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Interior Integration for CatholicsThe mission of this podcast is the formation of your heart in love and for love, Together, we shore up the natural, human foundation for your spiritual formation as a Catholic. Author: Peter T. Malinoski, Ph.D.
The mission of this podcast is the formation of your heart in love and for love, Together, we shore up the natural, human foundation for your spiritual formation as a Catholic. St. Thomas Aquinas asserts that without this inner unity, without this interior integration, without ordered self-love, you cannot enter loving union with God, your Blessed Mother, or your neighbor. Informed by Internal Family Systems approaches and grounded firmly in a Catholic understanding of the human person, this podcast brings you the best information, the illuminating stories, and the experiential exercises you need to become more whole in the natural realm. This restored human formation then frees you to better live out the three loves in the two Great Commandments loving God, your neighbor, and yourself. Check out the Resilient Catholics Community which grew up around this podcast at https://www.soulsandhearts.com/rcc. Language: en Genres: Christianity, Health & Fitness, Mental Health, Religion & Spirituality Contact email: Get it Feed URL: Get it iTunes ID: Get it |
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184 Assessing the Catholicity of Internal Family Systems
Episode 184
Monday, 6 July, 2026
Download a PDF of Dr. Amalu’s dissertation: https://www.mediafire.com/file_premium/8yt9aur8ixed59q/Amalu_Final_Dissertation.pdf/fileHis private practice: https://www.deeprenewalpsychotherapy.com/Dr. Peter Martin’s practice: https://www.immaculateheartcounseling.org/The CCMMP is here: https://divinemercy.edu/department-integrative-studies/catholic-christian-meta-model-of-the-person-ccmmp/Dr. Anthony Flood’s book: https://www.cuapress.org/9780813234205/the-metaphysical-foundations-of-love/Dr. Monty De La Torre’s article on the 8 Cs and virtue: https://www.soulsandhearts.com/blog/8cs-of-ifs-and-their-connection-to-the-virtues/IIC 169 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zM3OcGYDJE8Summary: Measuring IFS by the gold standard of Catholicity for therapeutic approaches – that’s what Catholic psychologists Christian Amalu, Peter Martin, and Peter Malinoski are exploring today. The Catholic Christian Meta-Model of the Person (CCMMP) by Dr. Paul Vitz, Dr. William Nordling, and Dr. Craig Titus systematizes the 11 essential dimensions of a person that need to be respected in seeking to heal and change. How does IFS stack up to those dimensions? How must it be adapted to be fully Catholic? And how can IFS even inform the CCMMP in some important ways? Join us and find out. Key moments:11:55 Dr. Amalu and Dr. Peter meet for the first time..14:15 The very beginnings of the Catholic Christian Meta-Model of the Person in 200517:10 What the CCMMP offers: 1) a true and authentic representation of all of the elements that when put together is the human person; 2) providing a normative framework that defines what a human being ought to be and what flourishing looks like; 3) bringing together a Catholic understanding of philosophy and theology, and grounding psychology in what we know to be true by Divine Revelation28:30 Dr. Amalu describes his dissertation, evaluating IFS through the lens of the CCMMP, bringing IFS into dialogue with the Catholic Faith.32:40 How can IFS engage in the Christian project of healing? 40:24 The dissertation can help Catholics understand why they can trust parts and systems approaches, including IFS, with some modifications, which Dr. Amalu lays out45:19 Catholic virtue from an IFS perspective, bringing in the 8 Cs and the 5 Ps of IFS51:45 Dr. Richard Schwartz: “The parts are crying out for redemption.”55:00 How Schwartz stumbled onto a naturalistic religion.57:50 How IFS helps us not only to love our parts in an ordered way, but to like our parts59:15 The importance of playfulness and delight. “It’s wonderful that you exist.”1:03:36 How so many people leave the Catholic Church because they don’t believe it has the answers to the human formation issues that trouble them1:05:00 Does IFS nuance, extend, or expand any of the premises of the CCMMP? Some limitations of the CCMMP. How IFS and the CCMMP could inform each other. Trauma, the unconscious, parts and systems thinking, and the relationship to self (self-love) are not addressed in the CCMMP. Does IFS nuance any of the premises of the CCMMP?1:16:51 Progression from self-awareness to self-possession to self-gift as the US Bishops describe. 1:18:50 St. Maximus describes the human person is a microcosm of the cosmos, a small little cosmos within that reflects the entirety of all creation. Humankind is the nexus point of the contact between created reality and the divine. If you do our own internal work, it's going to lift everybody else up in the Mystical Body of Christ, and it will have a positive impact on the rest of the cosmos.1:23:30 The importance of mercy in whatever model of the human person you use. 1:25:30 What helps all of you to flourish? Including your exiled parts. 1:03:40 Pope Benedict: Healing is an essential dimension of the mission of Christianity. Healing is holiness. “Love each other from an undivided heart.”
