#29: Chris Burris on Creating Healing Circles – IFS Group Therapy and the Power of Community

Send us Fan MailIn 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 natureTimestamps00:00 — Welcome: Why Groups Can Heal05:36 — Introducing Chris Burris & Healing Circles07:35 — Chris’s Career in Trauma Therapy15:09 — His Mother’s Illness, Near-Death Experience & Spiritual Curiosity21:16 — How Different Perceptions Shaped His Path as a Healer24:49 — The Consultation With Richard Schwartz That Changed His Work27:56 — IFS: Parts, Protectors & Exiles36:03 — Dyslexia & Unburdening the “I’m Not Smart” Belief40:28 — Men’s Circles, Mentors & Intentional Community44:45 — How Healing Circles Begin: Intentions & Commitment51:25 — Sacred Objects & Committing to the Group55:04 — “Sculpting” the Internal System With Other People59:38 — Healing Relational Trauma: Reworking the Belief That People Are Dangerous1:03:00 — Meaning & Compassionate Presence1:09:04 — Chris’s Billboard Advice: Make Time for NatureLearn more about Chris BurrisWebsite: www.burriscounseling.com — trainings, workshops, and resourcesBook: Creating Healing Circles: Using the Internal Family Systems Model in Facilitating GroupsSubscribe to the Developing Meaning Substack newsletter for updates and behind-the-scenes reflections.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.