Frank Anderson – Comprehensive Internal Family Systems Therapy Course

Hailed by Dr. Bessel van der Kolk, author of the New York Times best-selling book The Body Keeps the Score, Internal Family Systems is the go-to treatment method that all clinicians should know.

Using a non-pathologizing, accelerated approach rooted in neuroscience, Internal Family Systems gives you an effective, evidence-based treatment plan to help all of your clients experience deep healing.

One of the most popular and effective treatment techniques used by mental health professionals today, thousands of clinicians already trust Internal Family Systems in their work to help clients struggling with anxiety, depression, trauma, addiction, and other mental health conditions.

Join your peers and help change your clients’ lives by signing up today. Upon completion, you will understand how IFS:

• Helps clients find safe ways to connect to early childhood emotions as they feel grounded in their true self
• Aligns the therapist with the innate wisdom of each and every client — cultivating compassion
• Views the multiplicity of the mind as normal; every part has a positive intention and every part has value
• Transforms negative beliefs to help clients achieve lasting change in their lives
• Offers unique, clarifying, and empowering methods to address common clinical concerns

What you’ll learn in Comprehensive Internal Family Systems Therapy Course:

IFS THERAPY FOUNDATIONS

Internal Family Systems (IFS) therapy

• Comprehensive, compassionate, non-pathologizing treatment approach
• Paradigm-shifting perspective on “psychopathology”
• Easily integrated into other therapeutic modalities
• Teach clients to access inner wisdom and self-compassion to help clients heal traumatic wounds

Evolution of the Model

• Development of the IFS model by Richard C. Schwartz, Ph.D.
• IFS therapy as an empirically validated treatment: Summary of research support
• Goals of IFS therapy
• Starting an IFS session and the flow of the model

The Neuroscience of IFS Therapy

• The mind and the brain
• Neurons-networks and parts
• Meditation and self-energy
• Understanding the fear response

IFS THERAPY STEP-BY-STEP

Step 1: Using Meditative Processes to Identify and Connect with a Target Part

• Differentiate the person from the symptom
• Access a state of compassion and curiosity essential for healing
• Establish a relationship with the target part
• Learn the history and benevolent intention behind the symptom

Step 2: Working with Protective Parts

• Facilitate internal attachment work
• Learn to address the fears/concerns of protective parts
• Establish a trusting relationship with proactive and reactive parts
• Resolve internal conflicts
• Gain permission to proceed with healing

Step 3: Healing the Wound

• Connect with the wounded part
• Witness the pain rather than relive it
• Retrieve the wounded part
• Release/unburden thoughts, feelings, and physical sensations
• Life without the wound, the post-healing process

CLINICAL APPLICATIONS OF IFS THERAPY

Therapist Parts

• Countertransference redefined
• Identifying parts that get in the way
• The Science of extreme reactions in therapists and clients

Trauma and Attachment

• Roadblocks to healing trauma
• Neurobiology of PTSD and Dissociation
• Dealing with the extreme symptoms and staying in Self
• Healing attachment wounds: What IFS therapy offers

Depression and Anxiety

• Differentiating feelings from symptoms
• Address the biology and process the wound
• Protection or genetics

Psychosis and Bipolar Disorder

• Addressing psychotic parts
• Differentiating psychosis from trauma dysregulation
• Treating biological issues while addressing emotional pain

Substances and Addictions

• Befriending addictive parts
• Healing wounds or stopping use?
• Addressing the biology and the behavior after healing

Eating Disorders

• When food “abstinence” is not an option
• Multiple eating parts
• Self-led eating

Shame and Grief

• The shamer and the shamed
• Critical and neglect shame cycles
• Loss, letting go, and healing

IFS Therapy With Specific Client Populations

• Children and adolescents
• Parenting
• Couples
• Groups and inpatient settings
• LGBTQ
• Spirituality and culture

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