About this workshop

During this two-day workshop, Richard Schwartz will teach collaboratively with Nancy Sowell and Cece Sykes. Dr. Schwartz will begin the workshop with an overview of the Internal Family Systems (IFS) model. His teaching will review the key concepts of the model to orient those new to the model, while enriching the understanding of IFS for trained practitioners. On the first day of the workshop, Nancy Sowell will describe her IFS health therapy model with people impacted by chronic illness. CeCe Sykes will bring her expertise on trauma reactive addictive inner systems to the second day of the workshop. The teaching will include didactic explanations of ideas, live and videotaped demonstrations, experiential practice, discussion groups, as well as Q & A.

On day one, Nancy Sowell will introduce and provide a broad overview of the IFS health therapy process. She will describe how trauma-related burdens, shame, unmet developmental needs, and subsequent protective strategies can deeply affect the mind-body and increase the risk of recruiting parts who develop and maintain chronic illness. She will explain how IFS can be used with clients to reduce specific burdens and protective strategies of parts who increase dysregulation in physiological systems and contribute to chronic illness. Dick and Nancy will describe and demonstrate this application of IFS to support greater balance and well-being with people experiencing physical health problems. Participants will be guided through experiential exercises focused on different elements of the process. They will watch a demonstration session with a client who has parts linked to a health problem. Workshop participants will learn about:

  • Interconnection between the internal family system of parts and physiological systems
  • Factors that make a difference to systems experiencing chronic medical conditions
  • Over-arching changes needed to support well-being for people struggling with health issues

On the second day Dick and Cece will explore working with a trauma/addictive process framework in the context of the IFS model. This application of IFS to this population will reveal commonalities across many entrenched internal dynamics. Rather than targeting symptoms, participants will learn to focus on treating the system as whole. They will reach about the roles of polarized firefighters and managers and the exiles they try in vain to protect. You will learn how these patterns frequently present in traumatized systems struggling with compulsive processes and how to engage addictive parts with care using a with a trauma IFS lens to foster lasting change. 

Workshop participants will learn about:

  • The trauma addictive process from an IFS lens
  • Mapping polarizations and ways to work with them
  • Ways to engage protective parts and exiles in trauma addictive systems
  • Exploring and visualizing systemic dynamics through the “Draw Your Triangle” exercise.
your instructorS

Richard C. Schwartz, PhD

Nancy Sowell, LICSW

Cece Sykes, LCSW, ACSW

course information

Early bird rate: 8/23/26 to 10/17/26-$350

 Regular registration rate: 10/18/26 to 2/3/27-$390

  Late Registration rate: 2/4/27 to 3/3/26-$430



  • Early Registration Deadline: October 17, 2026
  • Black Therapists Rock, National Association of Black Counselors and all BIPOC clinicians may access a 25% off equity rate by using the “promo code” EQUITY
  • NEAFAST Members may access a 15% discount using the “promo code” NEAFAST
  • Students may access a 35% discount by using the “promo code” STUDENT
  • 12 CEs will be available at an additional cost of $40 paid upon registration for social workers, mental health counselors, and marriage & family therapists. See our CE page for details about approved CE credits across disciplines.
  • 12 CEs for IFS Certification will be available at no fee for those who are to use them, IFS Certified professionals and those seeking certification post IFSI Level 1 training.

Location

The event will be held live on Zoom. We will not be recording this event for participant access.

Registration Instructions

Payment options include online registration with using PayPal as a conduit to your credit card, bank, or a PayPal account. You may also register online and mail a check with a note indicating what program the payment is for. If you are mailing payment, please note that your space is not reserved until we receive it.

Mail checks made out to Elizabeth Brenner to:
203 Arlington Street, Suite 4, Watertown, MA 02472

Email acknowledgments will be sent to confirm receipt of online registrations only.

An email will be sent a few days before the start date of the event with details about your program.

Additional Information

Day 1 and 2:

  • 10-11:30am Learning
  • 11:30-11:45am Break
  • 11:45am-1pm Learning
  • 1-2pm Lunch
  • 2-3:30pm Learning
  • 3:30-3:45pm Break
  • 3:45-5:30pm Learning

The Internal Family Systems model and practices bring an effective, non-shaming, non-blaming, strength-based approach to the ways parts of people adapt to traumatic experiences. By engaging in problematic behaviors to cope, internal systems inadvertently create additional problems. Approaching people from a framework that sees that problematic emotions, behaviors, and thinking make sense provides a healing context in which the IFS technology can be successfully applied to incalcitrant problems that plague people and society at large.

This learning event is designed for helping professionals including, but not limited to, social workers, mental health counselors, and marriage & family therapists. We designed the learning methodology to further develop beginning and intermediate professionals learning to apply the IFS Model by supporting improvement of skills for direct practice. Advanced IFS practitioners may want to attend the workshop in order to deepen their practice in direct service, supervision, and teaching roles. People who attend from professions other than those we are able to provide CEs for may request a Certificate of Attendance.

Participants will:

  1. Learn the core systemic concepts of the IFS model
  2. Identify the inner critic as a protective part within the Internal Family Systems model and articulate its underlying positive intent
  3. Practice unblending from critical parts and accessing Self energy to relate to them with curiosity rather than reactivity
  4. Describe the process by which an inner critic can be transformed into a supportive inner advisor
  5. Identify and differentiate the specific characteristics that distinguish obsessive compulsive protectors from other protective parts in the internal system, particularly how obsessional managers respond to “sticky brain circuitry” and recruit compulsive firefighters.
  6. Apply specialized IFS techniques for engaging with hypervigilant obsessional parts without reinforcing their content, and with compulsive parts to build access to and trust in Self.
  7. Describe how the relationship between parts and neurobiology in OCD creates unique treatment challenges that make integrating IFS principles with first line OCD treatment valuable enhancement to traditional treatment approaches.
  8. Explain basic concepts of the “OC subsystem” and parts language to improve client engagement and reduce treatment resistance in OCD therapy.

Participants MUST attend 100% of the program to earn the 12 CEs approved for eligible professions.

CE certificates will be downloadable within three days of each event after participants complete the workshop or course and fill out the online evaluation.

Read detailed information about CEs here.

No refunds are available for cancellations by participants regardless of the reason or time frame. If participants cancel 30 days or more prior to the event beginning, they may apply the fee to a future program. Workshops may be cancelled by Therapy Training Boston if minimum enrollment requirements are not met or in the case of other unexpected circumstances. If this occurs, a full refund will be provided.
Course content level: This workshop will provide important information for clinicians who are at an introductory or intermediate level of knowledge about this topic. Advanced practitioners are welcome to attend the event to deepen their knowledge of the subject for practice, supervision, teaching, and administrative roles. Audience: This offering is relevant to all helping professionals including but not limited to social workers, mental health counselors, and marriage & family therapists. There are no conflicts of interest: There is no commercial support for this program.
For all event policies read this, detailed CE information here.

Liz Brenner interviews Dick Schwartz about the development of the IFS Model.