Inner Team model (Schulz von Thun)

1. Introduction

Version followed: Friedemann Schulz von Thun, Miteinander reden 3: Das „innere Team“ und situationsgerechte Kommunikation (Rowohlt, Reinbek; 1st ed. 1998, reprinted many times since, e.g. the 2006 printing and the 2014 Miteinander reden Sonderausgabe cited below), together with Schulz von Thun & Wibke Stegemann (eds.), Das Innere Team in Aktion (Rowohlt 2004; later editions 2015 and 2025), as both are taught today by the Schulz von Thun Institut für Kommunikation, Hamburg. Neither book was openly available online. Neither is drawn on here. Book content here comes from the Institute's own pages and from German coaching theses that cite the books with page numbers. Those page numbers are given as the theses report them; They are not checked against the books [uncertain].

What it is. The Inner Team (Das Innere Team) is a communication-psychology model of the person and a method for self-clarification and coaching. It is not a psychotherapy. It belongs to the Hamburg communication psychology of Schulz von Thun, alongside the Kommunikationsquadrat (four-sides model), Werte- und Entwicklungsquadrat (values and development square), Teufelskreis (vicious circle) and Situationsmodell. The Institute teaches it in coaching, training and team development [source: SvT-Modell; KBT-CmIT1; SvT-Coaching-Ausbildung]. The model describes the inner plurality of a person as a team of inner members (innere Teammitglieder) led by a superordinate „Oberhaupt“ (head or team leader). It is a modification of Virginia Satir's 1970s „parts party“ [source: Wiki].

Core idea of change. In any significant situation, several inner voices speak up. They rarely agree, and each tries to steer how we communicate and act. If they quarrel unmanaged, the result can be exhaustion or „Verhaltenslähmung“ (behavioural paralysis). If the Oberhaupt identifies the relevant members, lets each speak and brings them into cooperation (the „innere Ratsversammlung“, inner council meeting), the person can respond outwardly in a way that is clear, authentic and fits the situation („stimmig“). The combined team holds more wisdom than any single voice [source: SvT-Modell; SvT-Entscheidung]. Self-clarification (Selbstklärung) is treated as the start of good communication (Schulz von Thun 2012, p. 112, as cited in Meier 2025) [source: Meier 2025].

Use in psychotherapy. For a psychotherapist, this is a structured, low-pathology parts method suited to decisions, ambivalence, role conflicts and communication tasks. When you use it inside therapy, you take clinical responsibility for it. The coaching–therapy boundary in §5.8 applies when you use it purely as a coach [synthesis].

2. Framework

The model has no manualised session protocol. The Institute's seminars teach it in three blocks: survey methods (Erhebungsmethoden), for oneself and for others; visualisation, including a „Strukturbild 2. Ordnung“ (second-order structure picture) built from a first survey; and solution-oriented methods: an experiential „innere Ratsversammlung“ run in several phases, handling of inner team conflicts, inner team development, and an individual transfer ladder (Transfer-Stufenleiter) with a concrete first step [source: KBT-CmIT1; ZKP-7]. The Institute pages name these phases but do not list them. The sequence below combines the steps described in the secondary sources and labels which source each comes from.

A. Embedding coaching process (as described in a coaching thesis applying the model; not an Institute protocol) [source: Tiesler 2023]

1. Take up the concern (Anliegen): let the client tell it as an episode.
2. Map the context: system, framework conditions, people involved.
3. Describe one concrete, recurring situation and its key points.
4. Explore feelings and experience in that situation.
5. Clarify the contract and goal (Auftragsklärung): responsibility and roles.
6. Analyse the situation: hypotheses, resources, scaling questions, choice of method.
7. Inner Team work: explain the model, visualise the team leader, then survey, name and position the members.
8. Team meeting (Ratsversammlung).
9. Close: secure insights, use systemic questions to set next steps, repeat the scaling, clear open questions.

B. Core Inner Team sequence [source: Teilearbeit 2023; Methode 2024; Stein 2026; Wiki]

Format and dose. Individual sessions, with the team on paper, flipchart, cards, wooden figures or chairs. One full sequence takes about 60–90 minutes [source: Teilearbeit 2023]. Add a follow-up session to check whether anything has changed and whether new voices have appeared [source: Methode 2024]. The model is also taught for self-coaching (Selbstcoaching mit dem Inneren Team) and in group trainings [source: SvT-Modell]. No published session count exists. In therapy, plan one session per issue, plus 1–3 follow-up sessions for transfer and team development [synthesis].

The Oberhaupt's tasks (Schulz von Thun, Miteinander reden Sonderausgabe 2014, pp. 82–83, as listed in Stein 2026): self-control (Kontrolle); moderation; integration; conflict management; personnel and team development; and personnel selection and deployment (Personalauswahl und Einsatzleitung), meaning choosing the right team for a task. When leadership is weak or overloaded, the person feels torn or blocked [source: Stein 2026]. The Oberhaupt „über dem Ganzen steht und die Einheit stiftet“ (stands above the whole and creates unity) (2006, p. 68, as cited in Meier 2025). It always has the final say on decisions that act outwardly [source: Wiki].

3. Guiding principles

• Inner plurality is normal and desirable, not a disorder [source: SvT-Modell]. → Frame conflicting voices as resources, never as symptoms.
• Members are metaphors. They are not subpersonalities as in dissociative identity disorder, and they are not behaviours; behaviour comes from an inner process and rarely belongs to one member alone [source: Wiki]. → Use the language playfully. Do not reify parts, and do not use the model to explore dissociation.
• No theory has to be presupposed. The stance is to look „wer in dir, wer in mir wirksam ist“ (who is at work in you, in me) (2006, p. 263; limits of the model and freedom from ideology pp. 262f, as cited in Meier 2025). → Stay descriptive and take the client's own voices at face value.
• Every member ultimately wants the best for the whole [source: Wiki]. → Ask about each member's concern or positive intention, even for unwelcome voices [source: Teilearbeit 2023].
• „Kein Anteil ist ‚per se schlecht‘“ (no part is bad in itself). The question is whether it fits the situation [source: Stein 2026]. → Judge fit to the situation, not the worth of the voice.
• Hear members without criticism. The Oberhaupt stays neutral and values every view [source: Wiki]. → As coach, you model this neutrality and protect quiet voices from being talked over.
• The Oberhaupt decides. It has the final say on outward decisions [source: Wiki]. → Keep returning authority to the client's „I“. Do not let the coach or the loudest member decide.
• Stimmigkeit (congruence): communication should be both authentic (true to the inner team) and fitting to the situation (situationsgerecht). The balance depends on the situation (2006, pp. 13, 15, as cited in Meier 2025) [source: SvT-Modell]. → Test every solution against both: „Is this me?“ and „Does it fit this situation, role and relationship?“
• Parallelism thesis (Parallelitätsthese): inner team dynamics mirror outer team dynamics, and the principles of cooperative leadership apply inside too (MR3, p. 77, as cited in Tiesler 2023; Methode 2024) [source: Tiesler 2023]. → Borrow good team-leadership moves (moderation, hearing everyone, clear decisions) for the inner team.
• Accept the inner dilemma („Die Akzeptanz des inneren Dilemmas“). Not every voice can be fully served in every decision, and demanding „the right“ decision adds pressure that clouds thinking [source: SvT-Entscheidung]. → Aim for the best integration available, not a perfect one.
• Snapshot, not ideal team. A team picture belongs to one topic at one time [source: Methode 2024]. → Draw a fresh team for each issue. Do not fix a „personality chart“.
• Welcome unwelcome members. Voices a person cannot own do not disappear. They keep working „im Untergrund“ (underground), in the „Schattenkabinett“ (shadow cabinet) (2006, pp. 201–229, as cited in Meier 2025), and may return as bodily symptoms [source: Methode 2024]. → Seek out and acknowledge excluded voices, gently.
• Respectful naming. Avoid demeaning names (e.g. „Dummkopf“). If one appears, ask what lies behind it. Names may change as a member's positive function becomes clear [source: Teilearbeit 2023; Tiesler 2023]. → Help the client find neutral, function-describing names.
• Naming creates distance. Saying „a member of my team is afraid“ is easier than „I am afraid“ (Ulrichs in Schulz von Thun & Stegemann 2015, p. 46, as cited in Meier 2025). → Use member language to make shameful feelings speakable.
• Humanistic-systemic stance and contact before technique. The Institute's coaching training rests on a humanistic-systemic view of people and treats good contact as more central than tools. The coach is open, empathic and process-competent [source: SvT-Coaching-Ausbildung]. → Use the method in the service of the relationship, not instead of it.
• The coach is a clarification helper (Klärungshelfer:in), not the decider [source: ZKP-7; KBT-CmIT1]. → Ask, structure and mirror. Do not propose members or solutions unless invited, and then do so tentatively.
• Clear contract and scope. Coaching works under a clear mandate (Auftrag) and structured process [source: SvT-Coaching-Ausbildung; Tiesler 2023]. The coaching codes require scope to be agreed and competence limits kept [source: ICF; GCoE]. → Agree the scope at the start, including what is out of scope (§5.8).

4. Intervention inventory

The Institute names its method families (survey and visualisation methods, the Strukturbild 2. Ordnung, the experiential innere Ratsversammlung, handling inner team conflicts, inner team development, the Transfer-Stufenleiter) but does not publish their steps online [source: KBT-CmIT1; ZKP-7]. The steps below come from the secondary sources named in each entry. Gaps are filled with [synthesis]. All example wording is my own (illustrative).

4.1 Introducing the model

• Purpose / when: At the start, so the client has the metaphor of members plus an Oberhaupt. Skip it if the client already knows the model [source: Teilearbeit 2023; Tiesler 2023].
• Steps: (1) Link it to the client's ambivalence: they have just said „part of me…“. (2) Sketch a large human outline (head and a big belly) with a small leader figure; the members go inside it [source: Teilearbeit 2023; Meier 2025]. (3) Name the two premises: plurality is normal, and the „I“ leads and decides [source: SvT-Modell; Wiki]. (4) Optionally give one short everyday example [source: Teilearbeit 2023].
• Example language (illustrative): „When you think about this offer, it sounds as if more than one voice speaks inside you. That's normal. We could imagine them as an inner team, with you as the head of the team who hears them all and then decides.“
• Watch for: Clients who hear „voices“ literally or anxiously. Clarify that these are metaphors for thoughts, feelings and wishes [source: Wiki]. If the client describes real hallucinations or identity fragmentation, stop and see §5.8 [synthesis]. It is working when the client starts using „one part / another part“ spontaneously [synthesis].

4.2 Clarifying the concern and the situation

• Purpose / when: Every session. The team depends on the situation, so the question must be concrete [source: Methode 2024; Wiki].
• Steps: (1) Ask for the concern as an episode. (2) Map the context: people, roles, framework conditions. (3) Pick one concrete, recurring situation [source: Tiesler 2023]. (4) Decide the type: a behaviour, a decision or an unclear attitude [source: Teilearbeit 2023]. (5) Agree the goal and contract, and scale the starting point, e.g. 0–10 for clarity [source: Tiesler 2023].
• Example language (illustrative): „Is this about how you behave in these meetings, about a decision you need to make, or about not knowing where you stand?“ — „How clear are you about it right now, from 0 to 10?“
• Watch for: Topics that are too broad („my life“). Narrow them to one scene [synthesis].

4.3 Surveying the members (Erhebung)

• Purpose / when: To find which members want to comment on the question [source: Wiki; KBT-CmIT1].
• Steps: (1) Put the question into the room, ideally in a form the client can answer in a sentence. (2) Invite the client to listen inward and report whatever thoughts, feelings, impulses, moods or bodily signals come up; members can show up in any of these forms [source: Wiki]. (3) Write each one down as it appears. (4) Ask repeatedly whether another, perhaps contradictory, voice exists. One thesis gives the model question: „Is there perhaps also a voice in you that has other, maybe even contradictory, thoughts about this?“ (Meier 2025, ch. 2.4, translated). (5) Expect late arrivals (Spätmelder) and leave room for them at any point [source: Teilearbeit 2023; Meier 2025, citing 2006 p. 28]. (6) For each member, explore its message: what it wants, what it warns against, its fears and hopes [source: Stein 2026]. Check the message for cognitive, emotional and motivational parts [source: Methode 2024].
• Example language (illustrative): „Who in you speaks up first when you think of saying yes?“ — „And who is quieter, perhaps only noticeable in your body?“ — „What does this one warn you against?“
• Watch for: Typical member qualities: early or late, loud or quiet, welcome or unwelcome, active in outward contact (Außendienst) or only inner, open or subversive [source: Methode 2024; Wiki; Meier 2025]. Secondary sources mention types such as regulars (Stammspieler), outsiders, guards (Bewacher, who keep other voices from speaking), opponents and banished members [source: Methode 2024; Stein 2026]. It is working when the client finds a voice they had not consciously considered [synthesis].

4.4 Naming members: name, key sentence, symbol

• Purpose / when: Right after each member is found. Naming gives distance and makes the member addressable [source: Meier 2025, citing Ulrichs 2015 p. 46].
• Steps: (1) Let the client choose a name that describes the member's function, e.g. „Der Macher“ (the doer) or „Der Genießer“ (the enjoyer) [source: Teilearbeit 2023]. (2) Add a key sentence (Schlüsselsatz) in the member's own voice [source: Teilearbeit 2023; Methode 2024]. (3) Optionally add a symbol, e.g. a whip for a driver or a paragraph sign for an inner lawyer [source: Methode 2024]. (4) If a name is demeaning, ask why, and look for the member's positive function. Allow the name to change [source: Teilearbeit 2023; Tiesler 2023].
• Example language (illustrative): „If this voice had a name that says what it does for you, what would it be?“ — „What is its typical sentence?“
• Watch for: Names that are diagnoses or insults („the neurotic“). Reframe them by function [synthesis].

4.5 Visualising the team (Strukturbild)

• Purpose / when: To show the team as a whole: who is close, who is big, who is pushed to the edge [source: Teilearbeit 2023; KBT-CmIT1].
• Steps: (1) Understand a member first, then draw it („Erst verstehen dann visualisieren“) [source: Stein 2026]. (2) Draw simple figures inside the large outline, on flipchart, cards or a virtual pinboard. Size and facial expression show weight and emotion. Add the name, symbol and a speech bubble with the main message [source: Stein 2026; Tiesler 2023]. (3) Place members by prominence, closeness, alliances and distance [source: Teilearbeit 2023]. (4) Alternatives: wooden figures, chairs or human stand-ins [source: Tiesler 2023]. The Strukturbild 2. Ordnung (a second-order structure picture built from a first survey) is named by the Institute, but its construction is not described online [source: KBT-CmIT1; ZKP-7] [uncertain].
• Example language (illustrative): „Where would you put the worrier, close to the leader or further away? Big or small?“
• Watch for: A picture the client recognises with a felt „aha“. That is a sign it is working [synthesis]. Remember the picture is a snapshot for this topic [source: Methode 2024].

4.6 Exploring team dynamics

• Purpose / when: After the picture is complete, before any solution is sought.
• Steps: Ask about the relationships: who is in front, who has the say, who holds back; where the conflicts and contradictions lie; which members block each other or form alliances; who is late; who works „underground“ [source: Methode 2024; Teilearbeit 2023; Meier 2025 citing Ulrichs 2015 p. 42]. Note the group dynamics, which mirror outer team life [source: Wiki; Tiesler 2023].
• Example language (illustrative): „Who usually gets the microphone in this situation? Who never gets a word in?“
• Watch for: A dominant member that the client equates with „me“. Separate the Oberhaupt from that member [synthesis].

4.7 Inner council meeting (innere Ratsversammlung / Teamkonferenz)

• Purpose / when: The core solution method for difficult, new or important decisions. Everyday inner meetings happen half-consciously and tend to be run by the loud, fast or popular members; a deliberate meeting gives the quieter ones a hearing [source: Wiki; SvT-Modell].
• Steps (the phase list follows the Wikipedia summary of MR3; the Institute confirms only that the meeting has several experiential phases) [source: Wiki; ZKP-7] [uncertain re exact MR3 numbering]: (1) Identify the members who want to speak on this question. (2) Hear each in turn, without criticism; the Oberhaupt or coach takes each perspective and speaks in its voice [source: Teilearbeit 2023]. (3) Free discussion: members address each other directly. (4) Structure: the Oberhaupt summarises the contested questions and positions. (5) Seek a solution through integration or compromise, as in a real team. (6) Conclude: summarise the result and ask each member for its assent [source: Wiki]. In the leader's role, the client then coordinates from a meta position and makes the final decision [source: Teilearbeit 2023].
• Example language (illustrative): „Let's open the meeting. First, the cautious one: what do you want to say?“ — „Now, as head of the team, summarise what you have heard. Where do they disagree?“ — „Can the worrier live with this? What would it need?“
• Watch for: Rarely will every member fully agree [source: Teilearbeit 2023]. Aim for assent, not enthusiasm. It is working when the client can state a decision and name what each member gets from it [synthesis].

4.8 Team dialogue with chairs, figures or role play

• Purpose / when: To make the meeting experiential when talking about the members stays abstract [source: Tiesler 2023; Meier 2025].
• Steps: The „Team-Dialog“ works with different chairs (Bossemeyer, in Schulz von Thun & Stegemann 2015, pp. 115–138, as cited in Meier 2025; procedure not drawn on here [uncertain]). A workable sequence [synthesis drawing on Tiesler 2023 and Teilearbeit 2023]: (1) Give one chair per key member, plus a leader's chair standing slightly apart. (2) The client sits in a member's chair and speaks as it, in the first person. (3) The client switches to the opposing member and answers. (4) The client returns to the leader's chair to summarise and decide. Members can also role-play with each other, or be moved as wooden figures [source: Tiesler 2023].
• Example language (illustrative): „Sit here as the doer. Tell the enjoyer what you think of its plan.“ — „Now come back to your own chair. What do you see from here?“
• Watch for: Strong affect in a member's chair. Bring the client back to the leader's chair and ground them [synthesis]. See §5.3.

4.9 Integration questions for decisions

• Purpose / when: When a decision is stuck between voices, to move from „either–or“ to integration [source: SvT-Entscheidung].
• Steps: The Institute gives three guiding questions (paraphrased except the first): (1) „Wie könnte eine Integration möglichst vieler Stimmen aussehen?“ (what would an integration of as many voices as possible look like?). (2) Which member would make life hard for me if I left it out of the decision? (3) Which conditions could single members set before they agree to the preferred decision? Take time to order the voices, and combine intuition (reliable in familiar situations) with conscious analysis (needed in new or complex ones) [source: SvT-Entscheidung].
• Example language (illustrative): „If you take the job, which part will make trouble later? What would it need to be on board?“
• Watch for: Perfectionist demands for „the right“ decision. Name the inner dilemma as acceptable [source: SvT-Entscheidung].

4.10 Team formation for the situation (Aufstellung, Einsatzleitung)

• Purpose / when: After the council meeting, to decide which members lead in the target situation. This is the Oberhaupt's task of selection and deployment [source: Stein 2026, citing Sonderausgabe 2014 pp. 82–83]. MR3 has a figure titled „Variationen innerer Mannschaftsaufstellungen“ (variations of inner team line-ups), p. 24 as cited in Tiesler 2023, and treats team composition as situation-dependent [source: Wiki].
• Steps: (1) Ask who should get louder, who quieter, and who should join [source: Methode 2024]. (2) Move the figures or drawings to the new line-up according to the goal [source: Tiesler 2023]. (3) Agree how the client will act and which members lead [source: Stein 2026]. (4) If a member does not fit the situation, take it off the field deliberately and respectfully (2006, p. 205, as cited in Meier 2025). For role conflicts, involve an „innerer Profi“ (inner professional) as role clarifier (2006, p. 170, as cited in Meier 2025) [uncertain: procedure]. (5) Test the line-up for Stimmigkeit: authentic and fitting to the situation [source: Meier 2025].
• Example language (illustrative): „In Monday's meeting, who should stand at the front? Where does the worrier sit: on the bench, or as an adviser beside you?“
• Watch for: A member that is „benched“ without acknowledgment may sabotage later. Give it a role or a time [synthesis, consistent with Teilearbeit 2023].

4.11 Working with unwelcome and banished members (Schattenkabinett)

• Purpose / when: When the picture lacks an obvious voice, a member is despised, or something works „underground“, e.g. unexplained sabotage or bodily tension [source: Meier 2025; Methode 2024].
• Steps: (1) Ask whether any voice is not welcome in the team, or would be embarrassing to show. (2) Name the member neutrally, and explore its concern and positive intention [source: Teilearbeit 2023]. (3) Acknowledge it as part of the team. Self-acceptance starts with welcoming such voices [source: Methode 2024]. (4) Decide with the Oberhaupt how it can be heard, e.g. in a limited role [synthesis]. MR3 covers the shadow cabinet on pp. 201–229 (2006 printing, as cited in Meier 2025); That text is not drawn on, and its procedures are not given here [uncertain].
• Example language (illustrative): „Is there someone in your team you'd rather not show me, or not show yourself? What does that one want for you?“
• Watch for: Shame, flooding, or material that points to trauma (§5.3, §5.8). Go slowly, and leave the decision to show a member with the client [synthesis].

4.12 Inner team development and transfer ladder

• Purpose / when: Over several sessions, to develop the team's cooperation beyond one decision. The starting point is usually a „zerstrittene Haufen“ (quarrelling bunch); the developmental goal is a cooperating team [source: Methode 2024; ZKP-7].
• Steps: The Institute teaches directions and methods of „Innere Teamentwicklung“ and an individual „Transfer-Stufenleiter“ with a concretely defined first step [source: ZKP-7; KBT-CmIT1]. The detailed method is not online [uncertain]. A workable form [synthesis]: (1) Define the target behaviour in the real situation. (2) Grade it into steps, from easy to hard. (3) Set the first step concretely: when, where, with whom, which member leads. (4) Review it next session, and update the team picture.
• Example language (illustrative): „What is the smallest step this week where the clear-speaker gets to lead?“
• Watch for: Steps that are too big. Shrink them until the client is confident [synthesis].

4.13 Closing and review

• Purpose / when: End of every Inner Team session, and in a follow-up session.
• Steps: (1) Secure the insights. (2) Use systemic questions to set the next steps. (3) Repeat the opening scaling. (4) Clear any open questions [source: Tiesler 2023]. (5) In a follow-up, ask what has changed since the line-up and whether new voices have appeared [source: Methode 2024]. Let the client photograph the picture or take it home [synthesis].
• Example language (illustrative): „Where are you now on the 0–10 clarity scale? What will you take away from this meeting?“
• Watch for: Clients leaving with a member still „up in arms“. Acknowledge it and plan to meet it again [synthesis].

4.14 Self-coaching between sessions

• Purpose / when: To build the client's own Oberhaupt function. The Institute offers „Selbstcoaching mit dem Inneren Team“ as a course [source: SvT-Modell]; the model is also meant for self-clarification [source: KBT-CmIT1].
• Steps [synthesis]: (1) When torn, pause and give it time for reflection (the source suggests time to think as a first step in inner conflict) [source: Tiesler 2023]. (2) List who is speaking, with a name and key sentence each. (3) Hold a brief written council meeting using the three integration questions (§4.9). (4) Note the decision and bring it to the next session.
• Example language (illustrative): „This week, when you notice the tug-of-war, write down the team's voices in a few lines each. We'll look at it together.“
• Watch for: Self-critical rumination disguised as a „meeting“, where one critic dominates. Coach the leader's neutrality [synthesis].

4.15 Links to the other Hamburg models

The Institute teaches the Inner Team together with the Kommunikationsquadrat (four-sides model), the Teufelskreis (vicious circle), the Werte- und Entwicklungsquadrat (values and development square), the Situationsmodell and the Riemann-Thomann model [source: KBT-CmIT1; ZKP-7; SvT-Coaching-Ausbildung]. Typical uses [synthesis]: in a Teufelskreis, ask which inner member speaks on each side of the circle. In a values square, see two opposing members as a value and its sister value that need balancing. The Institute's own procedures for combining the models are not drawn on here [uncertain].

4.16 Referral conversation (when coaching is not enough)

• Purpose / when: When signs in §5.8 appear. This follows the ICF referral guidance, not Schulz von Thun [source: ICF].
• Steps: (1) Meet privately, with enough unhurried time. (2) Open with care, and describe specific observed behaviours or changes rather than labels. (3) Ask open questions and listen. Ask how the client feels about the suggestion. (4) Give information about therapy and its benefits, and normalise help-seeking as strength. (5) Offer practical help, e.g. finding a therapist or booking in session. (6) Expect to raise it more than once, and respect the client's decision unless there is risk to self or others. (7) Return to the coaching agreement: decide whether coaching continues in parallel (if the client functions and progresses) or pauses [source: ICF].
• Example language (illustrative): „Over the last weeks you've told me you're sleeping badly and can hardly get to work. I'm concerned. That's more than our coaching can address. Would you be open to seeing a psychotherapist? I can help you find one.“
• Watch for: Imminent risk. Follow the emergency protocol in §5.8, not this conversation alone [source: ICF].

5. Handling problems

The sources say little about difficulties. Unless tagged otherwise, the guidance in this section is my own [synthesis].

5.1 Stuck: no members come, or „I just don't know“

• Make the situation more concrete: one scene, one moment, one sentence the client would have to say [synthesis; concreteness per Tiesler 2023].
• Start from the body or from a feeling („what happens in your stomach?“). Members can appear as moods and bodily signals [source: Wiki].
• Treat „I don't know“ as a member, e.g. „the undecided one“, and ask what it protects.
• Offer tentative hypotheses only as questions, and let the client reject them. The coach is a clarification helper, not the author of the team [source: ZKP-7].

5.2 Too many members, or a chaotic picture

• Restrict the team to members who speak on this question now; the picture is a snapshot [source: Methode 2024].
• Group similar voices, and pick the two or three with the strongest tension for the council meeting.

5.3 Overwhelm or strong affect during dialogue or role play

• Return the client to the leader's chair, or to the drawing, to restore a meta position. The leader coordinates from above [source: Teilearbeit 2023].
• Slow down, ground the client (feet, breath, room), and switch from speaking as the member to speaking about it. The distance of member language is a built-in regulator [source: Meier 2025, citing Ulrichs 2015].
• If affect relates to traumatic memories, do not process them within this coaching model. Contain, close, and consider trauma-focused therapy (§5.8).

5.4 One member dominates (inner critic, driver, worrier)

• Name the domination as a team-leadership issue: who is leading the meeting right now, the head of the team or the critic? [Parallelism: source: Tiesler 2023; Methode 2024]
• Give the dominant member an explicit hearing first, then hold it to the rules: no criticism while others speak [source: Wiki].
• Ask what it fears would happen if a quieter member were heard. Every member wants the best for the whole [source: Wiki].

5.5 A member is rejected or despised

• Excluded members keep working underground [source: Meier 2025; Methode 2024]. Do not side with the client against it.
• Rename it by function, and look for its positive intention [source: Teilearbeit 2023].
• If the client refuses, respect that. Note the voice and leave the door open.

5.6 No agreement in the council meeting

• Full agreement is rarely possible [source: Teilearbeit 2023]. Accept the inner dilemma [source: SvT-Entscheidung].
• Use the conditions question: what would each member need in order to assent? [source: SvT-Entscheidung]
• Remind the client that the Oberhaupt decides; assent is sought, but unanimity is not required [source: Wiki].
• Give the decision time, and allow a follow-up meeting.

5.7 Non-adherence, rupture and resistance to the method

• Not doing the transfer step: look for the member that blocked it, treat that as data, and shrink the step (§4.12).
• „This is childish / I'm not crazy“: go back to the premise that plurality is normal, not pathological [source: SvT-Modell]. Offer a sober variant: a list of considerations on paper instead of figures or chairs.
• Rupture with the coach, e.g. the client feels judged about a part: acknowledge it, own any judging naming, and repair before you continue. Contact matters more than technique [source: SvT-Coaching-Ausbildung].
• Coach siding with a member, e.g. a favourite „healthy“ voice: notice it, and restore neutrality; supervision is recommended [source: GCoE on supervision].

5.8 Coaching–psychotherapy boundary and signs for referral

Published boundary.

• EMCC / AC Global Code of Ethics: coaching and mentoring are „not counselling, psychotherapy or medical intervention“. Members work within the limits of their competence, refer to a suitably qualified professional when appropriate, encourage the client to end the engagement when a different form of professional help would serve better, and are supervised [source: GCoE].
• ICF: coaching focuses on the present and future, development and well-functioning clients. Therapy addresses psychopathology, healing and trauma. A coach does not diagnose or treat, and refers when needs exceed their qualification or contract. The ICF Code of Ethics (3.23) and Core Competency 1 require knowing when to refer [source: ICF].
• Schulz von Thun: the model treats plurality as normal, not pathological [source: SvT-Modell], and states that members are not dissociated subpersonalities [source: Wiki]. MR3 discusses the model's limits on pp. 262f (2006, as cited in Meier 2025) [uncertain]. The Institute pages give no explicit coaching–therapy boundary or referral criteria [source: SvT-Coaching-Ausbildung; KBT-CmIT1]. Secondary sources state that the model does not replace depth-psychological therapy for serious disorders [source: Stein 2026], and that it targets everyday communication [source: Meier 2025].

Concrete signs that a client needs referral to clinical care [source: ICF unless tagged]:

• The problem impairs daily functioning (self-care, work, home, leisure) for weeks, by duration, frequency and intensity.
• There is no progress in coaching after a reasonable time, because of an underlying psychological barrier.
• Recurring past issues, a persistent victim stance, or continuing effects of trauma.
• Marked mood changes, falling performance, social withdrawal, changes in weight, appearance or hygiene, or sleep disturbance. A cluster of signs matters more than any single one.
• Possible depression (pervasive sadness or hopelessness for more than two weeks), anxiety disorder (excessive worry most days for months), eating disorder, PTSD symptoms (intrusions, avoidance, hypervigilance), substance problems, or thought disorder (paranoia, hallucinations, incoherent thinking).
• Any suicidal ideation, hopelessness, talk of having no reason to live, or giving away possessions. Follow emergency protocols.
• Model-specific signs [synthesis]: the client experiences members as separate identities, with amnesia, losing time or „someone else taking over“; the inner „voices“ are heard as real voices; chair work triggers flashbacks or dissociation; a „shadow“ member carries self-harm impulses; or a harsh inner critic is part of a depressive picture.
• Coach self-check: you feel overly responsible, pressured to solve the client's problems, anxious around them, or feel you have failed them. Consult a supervisor [source: ICF].

What to do. Hold the referral conversation (§4.16). Contract scope and confidentiality limits at the outset. Coaching may continue alongside therapy if the client functions and progresses, or pause until they are ready [source: ICF]. Emergencies: if there is imminent danger, contact emergency services and stay with the person. Ask about access to means of harm, and arrange for those to be removed or handed to someone for safekeeping. Discuss whom to notify, and follow up. Safety takes precedence over confidentiality [source: ICF]. A licensed psychotherapist using the model inside therapy treats these signs as indications to switch to standard clinical assessment and disorder-specific treatment rather than continue the coaching format [synthesis].

Sources

Sources

• das Innere Team – Schulz von Thun Institut [SvT-Modell]
• Coaching mit dem Inneren Team 1 – Seminarbeschreibung (KBT, Schulz von Thun Institut) [KBT-CmIT1]
• 7 Theorie und Praxis Inneres Team – ZKP, Schulz von Thun Institut [ZKP-7]
• Das Innere Team für stimmige Entscheidungen – Schulz von Thun Institut [SvT-Entscheidung]
• Coaching nach Schulz von Thun – die Ausbildung (Flyer) [SvT-Coaching-Ausbildung]
• Inner Team – Wikipedia [Wiki]
• Der Einsatz des Modells Das innere Team im Coaching – D. Tiesler (inKonstellation, 2023) [Tiesler 2023]
• Das innere Team – Teilearbeit im Coaching (inKonstellation, 2023) [Teilearbeit 2023]
• Das Innere Team – Methode und Herangehensweise (inKonstellation, 2024) [Methode 2024]
• Das innere Team in Aktion – L. Stein (inKonstellation, 2026) [Stein 2026]
• CAS-Arbeit L. Meier, Universität Bern (2025) [Meier 2025]
• Referring a Client to Therapy – International Coaching Federation [ICF]
• Global Code of Ethics – EMCC (December 2025 version) [GCoE]
• Global Code of Ethics – Association for Coaching [GCoE]

Further reading (not drawn on; content via the sources above)

• Schulz von Thun, F. (1998). Miteinander reden 3: Das „innere Team“ und situationsgerechte Kommunikation. Reinbek: Rowohlt. Printings cited: 2006, 2013/2014, 2023.
• Schulz von Thun, F. (2014). Miteinander reden 1–3 (Sonderausgabe). Reinbek: Rowohlt.
• Schulz von Thun, F. & Stegemann, W. (eds.) (2004; 2nd ed. 2015; 2025). Das Innere Team in Aktion: Praktische Arbeit mit dem Modell. Reinbek: Rowohlt. Includes chapters by Ulrichs and by Bossemeyer (Team-Dialog).
• Schulz von Thun, F. Miteinander reden: Fragen und Antworten, ch. 4 (recommended by the Institute) [uncertain: year not verified].