IFS Foundations for Coaches

Waitlist available for 2025

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IFS Online Circle

Enrollment is open for a limited time

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On-demand Learning Programs

Advanced courses to continue your IFS journey

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Internal Family Systems Workbook

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A Six-week Online Course

Self paced learning for your personal growth

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What is Internal Family Systems?

Transformative psychotherapy… and empowering paradigm.

IFS is a transformative tool that conceives of every human being as a system of protective and wounded inner parts led by a core Self. We believe the mind is naturally multiple and that is a good thing. Just like members of a family, inner parts are forced from their valuable states into extreme roles within us. Self is in everyone. It can’t be damaged. It knows how to heal. 

IFS is frequently used as an evidence-based psychotherapy, helping people heal by accessing and healing their protective and wounded inner parts. IFS creates inner and outer connectedness by helping people first access their Self and, from that core, come to understand and heal their parts.  

But IFS is much more than a non-pathologizing evidence-based psychotherapy to be used in a clinical setting. It is also a way of understanding personal and intimate relationships and stepping into life with the 8 Cs: confidence, calm, compassion, courage, creativity, clarity, curiosity, and connectedness. Professionals from many different backgrounds such as, but not limited to, body workers, legal mediation, school administration, life coaches, and religious leaders may utilize IFS to inform and guide their work. Our growing list of educational programs aims to serve not only therapists but the wider public and other professions.  

The mission of IFS Institute is to bring more Self leadership to the world. 

Video

An Overview of IFS

Training

Professional IFS 
Training and Certification

IFS Institute offers three progressive levels of professional training for those wishing to become IFS therapists and practitioners. An IFS Level 1 Training is your gateway to truly understanding and embodying the IFS model, both in your own life and in your work with others.

IFS Certified Therapists and IFS Certified Practitioners carry a distinguished mark demonstrating competency and experience of the IFS model. Learn more about becoming IFS Certified here.

Beginning in August 2024 we are implementing a new General Application and Registration Process for IFS Level 1, 2, and 3 Training programs. Learn more about this process here > 

Online Learning

IFS Online Circle

IFS Online Circle

Our signature introductory online course taught by Dr. Richard Schwartz and Senior IFS trainers, Toni Herbine-Blank and Pam Krause. Enrollment opens each March and September when we offer monthly teachings progressing through the concepts of IFS including The Flow of the Model, The Protective System, Fears of the Protectors, Working with Exiles, Polarizations, Direct Access and In-Sight, and more.  

IFS Continuity Program

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Our Continuity Membership Program is for those who are enrolled in or have completed an IFS Level 1 Training and those who have already participated in the Online Circle program. This online community is a global platform for continuous learning to deepen IFS knowledge and skills. Enrollment opens three times a year as we introduce a new four-month course.

2025 IFS Annual Conference

2025 IFS Annual Conference

September 18-20, 2025
Q Center,
St. Charles, Illinois

We’re excited to continue our commitment to alternating between in-person and virtual formats, balancing the value of meaningful face-to-face connections with greater accessibility for our global community. Mark your calendars and join us for an inspiring in-person experience in 2025! Stay tuned for more details.

Call for Proposals Now Open! 

IFS News
February 2025 IFSI DEI Statement

Standing Strong in Our Commitment to DE&I: Resilience, Growth, and Action

Our commitment to DE&I is unwavering despite the United States government’s efforts to eliminate DE&I efforts while denying systemic inequities. We recognize that these actions are not limited to the United States. In these times of uncertainty and upheaval, we will continue the work to  foster connection, open ourselves to serving new communities and promote the evolution of the model and ourselves. We are committed to long term change. We are resilient. We will work together.

Workshops / Retreats
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Internal Family Systems Workshop

Schedule

July 14-18, 2025

Monday - Friday: 9:00a.m. - 12:30p.m. EDT | 30-Minute Break
 

In person and online registration options are available - Learn more and register through Cape Cod Institute.

he Internal Family Systems Model is a method of therapy that fosters transformation, gently, quickly, and effectively. It views multiplicity of mind as our natural state and our “parts” as sub-personalities that may be healed and transformed by bringing the Self into its rightful role as leader of the internal system. The Self, a core of valuable leadership qualities, is our true nature–compassionate and loving. Although IFS has been most widely used as a treatment for trauma, it is a flexible model that provides abundant opportunities for application. 

 

IFS advances treatment in several areas...

Testimonials

IFS has been the single most influential model by which I view the world, my interactions with others and myself.  It is more than a model for professionals in the mental health field. It is a model that facilitates one's personal growth and is intuitive and easily accessible.  It is applicable and versatile for a myriad of contexts including corporate teams and school classrooms.

Ellyn, Chicago IL

Great insight is developing my own ability to have presence and help my coaching clients do the same - plus opportunity to connect to a unique, warm, and supportive community.

M. Hurwich

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