2025 FCRP Plenary Speaker:
Tom Holmes, Ph.D
Imagine a retreat where your heart feels open, and you sense the warmth of divine love flowing through you.
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That’s what attendees of our 2024 Friends Conference on Religion & Psychology shared after their experience with psychologist Tom Holmes, Ph.D.
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Among those offering these reports were psychotherapists, who described peak moments of clarity, renewal, and connection under Tom’s guidance—and urged us to invite him back.
Their enthusiasm wasn’t solely about Tom’s impressive credentials, though he certainly has them. He’s a former university professor who has trained graduate students in modalities of psychotherapy since 1985.
He is also a pioneer in Internal Family Systems (IFS) therapy, and a counselor who supports healthcare workers in global crisis zones. While attendees were glad for this expertise, what
resonated most was his openness, kindness, and authenticity. In Pendle Hill’s welcoming environment, participants experienced a deep sense of clarity and connection, both with
themselves and with others.
Tom’s work with the IFS model helps individuals and professionals alike. In fact, because it can be challenging to find IFS training, therapists, social workers, and counselors who attended the 2024 conference appreciated the opportunity to learn from an experienced practitioner.
Therapists said that they left with practical tools to enhance their work, tools that could also be used to avoid burnout. Tom describes his offerings as “tuning the heart of the healer,” connecting the psychological with the spiritual.
Given the challenges of our nation, Tom has graciously agreed to return in 2025—a rare honor in our 83-year history. Drawing from his decades of work as a therapist and trainer, he will guide us into the core of the IFS model.
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This includes helping us identify a symbol of our Sacred Self and show us how to center there during life’s difficulties. He’ll also help us uncover and release the burdens carried by parts of our psyche that feel stuck in distressful emotions.
In the IFS framework, our inner world consists of sub-personalities, or “parts.” While these parts try to help us to meet the challenges of everyday life, they often compete or conflict with each other. Tom will help us understand how these parts can harmonize under the leadership of the Self, fostering calm and integration. As Tom puts it, “When we trust the Self to take care of us, it prevents inner alienation and exhaustion.”
One of Tom’s gifts is the weaving of movement and singing into his teaching. He uses the meditative power of circle dances—the Dances of Universal Peace—to deepen our sense of Self and connection with the community. Through the sacred phrases of the dances, participants experience unity, peace, and wholeness.
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“When we nurture the seeds of our individual selves, a collective spirit can flourish in a setting like Pendle Hill,” Tom explains.
Tom is also the author of the widely acclaimed Parts Work: An Illustrated Guide to Your Inner Life, a beautifully illustrated and practical guide to understanding and transforming inner dynamics. With over 100,000 copies sold, the book has become a cornerstone for those exploring IFS.
Tom has a PhD in Counseling Psychology and is a Professor Emeritus at Western Michigan University. He studied with IFS founder Richard Schwartz and has been using IFS in private practice more than 40 years. During that time, he has also traveled the world as a teacher and trainer, touching down in areas such as South Korea, Ukraine and hot spots in the Middle East. His website is www.wingedheart.org