As on the inside, so on the outside
As some of you may have already noticed, I love metaphors! Unsurprisingly, my favorite coaching tool is the Inner Team model. Following the principle “As inside, so outside,” we can work with our inner parts just as we would with a team in an organizational setting.
The Inner Team model was developed by German psychologist Friedemann Schulz von Thun and wonderfully expanded by authors including Dagmar Kumbier and Anna Fuchs (see references below).
Our Self—the leader—holds (ideally!) the leadership position. When we become aware of our inner dynamics and assign names and visual representations to individual parts, we can work with them much more effectively and achieve healthy self-leadership. Counselors, coaches, and psychotherapists facilitate this process, though it can also serve as a self-coaching tool.
The Inner Team is versatile and particularly well-suited for intercultural and transcultural contexts. It has provided me with astonishingly rapid clarity during major life decisions. As a Third Culture Kid (having grown up across multiple countries and cultures), I often face identity questions that this model answered satisfactorily for the first time.
Key Applications of the Inner Team:
- Decision-making
- Self-leadership and resilience
- Identity questions and self-clarification
- Resolving inner conflicts and blocks
- Shadow integration, self-acceptance, and self-love
- Working with wounded inner children
- Empowering free inner children for greater joy and lightness
While some aspects belong to psychotherapy—where I naturally refer clients to licensed therapists—Dagmar Kumbier’s expanded approach integrates elements from positive psychology, resource-oriented work, transactional analysis, psychodynamics, and the Internal Family Systems (IFS) framework developed by Richard Schwartz and Tom Holmes.
Much can be clarified and resolved within a coaching dynamic. As a trauma-informed coach, I provide a safe space for my clients. The Inner Team remains an insider tip internationally, and I would love to contribute to sharing this method beyond the German-speaking world.
Intercultural Coaching
My professional focus is intercultural coaching, which brings a unique layer of complexity. The “Intercultural” in my practice applies when clients:
- Come from different cultural backgrounds than my own
- Have multicultural roots or transcultural childhood experiences, such as Cross-Cultural Kids or Third Culture Kids
- Relocated to another country as adults or live in a bicultural partnership
- Work in international companies and multicultural teams
The culture factor is often underestimated—even within one's own inner team
While I take pride in my multicultural inner dynamics, they can also present challenges. In her book Transkulturelle Herausforderungen meistern (Mastering Transcultural Challenges), Anna Fuchs uses the metaphor of a revolving stage for the inner team where specific key figures step forward to function effectively in a given cultural context. For me as a Third Culture Kid, this concept was a game-changer!
I see immense potential in people with transcultural backgrounds, particularly when it comes to solving global challenges. My goal is to help sort through their inner chaos so this potential can fully unfold.
I see immense potential in people with transcultural backgrounds, particularly when it comes to solving global challenges. My goal is to help sort through their inner chaos so this potential can fully unfold.
When we truly arrive within ourselves, we can build genuine bridges to others—and change the world together!
My Qualifications around the Inner Team Model
In addition to my intercultural (systemic) coaching training at interculture e.V., where the method was part of the curriculum, I have completed advanced training courses on the Inner Team:
- Schulz von Thun Kommunikation GmbH – Das Innere Team Modell für interkulturelles Training und Beratung mit Anna Fuchs
- SIETAR Deutschland Online Event – Hamburger Kommunikationspsychologie nach Schulz von Thun für das interkulturelle Feld mit Anna Fuchs
- IFIT – Institut für integrative Teilearbeit (gegründet von Dagmar Kumbier): Beratung mit dem Inneren Team (Basis- und Aufbaukurs) mit Doris Wallraff
The Spirituality of Internal Family Systems – Richard Schwartz (PhD), Online
Recommended Literature on the Inner Team Model (available only in German):
Kumbier, Dagmar (2025): Wie Dein Inneres Team tickt. Innere Anteile verstehen, Ressourcen aktivieren, Konflikte lösen. Klett-Cotta, Stuttgart.
Fuchs, Anna (2022). Transkulturelle Herausforderungen meistern: Das Modell des Inneren Teams im interkulturellen Kontext. Rowohlt, Hamburg.
Kumbier, D., & Schulz von Thun, F. (Hrsg.) (6. Auflage 2013). Interkulturelle Kommunikation: Methoden, Modelle, Beispiele. Rowohlt, Hamburg.
Schulz von Thun, Friedemann (29. Auflage 2021): Miteinander Reden 3: Das „Innere Team“ und situationsgerechte Kommunikation. Reinbek: Rowohlt.
Hi, I'm Wiebke,
As an intercultural coach, I specialize in working with the “multicultural inner team.” I provide you with the tools you need to find balance in your inner home. Perhaps, like me, you are an Adult Third Culture Kid or a Cross-Cultural Kid? If so, this method will be particularly helpful in naming and harmonizing all your cultural influences and personality traits.
Are you ready to understand your story and embrace every piece of your multicultural mosaic?