin with intentions, commitment, and desired outcomes
• The sacred-item commitment and the importance of staying with the group
• “Sculpting” as a live, experiential map of our internal system
• Reworking the belief that other people are dangerous and unpredictable
• Meaning as fully experiencing life while connecting with other people and nature
Timestamps
00:00 — Welcome: Why Groups Can Heal
05:36 — Introducing Chris Burris & Healing Circles
07:35 — Chris’s Career in Trauma Therapy
15:09 — His Mother’s Illness, Near-Death Experience & Spiritual Curiosity
21:16 — How Different Perceptions Shaped His Path as a Healer
24:49 — The Consultation With Richard Schwartz That Changed His Work
27:56 — IFS: Parts, Protectors & Exiles
36:03 — Dyslexia & Unburdening the “I’m Not Smart” Belief
40:28 — Men’s Circles, Mentors & Intentional Community
44:45 — How Healing Circles Begin: Intentions & Commitment
51:25 — Sacred Objects & Committing to the Group
55:04 — “Sculpting” the Internal System With Other People
59:38 — Healing Relational Trauma: Reworking the Belief That People Are Dangerous
1:03:00 — Meaning & Compassionate Presence
1:09:04 — Chris’s Billboard Advice: Make Time for Nature
Learn more about Chris Burris
Website: www.burriscounseling.com — trainings, workshops, and resources
Book: Creating Healing Circles: Using the Internal Family Systems Model in Facilitating Groups
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Developing Meaning is NOT MEDICAL ADVICE and is NOT AFFILIATED WITH ANY INSTITUTIONS.
Developing Meaning is produced by Sophie Chen, Anya Kleinlein and Dirk Winter and is a production of Consilient Mind LLC. Theme music by The Thrashing Skumz.
