Speakers
Ralph S. Cohen, PhD, LMFT, IFS Senior Lead Trainer
Ralph Cohen, PhD, LMFT is a Professor Emeritus in the Department of Counseling and Family Therapy at Central Connecticut State University where he served as director of the Masters Program in Marriage and Family Therapy from 1994 - 2021 and continues to coordinate the Internal Family Systems Professional Training program through the Office of Continuing Education at CCSU. He is a Senior Lead Trainer for IFS and has taught Level 1 and 2 trainings since 2005. He is an Approved Supervisor for the American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy. He was a founding co-editor of the Journal of Self Leadership, an IFS-oriented professional publication. As a licensed psychologist and Marriage and Family therapist, Ralph has a private practice in West Hartford, CT, providing IFS-based therapy for individuals, couples, and families.
Session
Rina Dubin, Ed.D
IFSI Lead Trainer
Rina Dubin, Ed.D, is a solo lead trainer and a licensed psychologist practicing in Newton, MA. She provides psychotherapy to individuals and couples and offers consultation for individual, dyad and small groups. She also offers workshops to larger groups on various topics which always include an experiential focus.
IFS has been foundational for Rina since her first immersion in 2004. She has found IFS to be the deepest and most profound approach for healing and expansion and highly values how this work is an approach to living and not a “model.” More recently, a focus of Rina’s work has been to expand not only how up-close systems (family, school) impact our parts but how the larger systems through which we all navigate impact our parts and our different identities. This feels much more complete and ties to her legacy heirloom of “make the world better.”
IFS has been foundational for Rina since her first immersion in 2004. She has found IFS to be the deepest and most profound approach for healing and expansion and highly values how this work is an approach to living and not a “model.” More recently, a focus of Rina’s work has been to expand not only how up-close systems (family, school) impact our parts but how the larger systems through which we all navigate impact our parts and our different identities. This feels much more complete and ties to her legacy heirloom of “make the world better.”
Session
Tulasi Jordan, LCSW, BCD, SEP, EMDRIA, EYRT-500
Tulasi Jordan, LCSW, BCD, SEP, EYRT-500 is a certified IFS consultant, therapist, and program assistant; a somatic Experiencing Practitioner; a certified EMDR therapist; and certified Sacred Centers Healer. She has been providing psychotherapy for over 25 years. With a love for Eastern Contemplative traditions, she began teaching yoga and meditation in 1993. In addition to being certified in several forms of yoga, she is a certified qigong instructor.
Sessions
Jenna Knapp
Jenna Knapp is a peacebuilding practitioner who has been working in El Salvador for the past decade on various trauma healing and community organizing initiatives. Much of her work has centered on accompanying youth experiencing incarceration in processing and sharing their stories, in an effort to shift toward restorative responses to violence in an otherwise highly punitive setting. She is one of the creators of the organization Nueva Esperanza, a community-based organization in San Salvador, training community leaders in various healing modalities, including IFS, to support greater community health and resilience amidst a context of state-sponsored repression and many forms of chronic violence. The organization is funded by individuals in the United States who are invited to recognize the irreparable harm that varied forms of US intervention have caused in El Salvador, and who are committed to channeling resources towards healing, in the spirit of reparations.
In January, 2023, Jenna was one of the lead midwives of the Construyendo Desde Adentro community, which links IFS practitioners from around the world with Salvadoran peacebuilders to support their personal healing and strengthen their capacity to tend to healing and conflict transformation in their context of extreme repression, intergenerational trauma, and extreme polarization.
In January, 2023, Jenna was one of the lead midwives of the Construyendo Desde Adentro community, which links IFS practitioners from around the world with Salvadoran peacebuilders to support their personal healing and strengthen their capacity to tend to healing and conflict transformation in their context of extreme repression, intergenerational trauma, and extreme polarization.
Session
Marilyn Unger-Riepe, MA, MSW, LICSW
Marilyn Unger Riepe, MA, MSW, LICSW is the founder of Move into Self-Compassion, Authentic Movement workshops for IFS practitioners and friends. Marilyn is an IFS therapist with an MA in Dance/Movement Therapy and an MSW in Clinical Social Work. She is passionate about IFS and Authentic Movement and is eager to share the ways somatic movement can enhance our connection to our parts and to Self energy. Marilyn has a private practice in Sudbury, MA, specializing for over 30 years in treating individuals, couples, and families.
Session
AjoiA
AjoiA creates transformative experiences to help every human being feel better. AjoiA aims to improve how all individuals feel and improve their mental health and productivity. A new, vibrant, and sustainable approach to wellness and mental health, which integrates music, art, and performance with the kind of future tech that is inspiring and exciting. AjoiA's ethos is that of the protection and care of every living thing and the environment too.
Anthony Gorry's career spans 25 years, primarily as a music producer, writer and musical director. Since the fall of 2022, Anthony has been collaborating with Dr. Stephen Porges on a project developing music that enables the body to feel safe enough to welcome proximity, accessibility, and therapy.
Andrew “Shovell” Lovell is a psychotherapeutic counsellor, sound therapist, Craniosacral Therapist, and Somatic Experience practitioner. He has been in private practice since 2010 and has been working with children and adolescents since 2020. Alongside his private practice, Andrew specializes in CPTSD, grief, addictions, domestic violence, depression, anxiety, and abuse. He is best known for being the percussionist and member of the multi-platinum and award-winning band M People.
Anthony Gorry's career spans 25 years, primarily as a music producer, writer and musical director. Since the fall of 2022, Anthony has been collaborating with Dr. Stephen Porges on a project developing music that enables the body to feel safe enough to welcome proximity, accessibility, and therapy.
Andrew “Shovell” Lovell is a psychotherapeutic counsellor, sound therapist, Craniosacral Therapist, and Somatic Experience practitioner. He has been in private practice since 2010 and has been working with children and adolescents since 2020. Alongside his private practice, Andrew specializes in CPTSD, grief, addictions, domestic violence, depression, anxiety, and abuse. He is best known for being the percussionist and member of the multi-platinum and award-winning band M People.
Session
Janet A. (Jana) Noyes, MFT, LMFT
Jana Noyes, LMFT is a licensed Marital and Family Therapist and an AAMFT Approved Supervisor who is IFS level 2-trained and has served as a Program Assistant for both Level 1 and Level 2 trainings. Previously in private practice, Jana is currently a Senior Behavioral Health Clinician at Community Health Center, Inc. in Connecticut. Besides her professional life, Jana identifies as Cis-Gender, White, Quaker, Queer Woman, Married for 21 years, Daughter, Sister, Stepmother of 1, Grandmother of 4, dog-mom, farmer of chickens and food and singer (Alto) in the Eastern CT Symphony Chorus. She loves reading, learning languages, (Spanish, French, German, American Sign Language.), and all things musical.
Session
Dan Reed, PhD, LPC
Dan Reed, PhD, LPC, is a body-centered psychotherapist and counselor educator. He runs a private practice, teaches, and supervises in Texas. Dan’s research has focused on supervision informed by IFS. He’s particularly excited about supporting therapists deepening their own capacity to be available to themselves and their experience, while inviting their clients to develop new relationships with their experiences. He has found IFS to be a wonderful framework to simplify the therapy process and offer language to effectively invite therapists and clients into their present moment experience to facilitate change. With a lifetime exploring the body, a background in science, and a subspecialty in neurofeedback, Dan brings a pragmatic, grounded view to the IFS process.
Sessions
Shawn Gregory
Shawn is a community organizer with a focus on the design and iterative development of experimental peacebuilding and activist projects, ranging from self-supported houses of hospitality for people experiencing homelessness to a nonviolent activist training network. He is one of the original organizers of Construyendo Desde Adentro (CDA) and is currently focused on adapting the CDA model to other regions and contexts through Building From Within International.
His primary interest with CDA is to help create structures that translate non-clinical IFS-based practices into tools that are useful to peacebuilders, grow local capacity for decentralized, peer based, therapeutic support, and provide pathways for IFS practitioners to practically and strategically address systems that perpetuate cultural legacy burdens.
His primary interest with CDA is to help create structures that translate non-clinical IFS-based practices into tools that are useful to peacebuilders, grow local capacity for decentralized, peer based, therapeutic support, and provide pathways for IFS practitioners to practically and strategically address systems that perpetuate cultural legacy burdens.
Session
Ethan Hughes
Ethan is the co-founder of the Possibility Alliance-- a land-based experiment which has hosted over 15,000 visitors since 2007. He has offered trainings in grief work, nonviolent direct action, trauma healing, simple living, permaculture, mutual aid, and reparations. He has also studied and co-facilitated trainings in somatic work, NVC, non-violent communication, restorative circles, and self-organizing. He runs all of his trainings outside of capitalism, in the gift economy.
Ethan's past endeavors include co-founding the Howl of Justice, an initiative in which over 1,200 people biked across the country offering service dressed as superheroes with names like Love Ninja, Compashman, Golden Rule, and Dr. Dharma. He has also led groups to the frontlines for over two decades trying to bring self-leadership to areas in crisis like New Orleans, Detroit, Seattle, Line 3 in Minnesota, the Mountain Valley Pipeline. He is the Co-founder of the Fierce Vulnerability Network, a collection committed to grassroots reparations and creative, heart-based climate activism.
Ethan has tried to follow his heart, which has led him to support the emergence of diverse initiatives like a children's theater company, sea turtle conservation, an alternate high school, and the Blue Crab Blues Band for Watershed education. He tries to embody self energy, whether he is living at a Zen center, or locked down to a piano blocking an illegal pipeline in sub-zero temperatures.
Ethan's past endeavors include co-founding the Howl of Justice, an initiative in which over 1,200 people biked across the country offering service dressed as superheroes with names like Love Ninja, Compashman, Golden Rule, and Dr. Dharma. He has also led groups to the frontlines for over two decades trying to bring self-leadership to areas in crisis like New Orleans, Detroit, Seattle, Line 3 in Minnesota, the Mountain Valley Pipeline. He is the Co-founder of the Fierce Vulnerability Network, a collection committed to grassroots reparations and creative, heart-based climate activism.
Ethan has tried to follow his heart, which has led him to support the emergence of diverse initiatives like a children's theater company, sea turtle conservation, an alternate high school, and the Blue Crab Blues Band for Watershed education. He tries to embody self energy, whether he is living at a Zen center, or locked down to a piano blocking an illegal pipeline in sub-zero temperatures.
Session
Kim Paulus, LMFT
Kim Paulus, LMFT (pronouns: she/her/hers) is a psychotherapist and IFS approved consultant in private practice in the Ohlone territory of Oakland, California. She is a queer and mixed-race Vietnamese American cisgender woman, and she specializes in treating trauma with folks who live at the intersection of LGBTQIA+ and BIPOC, including multiracial people and first-generation children of immigrants. She has been practicing IFS since 2004, and integrates IFS with Somatics and Interpersonal Neurobiology, while holding a keen social justice lens and a strong sense of humor. She has a passion for bringing the healing power of IFS to marginalized communities, in hopes of co-creating a world where all can be free. Learn more about Kim and her work here: https://kimpauluslmft.com/.
Session
Philip Butler, PhD
Philip Butler, PhD is an Assistant Professor of Theology and Black Posthuman Artificial Intelligent Systems at Iliff School of Theology. He is an interdisciplinary scholar in neuroscience, technology, spirituality, and Blackness. He is the author of Black Transhuman Liberation Theology, and the editor of the recently released volume Critical Black Futures. Philip is also the founder of the Seekr Project, a distinctly Black AI with mental health capabilities.
Session
Ty Cutner
Ty is a Level 2 trained IFS personal development coach and a contributing author to the best selling book, Freeing Self: IFS Beyond the Therapy Room. In 2018, Ty experienced his first IFS session with the model’s founder Dr. Richard Schwartz and was deeply moved by the process. In 2021, during his second session with Dr. Schwartz, he retrieved a 15-year-old part he had lost over 20 years ago due to his mom passing away. Ty is one of the leading coaches in the IFS community, applying IFS to his image coaching, K-12 school workshops, and relationship coaching practice.
Session
Sarah Bergenfield, MA, Certified IFS Practitioner
I am a doctoral student in the Somatic Psychology Ph.D Program at CIIS, studying predictability and its impact on our mental health. I am a Certified Level 3 Internal Family Systems Practitioner. I am autistic and specialize in working with autistic clients and their families to help them understand autism as a difference in perception. I love using IFS to support my autistic clients by helping create predictability, which in turn helps them to regulate.
Session
Toni Herbine-Blank, MS, RN, CS-P
Toni Herbine-Blank MS RN CS-Pis a long time contributor to IFS and has been a senior trainer since 2006. She has designed a 72 hour training on the application of IFS to couple therapy and has co-authored 2 books on IFIO therapy. Her passion is supporting therapists in empowering themselves to access clarity, compassion and courage when working with multiple systems. She is known as a warm, dynamic presenter, offering IFIO workshops and trainings nationally and internationally.
Session
Kim Bolling, PsyD, Licensed Psychologist
Kim is a Licensed Psychologist in private practice in Nashua, NH, working with couples and individuals. Kim is a Senior Staff Member for the powerful couple modality Intimacy from the Inside Out® (IFIO), which is based on the Internal Family Systems (IFS) model of therapy and personality. Kim is a Certified IFS Therapist and Clinical Consultant for IFS. She has a special interest in neurodiversity, and combines her training as a neurodiverse couples counselor with IFS and IFIO to bring an insight-oriented approach to working with neurodiverse couples. Kim has presented her work at the Annual IFS Conference, and has been a featured guest on the Neurodiverse Love podcast and presenter and facilitator for several conferences for neurodiverse couples.
Session
Lisa Ferentz, LCSW-C, DAPA
Lisa Ferentz, LCSW-C, DAPA is a recognized expert in the strengths-based, de-pathologized treatment of trauma and has been in private practice for over 39 years. She presents workshops and keynote addresses nationally and internationally and is a clinical consultant to practitioners and mental health agency in the United States, Canada, the UK and Ireland. She has been an Adjunct Faculty member at several Universities, and is the Founder of “The Ferentz Institute,” now in its sixteenth year of providing continuing education to mental health professionals and graduating several thousand clinicians from her two Certificate Programs in Advanced Trauma Treatment. In 2009 she was voted the “Social Worker of Year” by the Maryland Society for Clinical Social Work. Lisa is the author of “Treating Self-Destructive Behaviors in Traumatized Clients: A Clinician’s Guide,” now in its second edition, “Letting Go of Self-Destructive Behaviors: A Workbook of Hope and Healing,” and “Finding Your Ruby Slippers: Transformative Life Lessons From the Therapist’s Couch.” Lisa also hosted a weekly radio talk show, writes blogs and articles for websites on trauma, attachment, self-destructive behaviors, and self-care, teaches on many webinars, and is a contributor to Psychologytoday.com. You can follow Lisa’s work on her website, theferentzinstitute.com, YouTube, LinkedIn and Twitter.
Session
Fatimah Finney, MA, LMHC
Fatimah Finney is a serial goal-setter, lover of new ideas, and imaginative thinker. She is a skilled licensed mental health counselor and a trainer at the Internal Family Systems (IFS) Institute. She currently serves a variety of clients of diverse backgrounds and experiences as an EAP Counselor in addition to her private practice. Prior to her counseling and consulting practice, Fatimah spent the majority of her career providing in-home therapy to children, adolescents and adults and serving in clinical leadership roles. As the director of an outpatient mental health clinic, she cultivated a strong commitment to helping therapists increase their cultural competence and clinical fluency with diverse populations.
Fatimah is also a skilled facilitator and DEI practitioner. She uses IFS as a relational framework in her group facilitation and a methodology for understanding the underlying beliefs that motivate behaviors in work settings. She helps individuals and organizations looking to build their capacity and skills in centering diversity, equity, inclusion and social justice. As a Qualified Administrator of the Intercultural Development Inventory (IDI), Fatimah uses this tool to help her clients gain insight into their strengths and growth edges for navigating differences and to offer strategies for better cross-cultural interactions.
Fatimah has been featured on IFS Talks podcast where she discusses the intersection between IFS and Intercultural Competence. Her chapter on using IFS with Black Clients will be published in the upcoming book Altogether US which is available for preorder now. She recharges her spirit by playing with her children, taking walks with her parts, and dabbling in creative writing. Her microessay In My Skin: An Autobiography was recently published in the anthology Nonwhite & Woman: 131 Microessays on Being in the World.
Fatimah is also a skilled facilitator and DEI practitioner. She uses IFS as a relational framework in her group facilitation and a methodology for understanding the underlying beliefs that motivate behaviors in work settings. She helps individuals and organizations looking to build their capacity and skills in centering diversity, equity, inclusion and social justice. As a Qualified Administrator of the Intercultural Development Inventory (IDI), Fatimah uses this tool to help her clients gain insight into their strengths and growth edges for navigating differences and to offer strategies for better cross-cultural interactions.
Fatimah has been featured on IFS Talks podcast where she discusses the intersection between IFS and Intercultural Competence. Her chapter on using IFS with Black Clients will be published in the upcoming book Altogether US which is available for preorder now. She recharges her spirit by playing with her children, taking walks with her parts, and dabbling in creative writing. Her microessay In My Skin: An Autobiography was recently published in the anthology Nonwhite & Woman: 131 Microessays on Being in the World.
Session
Jory Agate, LMHC, MDiv, MA
Jory Agate, LMHC, MDiv., MA, IFS Certified, is an Internal Family Systems therapist, trainer, and consultant with a private practice in Cambridge, MA. Jory is committed to creating a collaborative clinical space that honors the cultural uniqueness of her clients. She specializes in treating trauma without pathologizing individuals for the creative ways they may have learned to cope. Jory had previous careers as a Unitarian Universalist minister and Sign Language interpreter/Deaf educator in the US and abroad. She works in English and ASL with hearing and Deaf individuals, families, couples, clergy, staff teams, and parents of individuals with major mental illness. Jory is a trainer/presenter for the IFS Institute, PESI, the Unitarian Universalist Association, and the National Alliance for Mental Illness (NAMI). In addition to her private practice, she provides training and consultation in IFS therapy, cultural agility, sexuality education, leadership development, and group dynamics. The mother of two young adults, one hearing and one Deaf, she lives with her wife and their pandemic puppy in Cambridge, MA.
Session
Ana Morante, LMFT, CFLE
Mental Health Therapist and Trainer
Ana Morante is a bilingual, bicultural Marriage and Family Therapist, Certified IFS Therapist (level 3 trained), Certified IFS Consultant, Certified EMDR therapist, and Certified Family Life Educator. Since 1993, Ms. Morante has worked in numerous mental health and community organization settings. For the past 26 years, Ms. Morante has been a Family Wellness Partner and Trainer, and has trained numerous instructors in this program throughout the United States and the world.
Alongside her global instructor training, Ms. Morante has had a private practice since 1995. Through this practice, Mrs. Morante became very aware of the long-term impact of childhood trauma in a person’s life. Ms. Morante strongly believes that a person’s healing journey should be multi-dimensional. For that reason, she continues practicing psychotherapy as well as psychoeducation.
Given her passion for “Intentional Motherhood”, Mrs. Morante founded “Resilient Families Gilroy” in 2017, which is a mindfulness-based, trauma-informed, community led program geared to facilitate intergenerational healing in low-income immigrant communities. After being trained in IFS, Ms. Morante started introducing IFS principles in the follow-up component of her program with mothers (monthly support groups and listening partnerships.) This aspect is proving to be very instrumental in the mothers’ ongoing healing journey.
In addition to running this program. Ms. Morante provides lectures and trainings on mental health and family wellbeing to different organizations and communities globally on an on-going basis.
Alongside her global instructor training, Ms. Morante has had a private practice since 1995. Through this practice, Mrs. Morante became very aware of the long-term impact of childhood trauma in a person’s life. Ms. Morante strongly believes that a person’s healing journey should be multi-dimensional. For that reason, she continues practicing psychotherapy as well as psychoeducation.
Given her passion for “Intentional Motherhood”, Mrs. Morante founded “Resilient Families Gilroy” in 2017, which is a mindfulness-based, trauma-informed, community led program geared to facilitate intergenerational healing in low-income immigrant communities. After being trained in IFS, Ms. Morante started introducing IFS principles in the follow-up component of her program with mothers (monthly support groups and listening partnerships.) This aspect is proving to be very instrumental in the mothers’ ongoing healing journey.
In addition to running this program. Ms. Morante provides lectures and trainings on mental health and family wellbeing to different organizations and communities globally on an on-going basis.
Session
Valerie Simon, LCSW, TEP, CET III
Valerie Simon, LCSW, TEP, CET III is a Certified Level III IFS therapist, a Trainer, Educator and Practitioner in psychodrama, and a Certified Experiential Therapist. She is the Founder and Director of The Inner Stage group private practice in NYC, where she works with individuals, couples and groups. Valerie supervises and trains other practitioners in her hybrid approach Play Your Parts℠ which integrates IFS and psychodrama techniques. Valerie contributed a chapter called Psychodrama: Techniques for Expanding IFS Externalizations to the recently released book Altogether Us – Integrating the IFS Model with Key Modalities, Communities, and Trends. She currently is creating a series of workbooks incorporating IFS and psychodrama techniques. Valerie also can be heard on a recent episode of The One Inside - An Internal Family Systems Podcast called IFS and Healing Parts with Psychodrama.
Session
Rick Kahler, MS, CFP, CFT-I, CeFT
IFS Informed Financial Therapist
Rick Kahler, MS, CFP®, CFT-I™, CeFT®, is a pioneer of the intersection of financial planning and psychology. Recognized as a trailblazer in financial therapy, Rick has received prestigious awards including the 2019 Innovator Award from InvestmentNews and the 2018 Iconoclast Award from the Insiders Forum. He played a foundational role as a founding board member and Past-Chair of the Financial Therapy Association, earning recognition as their Outstanding Practitioner in 2023.
Rick made history as the first fee-only Certified Financial Planner™ (CFP®) in South Dakota in 1983. In subsequent years, he continued to break new ground by becoming one of the inaugural Certified Financial Therapist-Level I (CFT-I™) professionals in the nation in 2020 and a Certified Internal Family Systems℠ Practitioner in 2021. His expertise also extends to academia, where he serves as a Distinguished Adjunct Professor at Golden Gate University.
His insights have graced the pages and screens of numerous prestigious publications and media outlets, including ABC News, NBC, CNBC, Fox Business, The Wall Street Journal, The Times of London, and The New York Times. For over three decades, he has been a consistent voice of wisdom through his weekly personal finance column in various newspapers. Additionally, Rick hosts the enlightening "Financial Therapy-It's not just about the money" podcast and has co-authored seven impactful books, including Coupleship Inc. – From Financial Conflict to Financial Intimacy, Facilitating Financial Health, and The Psychology of Financial Planning.
Rick made history as the first fee-only Certified Financial Planner™ (CFP®) in South Dakota in 1983. In subsequent years, he continued to break new ground by becoming one of the inaugural Certified Financial Therapist-Level I (CFT-I™) professionals in the nation in 2020 and a Certified Internal Family Systems℠ Practitioner in 2021. His expertise also extends to academia, where he serves as a Distinguished Adjunct Professor at Golden Gate University.
His insights have graced the pages and screens of numerous prestigious publications and media outlets, including ABC News, NBC, CNBC, Fox Business, The Wall Street Journal, The Times of London, and The New York Times. For over three decades, he has been a consistent voice of wisdom through his weekly personal finance column in various newspapers. Additionally, Rick hosts the enlightening "Financial Therapy-It's not just about the money" podcast and has co-authored seven impactful books, including Coupleship Inc. – From Financial Conflict to Financial Intimacy, Facilitating Financial Health, and The Psychology of Financial Planning.
Session
Robyn Lending Halsten, MA, LPCC, BC-DMT
Embodied IFS: Seeing and being Seen in Community through the Discipline of Authentic Movement (DAM), Sensorimotor Psychotherapy (SP) and Dance/Movment Therapy (DMT)ance/Movement Therapy
Robyn Lending Halsten MA, LPCC, BC-DMT, DTRL, is a board-certified dance/movement therapist, licensed professional clinical counselor, and certified Internal Family Systems (IFS) therapist (level 3) and consultant. She currently maintains a private practice in Saint Paul Minnesota where she provides embodied IFS psychotherapy, supervision and case consultation to individuals and groups. Robyn received post graduate training in IFS in 1999 and Sensorimotor Psychotherapy in 2016. She is the former clinical director for Hancock Center for Dance/Movement Therapy a non for profit therapy center in Madison Wisconsin where she provided embodied psychotherapy, supervision, case consultation and oversight for programming at the center for over 27 years. She has over 30 years experience integrating body centered modalities with children, teens and adults experiencing mental health concerns, historical trauma, PTSD, C-PTSD and has worked with people of all abilities in a variety of settings. Robyn has presented nationally and internationally presenting on embodied psychotherapy. She is grateful to all her clients for being her best teachers.
Session
Jessica Sorci, LMFT, PMH-C
Jessica Sorci, LMFT is a Certified Level 3 IFS Therapist and Approved Clinical Consultant and a Certified Perinatal Mental Health Professional with advanced training in Intimacy From the Inside Out. Along with her partner Rebecca Geshuri, Jessica is a Founding Director at Family Tree Wellness in Silicon Valley, a group psychotherapy practice dedicated to reproductive mental health. In her early adulthood, Jessica devoted her life to her own emotional healing; in her role as Clinical Director at Family Tree Wellness, she brings her wealth of compassion and knowledge about reproductive mental health to the clinical training and supervision of therapists as well as the healing journeys of clients. Jessica blends her love of IFS with her extensive background in creative expression and spirituality to create one-of-a-kind trainings and workshops that reach people's hearts and open their minds. With a view that mothering is the very heart of our humanity, Jessica knows that the health of our world depends upon women and families receiving attuned support during their most tender times in life, and often speaks and writes on the subject of matrescence.
Session
Roberta Rachel Omin, LCSW
Roberta Omin, LCSW is an IFS Level 3 training therapist, who works with IFS, Intimacy from the Inside Out (IFIO), and Gestalt Therapy with adults, couples and families in private practice, in Ossining, NY. She specializes in trauma, grief, loss, transitions, health and illness, generational issues.
Session
Susan Mason, LCSW
Susan L. Mason, LCSW is a Certified IFS therapist and an IFS Approved Clinical Consultant. She has had a thriving private practice in the Chicago area for over 25 years. She has been a program assistant multiple times for Level 1 and 2 IFS trainings. She is currently a Senior Staff member for Toni Herbine-Blank's Intimacy from the Inside Out couples' trainings.
“I believe that when I help my parts accept where I am at this stage of my life, I more easily step into my hard-earned wisdom.”
“I believe that when I help my parts accept where I am at this stage of my life, I more easily step into my hard-earned wisdom.”
Session
Beth Rogerson, PhD
Beth Rogerson PhD has more than 25 years of providing counseling and psychotherapy to individuals, couples, families and children. She is a Certified IFS therapist, licensed in the U.S. as an Independent Marriage and Family Therapist and Clinical Counselor. Gestalt trained in individuals couples and leading groups. In addition, Beth has been podcasting about IFS for over 4 years. Beth has been a PA Level 1, is an IFS consultant and has facilitated IFS and Mindful Self Compassion Workshops. As part of aging, I am now witnessing and embracing myself becoming stronger more confident and self-led.
Session
Melissa Mose, LMFT
Founder and Clinical Director of Mose Psychotherapy and Coaching, and President of the Board, OCD Southern California
Melissa Mose, LMFT has 30 years of experience working with individuals and families, and she has specialized in OCD and anxiety treatment for over a decade. She is an approved IFS consultant and an IFS certified therapist who is also a graduate of the IOCDF’s Training Institute through advanced levels. Currently, in addition to her private practice, Melissa is serving as the president of OCD Southern California, an affiliate of the IOCDF, where it is her mission to extend resources, education, and support to families and individuals in need. She trains Associate MFT’s in her IFS informed group practice to treat anxiety with a multi-modal approach. Melissa currently has a book on using IFS for OCD coming out in the winter of 2024 and one the following year for individuals with OCD.
Session
Tom Holmes, PhD
Tom has a PhD in Psychology and is a Professor Emeritus at Western Michigan University (WMU). His specialty is spirituality in the therapeutic process. Tom is the author of Parts Work: An Illustrated Guide to Your Inner Life. Tom trained in IFS with Richard Schwartz in the late 1980's. His focus has been on training therapists on the integration of IFS and spirituality and on burnout prevention using IFS and spirituality for a wide range of healthcare professionals. In recent years much of his focus has been on bringing IFS and his “healing the healer” work to the Arabic-speaking Middle East. In the past year Tom as also been working to bring IFS to support therapists in Ukraine.
Session
Joan R Ryan, JD
Leadership Coach
Joan Ryan is a leadership coach who combines sophisticated knowledge of the Enneagram with the methodology and techniques of IFS. Together with Tammy Sollenberger, she has been exploring the interplay of these two systems together since 2020. They have taught numerous courses, coached individual clients and created a process of mapping Enneagram type characteristics to IFS Parts. They have written a chapter for the new book, "Altogether Us" edited by Jenna Riemersma detailing their work together. Joan is a former attorney and was certified to teach the Enneagram in 1996 and IFS Level One trained in 2012. She has taught in numerous organizations and groups and coached individuals all over the world. She and Tammy presented their work at IFS Conferences in 2022 and 2023
Session
Tammy Sollenberger
LCMHC
bio- Tammy Sollenberger is an author, podcaster, and psychotherapist. She is a Certified IFS therapist and Consultant who enjoys helping people new to IFS discover their Authentic Self. She co-authored a chapter on the Enneagram and IFS with Joan Ryan in the book "Altogether Us: Integrating the IFS Model with Key Modalities, Communities and Trends." She authored the book, "The One Inside: Thirty Days to Your Authentic Self," and she hosts and produces a weekly podcast called "The One Inside." She has a part who always wishes she was reading on a sunny beach.
Session
Patricia Rich, LCSW, CST-S
Certified IFS Therapist and Approved Consultant
Patricia Rich, LCSW, CST-S is a Certified IFS Therapist and Approved Consultant and an AASECT Certified Sex Therapist and Supervisor. She has developed a unique integrative model for helping people to feel more ease, joy and confidence in the realm of sexuality and has originated IFS-informed concepts such as Internal Consent and The Six S’s of Sexual Self Energy. Patty has presented at the IFS Annual Conference, taught a module for the IFS Institute Online Continuity program and led workshops internationally. She offers training and consultation to professionals and offers opportunities for people to BeHold and Lead your Internal Sexual System (BLISS)™. She has authored a chapter in "Altogether Us" to be published in August 2023. She lives in the Philadelphia area where she also has a private practice. You can learn more about her offerings and get a free guide to The Six S's of Sexual Self Energy at www.patriciarich.com
Session
Stan Einhorn, PhD
Stan Einhorn, PhD, is a licensed psychologist in California who completed IFS Level 3 training in 2014 and has been a PA for Level 1 and Level 2 trainings. His career spans 30 years, working with severely mentally ill clients in community mental health settings and with a wide range of couples, families, and individuals in private practice. He presented workshops at the IFS conference from 2015–2019 and 2021, has offered IFS workshops privately and for the Santa Cruz County Behavioral Health Department, and conducted a monthly IFS study group.
Session
Martina G Williams, LCMHC, BCC, MS
Martina Williams is an international coach, speaker, psychotherapist and author with over thirty years of experience. She is a Certified IFS therapist and consultant with a focus on spirituality, introversion and high sensitivity. As a coach, she specializes in helping senior management in Self-leadership and wellness based resiliency. Martina identifies as a Highly Sensitive Person (HSP) and finds great joy in helping other HSPs. Martina grew up in California and currently lives the beautiful mountains of Asheville, NC with her husband and two dogs. When she's not cycling or hiking, she's dancing Argentine Tango.
Session
Helen Foot, PMP, MSW, IFS Certified Practitioner
Freeing Self: IFS beyond the therapy room
Helen Foot MSW, PMP® has developed her business skills in a complex and constantly evolving sector and, over 20 years, she has led numerous significant state-wide or national projects in both Australia and New Zealand. As a certified IFS practitioner, Helen uses the Internal Family Systems (IFS) model, together with contemporary business models based on research as she works with coaches, executives, managers, consultants, and community leaders to facilitate change and transformation within their organisations and systems. Helen is passionate about sharing her knowledge of IFS and promoting its establishment within the unique cultural context of mana whenua (indigenous Māori people) in New Zealand. Through IFS Kiwi, she and her colleague Karen Harrington seek to bring attention to the importance of cultural sensitivity and awareness when applying IFS around the world.
Session
Daphne Fatter, PhD
Daphne Fatter (she/her), PhD, is an IFS Certified licensed psychologist and an Approved IFS Clinical Consultant. She is also EMDR Certified and an EMDRIA Approved Consultant in Training and has almost 20 years of experience providing EMDR. She is the author of “IFS and EMDR: Transforming Traumatic Memories and Providing Relational Repair with Self” in Altogether Us: Integrating the IFS Model with Key Modalities, Communities, and Trends.
Dr. Fatter provides innovative webinars and trainings for continuing education including integrating EMDR and IFS. She provides engaging nuances on trauma treatment to international audiences from her seasoned clinical experience treating PTSD and complex trauma. She draws on her background in transpersonal psychology, and seasoned clinical experience to guide IFS-informed ancestral healing groups as well to provide consultation in IFS, EMDR, and trauma treatment. She has a telehealth-based private practice in Dallas, Texas, in the United States. Her offerings can be found at: https://www.daphnefatterphd.com/
Dr. Fatter provides innovative webinars and trainings for continuing education including integrating EMDR and IFS. She provides engaging nuances on trauma treatment to international audiences from her seasoned clinical experience treating PTSD and complex trauma. She draws on her background in transpersonal psychology, and seasoned clinical experience to guide IFS-informed ancestral healing groups as well to provide consultation in IFS, EMDR, and trauma treatment. She has a telehealth-based private practice in Dallas, Texas, in the United States. Her offerings can be found at: https://www.daphnefatterphd.com/
Session
Diana Nadeau, IFS & IFIO Neurodivergence Practitioner
Diana Nadeau (they/she) is a multiracial, genderqueer, Autistic individual with an extensive background in IFS, conflict resolution, social justice, writing, and training. As an Equity-informed Mediator and IFS/IFIO practitioner, Diana has brought lived experience within systems of oppression to their work with private clients and local, national, and international audiences. Diana has offered training content on topics such as degenderizing written materials, conflict within special education dispute resolution, Autism & IFS, ableism and Autism, queerness and mindfulness, meditation for ‘tweens, basic-advanced conflict resolution, and basic-advanced cultural competence. Diana has been involved in the IFS community since 2014 as a client, student, practitioner, and PA. Diana is proud to have been a PA for two of the first IFS affinity training spaces in 2023. Diana currently holds the title of Equity and Inclusion Manager at FOOD For Lane County in Eugene, OR, and is highly active when not at work. Diana loves hiking, canoeing, paddleboarding, camping, and traveling, and lives life consciously honoring their experience of intersecting privilege and oppression. Diana lives with their rocking young adult daughter and two silly cats.
Session
Nitsan Joy Gordon, MA, DTR
Nitsan Joy Gordon is a therapist & author of Together Beyond Words: Women on a Quest for Peace in the Middle East. Her life experiences — growing up in an Israeli border kibbutz fraught with danger and violent skirmishes, facing hatred in the American South as the only Jew in her junior high school, and finding dance as a way to work through her trauma — set her on a 30-year quest to empower women as peacebuilders and transform prejudices between Arabs and Jews, Israelis and Palestinians. IFS has been instrumental in her conflict transformation work.
In 2003 she co-founded Together Beyond Words, a peacebuilding organization that brings Muslim, Jewish, Bedouin, Druse and Christian women together in a dynamic process to heal ancient wounds, recover hidden strengths, and promote emotional understanding. Using Dance/Movement Therapy, Listening Partnerships, Healing Touch, Radical Aliveness (RA), Playback Theater and Internal Family Systems (IFS), this groundbreaking approach teaches women to harness conflict and intense emotions as a way to achieve empathy and deep connection with perceived enemies.
In 2003 she co-founded Together Beyond Words, a peacebuilding organization that brings Muslim, Jewish, Bedouin, Druse and Christian women together in a dynamic process to heal ancient wounds, recover hidden strengths, and promote emotional understanding. Using Dance/Movement Therapy, Listening Partnerships, Healing Touch, Radical Aliveness (RA), Playback Theater and Internal Family Systems (IFS), this groundbreaking approach teaches women to harness conflict and intense emotions as a way to achieve empathy and deep connection with perceived enemies.
Session
Carol Shilliday, PsyD
Carol Shilliday, PsyD is a Clinical Psychologist with 31 years of experience providing individual, couples and group therapy in her IFS-based private practice in West Hartford, Connecticut. She is a Certified IFS Therapist, a seasoned PA for level 1 and level 2 IFS trainings, and an IFS-I approved consultant, providing IFS consultation to individuals, groups and organizations. Carol has a background in Neuropsychology and has worked with adolescents and adults with ADHD and has presented on leading IFS-based groups for those with ADHD at a prior IFS conference. Carol is excited to share her passions for increasing others' understanding and knowledge of ADHD and for bringing connection and healing to those with ADHD.
Session
Cece Sykes, LCSW, ACSW
Senior Trainer
Cece Sykes, LCSW, ACSW; One of the original IFS Senior Trainers; teaches all levels of IFS and leads retreats, workshops and webinars Internationally on multiple clinical topics. Cece has over forty of clinical experience specializing in the effects of trauma and addiction. She co-authored IFS Therapy for Addictions: Trauma-Informed, Compassion-Based Interventions for Substance Use, Eating, Gambling and More with Martha Sweezy and Dick Schwartz, released in 2023.
Session
Michael Elkin, MA, LMFT, NBCCH, IFS Senior Lead Trainer
Mike Elkin, LMFT is an IFS Senior Trainer with over 50 years of clinical experience. He pioneered applying systemic, hypnotic, and strategic thinking to addictive issues. He has been teaching IFS since 1997, and has presented extensively throughout the US and Europe. He once broke his ankle playing basketball with Dick Schwartz.
Session
Leslie Petruk, LCMHC-S, NCC, BCC
Leslie Petruk, LCMHC-S, NCC, BCC (she/her) is a Licensed Clinical Mental Health Counselor and Supervisor, National Certified Counselor, Board Certified Coach, a Level 3 certified IFS therapist, approved IFS Consultant, and IFS Lead Trainer. She is the Founder and Director of The Stone Center for Counseling and Leadership where she and her team served children, individuals, and families in Charlotte, NC until 2021 when she transitioned her practice online. Leslie has presented at the IFS National Conference on Parenting, The Application of Sandtray to IFS, IFS and Play Therapy, and applying IFS to Work with Children and Parents. She has also developed a parenting program that applies IFS principals for all parents which she offers in a workshop format. In addition, Leslie provides consultation and supervision to individuals and groups seeking licensure or IFS Certification.
Session
Janis Clark Johnston, EdD
Janis Clark Johnston, Ed.D., is a Counseling Psychologist with 40 years of experience as a school psychologist, an EAP therapist, a supervising psychologist at a mental health center, a private practice family therapist, a trainer for agencies, and an author of three books -- It Takes a Child to Raise a Parent (2013; 2019 paperback), Midlife Maze: A Map to Recovery and Rediscovery after Loss (2017; 2019 paperback) and Transforming Retirement: Rewire and Grow Your Legacy (2023). Her Master's degree in School Psychology and her Doctorate in Counseling Psychology are from Boston University. She is a regular speaker at national, state, and local conferences and is active in several local organizations that support children and families. In addition to augmenting and supporting personal growth in families, Johnston is a Master Gardener and loves nurturing growth in the plants in many yards.
Session
Samantha O'Connell, PhD
Dr. Samantha O’Connell is a licensed clinical psychologist/IFS therapist who works, presents, and consults in a variety of settings. She serves as the Chief Psychologist at the largest Community Mental Health Center south of Boston (Aspire Health Alliance), where she is also a clinical supervisor, part of the training committee, a member of the trauma/disaster response teams, director of the Employee Assistance Program (EAP), and she also works clinically with families, couples, and individuals of all ages in community health and in private practice. Dr. O’Connell also carries expertise in performing IFS-informed neuropsychological, educational, risk, and personality evaluations, frequently offering expert testimony for the courts. Other work experiences have included: IFS Program Assisting (L1 & II), Police Department consultation, Physician’s Health Services (PHS), McLean Inpatient and Partial Hospitalization programs, Juvenile Court Clinics, therapeutic schools, and various sport psychology/performance domains. Clinical specialties and treatment interests include: complex, preverbal, and acute trauma, complicated grief, mood disorders, anxiety and phobias, attachment dynamics, sexual functioning, autism, psychotic disorders, performance psychology and helping the helpers. Dr. O’Connell has presented and published in areas such as adolescent neuropsychology, schizophrenia, sexual behavior, sports psychology, and child moral development. She is drawn toward creating spaces for difficult conversations, reducing stigma in the medical, performance, and mental health fields, and she brings a passion for play and laughter.
Session
Regina L. Wei, LMFTA
Regina Wei (she/they), LMFTA is an IFS Level 1 and IFIO Level 2 trained Couples and Family Therapist in Washington state who has a specialization in sex therapy. Her work centers folks who identify as BIPOC and/or LGBTQIA+ and focuses on helping clients heal racial, intergenerational, sexual, and other traumas. Regina has an MA in Couples and Family Therapy and an MA in Modern Chinese Literature and Culture. www.ReginaWei.com
Session
Beth Mullen-Houser, PhD, LP
Clinical Psychologist
Beth Mullen-Houser is a clinical psychologist with a passion for working with providers new to IFS. Her IFS journey includes completing a PhD with a focus on psychoneuroimmunology, psychotherapy research and traumatic stress, being an IFS-trained therapist for 5 years, an IFS researcher, speaker and consultant and PAing IFS trainings. She presented at the IFS 2023 Annual Conference and the Great Lakes IFS retreat and is a member of the Foundation for Self Leadership’s Research Development team including recent collaboration on a research article submitted to a peer-reviewed journal. It is her belief and experience that IFS is the most hopeful, accurate, compassionate and profoundly impactful approach to unlock our potential for personal, racial, physical, environmental and global community healing.
Session
Dick Schwartz, PhD, IFS Founder
Richard C. Schwartz, PhD, is the creator of Internal Family Systems, a highly effective, evidence-based therapeutic model that de-pathologizes the multi-part personality. His IFS Institute offers training for professionals and the general public. He is currently on the faculty of Harvard Medical School, and has published five books, including No Bad Parts: Healing Trauma and Restoring Wholeness with the Internal Family Systems Model. Dick lives with his wife Jeanne near Chicago, close to his three daughters and his growing number of grandchildren.
Sessions
Stephanie Hanson, LPC, E-RYT
Stephanie Hanson (she/her), MS, LPC, E-RYT is a therapist in private practice and yoga teacher trainer living on the stolen lands of the Arapaho, Cheyenne, and Očhéthi Šakówin people. Trained in IFS since 2014, Stephanie has been weaving IFS concepts into her public yoga classes, with individual therapy clients, and with retreat and IFS training participants from the start. Stephanie has served as a PA for Level 1 and Level 2 IFS trainings, and co-founded and facilitated a 200-hour yoga teacher training program yearly from 2011 through 2018.
This workshop is adapted from Stephanie’s forthcoming 6-part series, Moving Parts: Yoga for ALL of you, which will launch live and on-line in September 2023. The workshop combines yoga asana and ecstatic dance with IFS mapping, sculpting, direct access, in-sight, and the healing steps. Stephanie aims to widen the reach of IFS and its healing potential by introducing it to groups in a movement-based class format, which she believes begins to address issues of accessibility to IFS therapy and practices.
This workshop is adapted from Stephanie’s forthcoming 6-part series, Moving Parts: Yoga for ALL of you, which will launch live and on-line in September 2023. The workshop combines yoga asana and ecstatic dance with IFS mapping, sculpting, direct access, in-sight, and the healing steps. Stephanie aims to widen the reach of IFS and its healing potential by introducing it to groups in a movement-based class format, which she believes begins to address issues of accessibility to IFS therapy and practices.
Session
Dr. Jan Stevenson, FRANZCP, MBBS
Jan Stevenson (MBBS FRANZCP) is a psychiatrist in Melbourne Australia and works as a psychotherapist in private practice (for 35 years). She is a Certified (level 3) IFS therapist and has also been trained in Sensorimotor Psychotherapy and movement psychotherapies and uses a lot of somatic focus to her IFS work.
Recently incorporating Deep Brain Re-orienting (DBR) into her IFS practice. This is a trauma processing technique and she is keen to share this technique with the IFS community
Recently incorporating Deep Brain Re-orienting (DBR) into her IFS practice. This is a trauma processing technique and she is keen to share this technique with the IFS community
Session
Jenny Hayo, CHT, C-IAYT
Jenny Hayo (she/her) is a Certified IFS Practitioner and has practiced and taught in various wisdom traditions for over 25 years as a teacher of the Awakened State (Self Energy). Her work is informed by her personal studies of Hindu philosophy, classical yoga, Buddhism, Hakomi, somatics and IFS. Jenny studies and teaches in subtle body systems including Buddhist Tantra, Polyvagal Theory and embodiment meditation. Her understanding of the subtle body, and the importance of our relationship with it, lies at the center of her work. Jenny teaches public workshops, trainings and retreats as well as maintaining a private practice for individuals along the spiritual journey. Her work offers students and clients clear and insightful access to both ancient and contemporary traditions. IFS encapsulates her understanding of how we can engage with our own humanity to cultivate compassion, wisdom and connection to Self-energy.
Session
Wende Birtch MS, MA, LMHC
Wende Birtch LMHC is a Licensed Mental Health Counselor in NY State, and has been in private practice for 16 years in the Buffalo area. She is a certified, L-3 IFS Therapist, an approved IFS Consultant, and has been a staff member for many L-1 and L-2 trainings as a Program Assistant. She holds 2 Master’s degrees in Speech Language Pathology and Mental Health Counseling Education, and enjoys leading introductory workshops, teaching the IFS model to local therapists. Previously, Wende worked as a Child and Family Therapist in an urban community mental health agency, working with a diverse, multi-cultural population of children and adults, and helped launch a mental health schools program for students from marginalized communities. Wende is author of “Loving and Leading from the Inside Out”, a journal and IFS practice guide to building Self-to-part relationships, and has created an online community, “Oneheart Collective”, offering guidance, support and experiential workshops and retreats for exploring and developing greater Self-leadership and expanded awareness.
Session
Margaret Conely, LCSW, MDiv
Social Worker
Margaret is a LCSW in the Metro Atlanta area who specializes in treatment for trauma-related issues. I have been trained in the following modalities: EMDR; IFS (Level 1 and 2, Certified); Brainspotting (Certified, Phase 1-3) and SE (Beginner 1 and 2). My primary focus is faith-based trauma in which we assist individuals and groups in faith communities with trauma and resilence.
Session
Karen Grayson, PhD, LPC
Dr. Karen Grayson (Rennie) is a formally trained IFS therapist, a master teacher, and a lover of big ideas. She is IFS Level Three trained and Certified and has been practicing IFS as a therapist for more than a decade. Her current focus is in teaching and mentoring new IFS providers through an online learning platform she calls "IFS with Rennie." Rennie works intentionally at the intersection of philosophy, psychotherapy, and spirituality weaving these three disciplines together to offer a unique approach to IFS. Why these three? Philosophy clarifies ideas and cuts through the superficial. Psychotherapy brings care for human suffering to the universalizing wisdom of philosophy. Spirituality deepens and gives meaning to both, inviting our truest Selves to show up and shine. Dr Grayson is deeply committed to both intra- and inter- personal growth, recognizing these as requisite for mental health, social justice and, eventually, planetary healing.
Session
Ruth Culver, BA, GQHP, Certified IFS Practitioner
Ruth Culver is a Level 3 trained, certified IFS practitioner who has assisted on IFS Institute trainings and works in private practice with adults, adolescents and groups. After a first career in charity event management, Ruth trained as a clinical hypnotherapist before transitioning to IFS. She is particularly interested in somatic integration, attachment, trauma, social justice and collective healing. Ruth has devised three creative integrations for IFS: the Survive/Thrive Spiral info-graphic, which maps IFS alongside Polyvagal Theory; the group process of IFS Constellations; and Drawing into Self: a framework for offering IFS through guided intuitive drawing. Ruth lives in Brighton on the southeast coast of the UK and loves singing, doing improv and being active in nature.
Session
Joanna Curry-Sartori, MS, LMFT
Joanna Curry-Sartori, MS LMFT (Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist), Founder and Director of the Self-Leadership Collaborative., LLC.
With over 20 years of experience as an educator, program director and leader in the field of mindfulness and yoga, Ms. Curry-Sartori, a certified IFS therapist, has spent the last 11 years introducing and integrating Self-Leadership, mindfulness, and social and emotional learning into hundreds of schools. Since 2017, Joanna has led the global effort to develop and integrate the transformative benefits of the IFS model into school systems. Joanna has cultivated a global collaborative that has supported the development of a curricular framework and inspired her in writing a book that is currently in publication. Joanna established the Self-Leadership Collaborative which now offers workshops for educators and school communities, online and in person. Whether she is consulting with administrators, presenting to parents and teachers, or hands-on in classrooms with students, Joanna is passionate about working with people of all ages to discover and support their authentic experience of Self-Leadership.
With over 20 years of experience as an educator, program director and leader in the field of mindfulness and yoga, Ms. Curry-Sartori, a certified IFS therapist, has spent the last 11 years introducing and integrating Self-Leadership, mindfulness, and social and emotional learning into hundreds of schools. Since 2017, Joanna has led the global effort to develop and integrate the transformative benefits of the IFS model into school systems. Joanna has cultivated a global collaborative that has supported the development of a curricular framework and inspired her in writing a book that is currently in publication. Joanna established the Self-Leadership Collaborative which now offers workshops for educators and school communities, online and in person. Whether she is consulting with administrators, presenting to parents and teachers, or hands-on in classrooms with students, Joanna is passionate about working with people of all ages to discover and support their authentic experience of Self-Leadership.
Session
Rosa Maria Bramble Caballero, LCSW-R, CASAC
Rosa Maria Bramble Caballero, is a Certified IFS Therapist. She's the President of Caballero Counseling & Consulting Services where she is specializing in the treatment of trauma survivors, asylum seekers and migration trauma. She facilitates trauma-informed workshops and retreats to community-based organizations and capacity building in the area of diversity, trauma-informed service delivery, maternal infant health, community violence intervention and vicarious traumatization. She’s excited to integrate IFS to immigrant populations and Latin America. She serves as an adjunct lecturer at Columbia University School of Social Work and founder of the Venezuelan Alliance for Community Support, Inc.
Session
Stephen Chee, MD, MPH, MA, MTOM, LAc
Physician
Stephen Chee, MD, MPH, MA, MTOM, LAc is a distinguished Integrative East-West Physician, with a practice spanning back to 2001. Quadruple Board Certified in Family Medicine, Integrative Medicine, Medical Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine, he also holds a Master's Degree in Public Health specializing in Community Health Science and is a Level 2 Certified IFS Therapist. His multifaceted expertise allows for a truly unique and holistic approach to healing.
With over 25 years of experience in leading groups, Dr. Chee has honed his skills across various educational platforms. From traditional university-level teaching to facilitating experiential programs and leading community-based groups, his commitment to education and healing remains central. Notably, he has also conducted research in empowerment-based interventions within a Samoan breast cancer support group, showcasing his dedication to making a difference in diverse communities.
Inspired by personal experiences of individual and collective healing, Dr. Chee served as faculty for over a decade at the University of Santa Monica's Spiritual Psychology program, focusing on Consciousness, Health, and Healing. Here, he found profound fulfillment in supporting individuals and groups on their journeys of growth and healing.
Currently, Dr. Chee offers both group programs and individual consultations, emphasizing Self led self care and Embodying Self Energy. He also co-facilitates programs with his wife, Alanna Arthur-Chee. His joy lies in witnessing others unite body, soul, and community, reflecting his deep commitment to healing on all levels.
With over 25 years of experience in leading groups, Dr. Chee has honed his skills across various educational platforms. From traditional university-level teaching to facilitating experiential programs and leading community-based groups, his commitment to education and healing remains central. Notably, he has also conducted research in empowerment-based interventions within a Samoan breast cancer support group, showcasing his dedication to making a difference in diverse communities.
Inspired by personal experiences of individual and collective healing, Dr. Chee served as faculty for over a decade at the University of Santa Monica's Spiritual Psychology program, focusing on Consciousness, Health, and Healing. Here, he found profound fulfillment in supporting individuals and groups on their journeys of growth and healing.
Currently, Dr. Chee offers both group programs and individual consultations, emphasizing Self led self care and Embodying Self Energy. He also co-facilitates programs with his wife, Alanna Arthur-Chee. His joy lies in witnessing others unite body, soul, and community, reflecting his deep commitment to healing on all levels.
Session
Adrienne Glasser, CSW, RDMT
Adrienne Glasser, RDMT (she/her) is an experiential psychotherapist certified in IFS, somatic dance movement therapist, healer, meditation teacher, spiritual counselor and advisor on compassionate addiction and trauma treatment. She currently runs IFS trauma intensives & trainings in LA, NY and online community focused on Somatic Arts & Parts-work techniques and for therapists, healers, those in recovery from traumatized, addicted, or enmeshed systems. She often works with LGBTQ+ clients around topics of identity, embodied sexuality and self-love and is LGBTQ+ informed. She is a Buddhist practitioner of Llama Tsulrim Allione of Feeding Your Demons techniques and enjoys connecting these teachings with parts-work (IFS) and the creative arts for powerful healing experiences in groups.
Sessions
Ann L. Sinko, LMFT, IFS Lead Trainer
Ann has over 35 years of clinical experience and is a licensed marriage and family therapist in Connecticut. She is an IFS Lead trainer and is in private practice. A teacher of therapists in academia, trainings and workshops has been an area of passion. Ann is a creative therapist and teacher and integrates IFS theory and technique into all facets of her work. She establishes a safe environment in which clients experience unconditional acceptance. Ann believes that theory is best integrated through experiential learning, and brings a down-to-earth, concrete style and a sense of humor to her teaching.
Session
Elizabeth De Sa, MA, BEd, IFS Certified Practitioner
Certified Internal Family Systems Practitioner
Lizbeth De Sa is a Certified IFS practitioner (L3-trained), educator, conflict mediator, laughter yoga leader, and writer with extensive experience in addressing diverse mental health concerns, including trauma, racism, and internalized oppression.
As the founder of her own IFS practice, Multiple Mind LLC, she has successfully delivered virtual and in-person therapeutic services to clients from various cultural backgrounds. Her commitment to social justice and culturally responsive therapy, combined with her experience in working with children, adolescents, and adults from diverse backgrounds, positions her as a strong advocate for inclusivity in mental health care.
Lizbeth is a trained teacher, and has taught math, science, biology, and ESL all over the world.
She is a second-generation immigrant to the UK, born of Indian parents, and a first-generation immigrant to the USA. In addition to 24 years in England and 18 years in the United States, she has lived in Japan, Australia, and New Zealand, and visited many countries in Asia and Europe.
Lizbeth lives in rural South Carolina, and enjoys playing with her parts in improv comedy, training her German Shepherds, swimming, and looking after her ducks and geese. She has two children, ages 14 and 11, whom she teaches music, French, and IFS. She is a fierce advocate for children's rights.
As the founder of her own IFS practice, Multiple Mind LLC, she has successfully delivered virtual and in-person therapeutic services to clients from various cultural backgrounds. Her commitment to social justice and culturally responsive therapy, combined with her experience in working with children, adolescents, and adults from diverse backgrounds, positions her as a strong advocate for inclusivity in mental health care.
Lizbeth is a trained teacher, and has taught math, science, biology, and ESL all over the world.
She is a second-generation immigrant to the UK, born of Indian parents, and a first-generation immigrant to the USA. In addition to 24 years in England and 18 years in the United States, she has lived in Japan, Australia, and New Zealand, and visited many countries in Asia and Europe.
Lizbeth lives in rural South Carolina, and enjoys playing with her parts in improv comedy, training her German Shepherds, swimming, and looking after her ducks and geese. She has two children, ages 14 and 11, whom she teaches music, French, and IFS. She is a fierce advocate for children's rights.
Session
Christine Schneider, LCSW, PhD
Dr. Schneider is the CEO of an outpatient practice in Clayton, Missouri called Integrative Mind Institute specializing in eating disorders, trauma, IFS and neurofeedback. She has a MSW from Washington University Brown School of Social Work and a PhD from St. Louis University Medical School in Marriage and Family Therapy. Dr. Schneider is currently adjunct faculty in the Medical Family Therapy program at St. Louis University Medical School and is an Associate Professor at St. Louis University in the Department of Psychiatry and Neurology. She speaks nationally on issues of attachment, eating disorders, trauma, and violence in couples. She has spoken regionally on issues of neurofeedback and developmental trauma.
Session
Eleanor Carn, UKCP Accredited Psychotherapist
I'm a UKCP-accredited psychotherapist, living in the UK and working with clients worldwide online. I use she/they pronouns. I'm a Level 3 Certified IFS Psychotherapist. I am neurodivergent, AudDHD and genderqueer. I've been a therapist for just under 15 years and only found IFS in 2020. I've never looked back in terms of approach. I work using IFS with neurodivergent clients, many of whom are also LGBTQ+, including trans and nonbinary clients. I am very interested in the intersections between neurodivergence and queerness and supporting multiply marginalised folks here and have a neuro-affirming and LGBTQ+ affirming practice. I am particularly interested in working with IFS with autistic and ADHD clients and supporting and training neurodivergent therapists. I run workshops on IFS for autistic and ADHD clients. I am a supervisor and provide IFS-informed supervision to individuals and groups. I run supervision groups for IFS therapists working with neurodivergent clients. In my experience, IFS is an amazing fit for neurodivergent systems. For me, it's been a way to connect with a system burdened with shame and extreme protectors trying to navigate a world not designed for them to update and unburden. It is a real passion of mine to create spaces where we can explore how the model interacts with neurotypes and support therapists in having the confidence and knowledge of how best to work with their clients.
Session
Musengue Luchembe-Hayslett LMFT, LPC-MHSP
Musenge Luchembe Hayslett, LMFT, LPC-MHSP is a licensed psychotherapist in private practice in Nashville, TN. She has training in Ecotherapy, Hakomi Mindfulness and Body Inclusive Psychotherapy, Authentic Movement, Internal Family Systems (IFS), Intimacy from the Inside Out (IFIO), and Psychedelic Assisted Psychotherapy. Musenge has worked extensively with clients impacted by environmental racism, climate disasters as well as the QTBIPOC activist community.
Musenge's advocacy and appreciation for our interconnectedness with nature began in the tropical forests that surrounded her childhood home in her native country of Zambia. She naturally weaves her love of the more than human world with Internal Family Systems to support clients in embracing their ancestral gifts while healing parts of themselves that carry legacy burdens of white body supremacy.
As a supervisor and Ecotherapy Instructor, Musenge offers a welcoming, brave space for the next generation of therapists to decolonize the field of psychotherapy and embody self leadership.
Musenge's advocacy and appreciation for our interconnectedness with nature began in the tropical forests that surrounded her childhood home in her native country of Zambia. She naturally weaves her love of the more than human world with Internal Family Systems to support clients in embracing their ancestral gifts while healing parts of themselves that carry legacy burdens of white body supremacy.
As a supervisor and Ecotherapy Instructor, Musenge offers a welcoming, brave space for the next generation of therapists to decolonize the field of psychotherapy and embody self leadership.
Session
Maya Hanelin, LICSW
Maya Hanelin, LICSW (she/her/hers) is a Certified IFS Therapist and Approved IFS Clinical Consultant who has been working with individuals, couples, and groups for over 24 years. Having begun her IFS journey over a decade ago, Maya has a tremendous passion for IFS and IFIO (Intimacy from the Inside Out). She has a special interest in working with members of LGBTQIA+ and multi-cultural communities. Maya is a Senior Staff for IFIO and offers consultation internationally. She maintains a private practice in Boston, Massachusetts (USA) and is dedicated to helping couples navigate their relationship dynamics with equanimity and compassion.
Session
Crystal Jones, LCSW
Crystal Jones is known for her heart-led and relational approach to her work. She is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker with 23 years of clinical experience and several years of deepening in the Internal Family Systems Model. Crystal has had the pleasure of speaking, consulting, and training for organizations such as Boston Scientific, California Institute of Integral Studies, Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc (Fredericksburg Alumnae Chapter), Spotsylvania County Public Schools, and various faith-based organizations. She has been featured in several podcast including When We Speak, IFS Talks, Grief Is My Side Hustle, and The Truth, Love, & Beauty Podcast; highlighting topics of DEI. Her highly sought after healing circles work with women of color has been published in her local newspaper The Fredericksburg Front Porch.
She is the founder and CEO of Life Source Counseling Center in Fredericksburg, VA, where she specializes in creating safe spaces for BIPOC women to feel connected, seen, heard, and valued while on their wellness journey. She also provides IFS group and individual consultation to IFS therapists seeking certification and further exploration of the model and their parts. She specifically has a passion for mentoring and encouraging therapists and practitioners of color to take up space!
Crystal’s most valued accomplishment is that of being a mother of 3 and wife of over 20 years. In her past time, she enjoys spending time with her family and friends, international travel, eating good food, being in nature, laughing, and caring for her plants.
She is the founder and CEO of Life Source Counseling Center in Fredericksburg, VA, where she specializes in creating safe spaces for BIPOC women to feel connected, seen, heard, and valued while on their wellness journey. She also provides IFS group and individual consultation to IFS therapists seeking certification and further exploration of the model and their parts. She specifically has a passion for mentoring and encouraging therapists and practitioners of color to take up space!
Crystal’s most valued accomplishment is that of being a mother of 3 and wife of over 20 years. In her past time, she enjoys spending time with her family and friends, international travel, eating good food, being in nature, laughing, and caring for her plants.
Sessions
Ann-Katrin Bockmann, PhD
PhD
Dr. Ann-Katrin is a licensed clinical psychologist and speechtherapist. She works as a Postdoctoral Research and Teaching Associate at the Psychology Department of Hildesheim University in Northern Germany. Her research and teaching focuses on IFS, early education, emotion regulation and language. She sees international clients of all ages in private practice and is engaged in Psychotherapy trainings, supervision and voluntary projects like the Leyla Projekt or bringing IFS to child and youth psychotherapists in the Ukraine.
Sessions
Susan E Cahill, MA, LCPC, BC-DMT
Susan Cahill, MA, LCPC, BC-DMT, is a board-certified dance/movement therapist, licensed clinical professional counselor, and certified Internal Family Systems (IFS) therapist (level 3) and consultant. She currently maintains a private practice in Evanston, Illinois, where she provides embodied IFS and consultation to therapists interested in IFS and ways to incorporate the body in their work. She also teaches the discipline of authentic movement in solo work, group formats and retreats. Susan has been immersed in the practice and teaching of the Discipline of Authentic Movement since she began her studies with Janet Adler, (a pioneer in the Discipline of Authentic Movement) in 2004. Currently, she is on faculty in Circles of Four, an international post graduate training program for teachers of the Discipline of Authentic Movement. Susan has traveled nationally and internationally presenting on embodied psychotherapy, IFS and movement for over 30 years and is grateful for all her teachers and clients who have taught her and whom she has had the privilege to accompany.
Session
Rebecca Geshuri, LMFT, PMH-C
Co-Founder & Licensed Marriage & Family Therapist
Rebecca Geshuri, M.A., LMFT, PMH-C is a Level 2 (IFIO) Certified Internal Family Systems therapist as well as certified in Perinatal Mental Health and Brainspotting. Rebecca is Co-Founder of Family Tree Wellness, an IFS-informed group psychotherapy practice in the Silicon Valley of California that provides counseling, education and support for people who are in the family building phase of life, as well as training for other therapists who want to deepen their knowledge and skill with this population. In addition to seeing clients and supervising associates, Rebecca is co-writing a book with Jessica Sorci called MOM PARTS: A Revolutionary Method for Making Sense of Motherhood. Their podcast, MOM PARTS: Making Sense of Motherhood is due out this summer. Rebecca is married and mother to three daughters, pre-teen, teen, and on the cusp of adulthood.
Session
Nic Wildes, LMHC, IFS Certified Therapist
Nic Wildes, LMHC, IFS Certified (pronouns: they/them/their) is a white queer transmasculine mental health counselor with a passion for using IFS to empower queer, trans, and nonbinary people. Nic maintains a private practice, offers supervision and consultation, and is co-director of SAYFTEE, a Boston-based group practice serving LGBTQI+ people and those who love them. Nic has been actively involved in the IFS community since 2015. They are an Assistant Trainer and approved consultant for the IFS Institute. They live on the Nipmuc and Pocumtuc territory of western Massachusetts and love traveling, dance music, and candlepin bowling.
Session
Julia Sullivan, MBA, Indigenous IFS Council
Julia Arellano Sullivan is a Latina with ancestral roots in the Tiwa tribe who lived in what is now Chihuahua, Mexico. Julia is a Level II Trained IFS coach serving a wide range of clients. She is the Co-founder of the Indigenous IFS Council and convenes the IFS in Business interest group. She is developing peer-based IFS-inspired programs to empower people to effectively help those within their reach. Julia has an extensive background in strategic planning and implementation, change management and large scale, multi-stakeholder engagement. Julia’s decades of experience in corporations, non-profit organizations, community coalitions, and indigenous tribes has taught her many things. She recognizes that systems change, grow, and get healthy when leaders do, and vice versa. She works 1-1, and at the team, organization, and community level. Julia was one of the first Latinas to earn an MBA from the Stanford Graduate School of Business (GSB) and currently serves on the GSB Alumni Association Board. She is also the Co-founder of GSB Allies for Equity, an alumni-led group of social activists doing equity
and inclusion work across multiple domains. Julia integrates IFS in her 12-step work and in April 2021 began an 8C weekly meeting drawing upon her 26-years in recovery, inspired by the 12-step worldwide community. Since 2008, Julia has been a member of Timeless Earth Wisdom, a spiritual community that honors all our relations in ceremony and in practice. Julia enjoys daily walks around a lake where she and her IFS-trained husband Chris speak for their Parts and Self with each other, belly laughing often, while expressing their love for each other and the earth. Julia and Chris successfully raised a blended family of seven children and delight in their grandchildren.
and inclusion work across multiple domains. Julia integrates IFS in her 12-step work and in April 2021 began an 8C weekly meeting drawing upon her 26-years in recovery, inspired by the 12-step worldwide community. Since 2008, Julia has been a member of Timeless Earth Wisdom, a spiritual community that honors all our relations in ceremony and in practice. Julia enjoys daily walks around a lake where she and her IFS-trained husband Chris speak for their Parts and Self with each other, belly laughing often, while expressing their love for each other and the earth. Julia and Chris successfully raised a blended family of seven children and delight in their grandchildren.
Session
Pete Patton, LCSW
Pete Patton (LCSW) graduated with his Master of Social Work degree in 1996 from University of Illinois at Chicago, Jane Addams College of Social Work. While attending there Pete became acquainted with the IFS Model by way of interning at the Institute for Juvenile Research, where he attended group supervision with Dick Schwartz and began applying and learning about his own interna-verse of Parts. Pete continued to get trained in IFS in the late 90’s and attended the initial Seattle Level 1 & 2 Trainings taught by Dick Schwartz and Michi Rose. The first 15 years of his career involved Pete providing sex offense specific treatment in the US and Aoteraro/New Zealand. His focus in the last 11 years has been on providing therapy to people suffering from a combination of trauma and chronic/persistent pain. Pete currently lives in Astoria, Oregon on the historical lands of the Clatsop and Chinook Tribes where he works for Clatsop Behavioral Healthcare and is Clinical Lead for the North Coast Pain Clinic. Pete regularly checks in with his Ancestors and his interna-verse of Parts.
Session
Kyle Wehrend, LICSW, LCSW-C
Kyle is a clinically licensed social worker with 15 years of experience working with adults and teens in community-based mental health and is currently working in private practice. He is licensed in DC and MD and has extensive experience working with depression, anxiety, developmental trauma and PTSD. Kyle received his Master of Social Work from the University of Georgia. In addition to social work, he also served 2 years in Peru as a Peace Corps Youth Development volunteer. Kyle grew up outside of Atlanta and currently lives in Takoma Park, MD with his wife, 3-year-old daughter and cat.
Session
Emma Redfern, MA, MBACP-Snr Accred, Certified IFS Therapist, Approved IFS Clinical Consultant
Psychotherapy Professional
Emma Redfern has been practising as a psychotherapist for over 20 years and as a supervisor for over a dozen. She is a certified IFS therapist and IFSI approved clinical consultant who specializes in supporting those who are transitioning to becoming IFS
therapists and integrating IFS into their supervision practice. Emma is editor of Internal Family Systems Therapy: Supervision and Consultation and author of Transitioning to Internal Family Systems Therapy: A Companion for Therapists and Practitioners, both published by Routledge. More recently, with Helen Foot in New Zealand, she co-edited the multi-author book Freeing Self: IFS Beyond the Therapy Room which mainly features the work of practitioners using IFS in non-therapy spaces. At the IFS Conference in 2022, she co-presented online with Lead Trainer Liz Martins on Integrating IFS into Supervision and Consultation. With Gayle Williamson, she is also co-host of the podcast Purely IFS with Emma and Gayle.
therapists and integrating IFS into their supervision practice. Emma is editor of Internal Family Systems Therapy: Supervision and Consultation and author of Transitioning to Internal Family Systems Therapy: A Companion for Therapists and Practitioners, both published by Routledge. More recently, with Helen Foot in New Zealand, she co-edited the multi-author book Freeing Self: IFS Beyond the Therapy Room which mainly features the work of practitioners using IFS in non-therapy spaces. At the IFS Conference in 2022, she co-presented online with Lead Trainer Liz Martins on Integrating IFS into Supervision and Consultation. With Gayle Williamson, she is also co-host of the podcast Purely IFS with Emma and Gayle.
Session
Lara Baden-Semper, MSc Clin Psy, BCN
Lara has a Master’s degree in Clinical Psychology from the University of the West Indies, and has been practising neurofeedback and psychotherapy for the past fourteen years. She is a Level 2 trained Internal Family Systems (IFS) therapist and a regular program assistant on IFS trainings. She is also a Certified (BCIA) Neurofeedback Practitioner, specialising in Low Energy Neurofeedback System (LENS) and Infra-slow Fluctuation (ISF) Neurofeedback. She also has trained in EMDR, Emotional Freedom Technique, and Heartmath.
Born in Trinidad and Tobago, Lara has Afro Trinidadian and white English heritage, and has lived in both countries. Her life experiences include childhood trauma, neurodiversity, and chronic physical health issues which inform her work where she specializes in working with people who have experienced childhood and relational trauma. Lara is also passionate about creating a therapeutic space where clients can unburden and heal from wounds caused by systematic oppressions such as racism, ableism, sexism, homophobia, poverty, colonialism and imperialism.
Lara’s therapeutic orientation is grounded in the understanding that traumatic events in the wider systems (ecological, societal, cultural, family etc.) in which we exist, impact both our physical and psychological functioning. In order to survive we adapt, and these survival-based adaptations are represented in the functioning of the nervous system and in the internal structures of the mind, and affect the development of many aspects of ourselves. If these structures and behaviors remain locked into patterns from the past, they hinder our ability to live our fullest lives in the present.
Lara uses the IFS therapeutic approach where her role as a therapist is to facilitate clients access to their innate healing capacity in order for them to heal wounds, and unburden survival-based patterns learned in times of adversity. She believes that therapist’s authenticity and respect for their client’s internal and lived experience are key factors in creating a healthy therapeutic alliance in which this healing work can be done.
Lara became a mental health professional as result of her own journey toward healing and deeply appreciates the privilege and honour of working with others who are on this journey. Lara is also a mother, a grandmother, a sister, a daughter, an aunty, a niece, a friend, and a lover of music, dancing, art, nature, dogs and humour!
Born in Trinidad and Tobago, Lara has Afro Trinidadian and white English heritage, and has lived in both countries. Her life experiences include childhood trauma, neurodiversity, and chronic physical health issues which inform her work where she specializes in working with people who have experienced childhood and relational trauma. Lara is also passionate about creating a therapeutic space where clients can unburden and heal from wounds caused by systematic oppressions such as racism, ableism, sexism, homophobia, poverty, colonialism and imperialism.
Lara’s therapeutic orientation is grounded in the understanding that traumatic events in the wider systems (ecological, societal, cultural, family etc.) in which we exist, impact both our physical and psychological functioning. In order to survive we adapt, and these survival-based adaptations are represented in the functioning of the nervous system and in the internal structures of the mind, and affect the development of many aspects of ourselves. If these structures and behaviors remain locked into patterns from the past, they hinder our ability to live our fullest lives in the present.
Lara uses the IFS therapeutic approach where her role as a therapist is to facilitate clients access to their innate healing capacity in order for them to heal wounds, and unburden survival-based patterns learned in times of adversity. She believes that therapist’s authenticity and respect for their client’s internal and lived experience are key factors in creating a healthy therapeutic alliance in which this healing work can be done.
Lara became a mental health professional as result of her own journey toward healing and deeply appreciates the privilege and honour of working with others who are on this journey. Lara is also a mother, a grandmother, a sister, a daughter, an aunty, a niece, a friend, and a lover of music, dancing, art, nature, dogs and humour!
Session
Hagit Zeev, MA, LMFT
Hagit Zeev (LMFT) is an individual and group IFS therapist born and raised in Israel. She founded Neshima Healing, a center dedicated to helping individuals and groups overcome trauma, reduce stress, improve relationships, and learn to lead from Self. Hagit is also an active advocate for world peace, supporting this cause through her work with IsraAID, an international humanitarian aid organization, and Desert Stars - an organization that builds leadership amongst the Beduin minority in the south of Israel. Additionally, she played an instrumental role in Re-Generation Education, a nonprofit focused on early education for Arab Israelis to address toxic stress and build lifelong resiliency.
Session
Julie Aresco, LICSW
Julie Aresco, LICSW is a Certified IFS therapist, Approved IFS Clinical Consultant and IFS Program Assistant in private practice. She works in individual and group contexts and incorporates Canine Assisted Therapy and Nature walks into her craft. She has a passion for teaching and found her way to the clinical world after many years as a high school Spanish teacher. She currently teaches and has served as an admissions reader at the Boston University School of Social Work. She was informally exposed to the IFS model in 2011 while working as a bilingual Clinical Social Worker at Brigham and Women’s Hospital. She eventually bridged her clinical and educational interests working as a therapist in college mental health at Harvard University Health Services. Here she also supervised graduate level interns, co-founded the therapy dog program Take a Paws, and co-presented at a Harvard Law School: Mental Health Luncheon on the integration of IFS and a Lawyer’s Parts. Her clinical interests include trauma, phobia, grief, interpersonal issues, interface of spirituality and clinical practice and integrated health care. She has been healing, studying and laughing under the mentorship of Senior Lead Trainer Mike Elkin since 2015.
Session
Gwen Hurd, LCSW
Gwen Hurd, LCSW, NCCE, NCPC, is a Certified IFS Therapist, Clinical Consultant and Lead Trainer. She graduated from the University of Chicago with her MSW in 1994. She was introduced to IFS during her graduate program and began her level one in 1998. She finished her level three training in 2014 and began Program Assisting in 2015. She has used IFS in her work as a Child Protection Investigator in the Chicago area and with at-risk youth and families both as a therapist and program director, in northwest Indiana. She moved to St George, Utah in 2008. She has taught at both the bachelor's and master's degree levels. She is currently the Clinical Director and Therapist/Custody Evaluator at Sage Circle Counseling Center in St George. She is currently licensed in Utah, Nevada, Texas, and Montana.
Session
David Medeiros, LICSW
David Medeiros was a musician for 20 years and inducted into the Rhode Island Music Hall of Fame as a drummer. Currently he is a Clinical Social Worker/Pyschotherapist in private practice. Areas of specialization and training include: Complex and Developmental Trauma; Threat Assessment and Risk Management; and the integration of IFS and EMDR. He has been a Program Assistant in over 6 Level I IFS Trainings, a Program Assistant in Ann Sinko and Michael Elkin's launch of the Level II - Depression, Anxiety and Shame; authored the book A Return to Civility and a Path to Get There, An Exploration of Responsibility, Accountability and Compassion; and co-presented the IFS Plenary with Dr. Schwartz on IFS and Schizophrenia. Lastly, he is proud to be involved with Everett Company, where he collaborated on the development of Good Grief; and exploration , through the lens of performance arts and Internal Family Systems, on how trauma is encoded, embodied and experienced.
Session
Imma Lloret, Psychologist
Imma Lloret is a psychologist and has been a psychotherapist for over 30 years in Barcelona, Spain. As the co-founder of the Spanish IFS Institute, she organizes IFS trainings, supervises, and facilitates groups along with her private practice where she provides IFS-based therapy for individuals and couples. Imma also worked as an Associate Professor in the degree of Psychology at UOC (Open University of Catalonia). She is also certified in Sensorimotor Psychotherapy and Somatic Experiencing, and has advanced training in AEDP. IFS has transformed her life and her view of the world and she is honored to be able to contribute to its spread.
Session
Zev Schuman-Olivier, MD
Zev Schuman-Olivier, MD is an Assistant Professor of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School and a board-certified addiction psychiatrist. He is Director of Addiction Research and the Founding Center Director of the Center for Mindfulness and Compassion (CMC) at Cambridge Health Alliance (CHA). He is a faculty affiliate of the Center for Technology and Behavioral Health, a NIDA-funded center of excellence at Dartmouth. He previously served as Medical Director for Outpatient Addiction Services and as Director of Addiction Psychiatry Residency Education at CHA for 5 years. He has been involved in clinical care of patients with chronic pain, substance use and mental health disorders both in mental health, primary care, and addiction recovery settings, with a research focus on behavioral interventions like mindfulness and compassion-based interventions. He has received funding through more than ten federal research grants, including the following: NCCIH, NIDA, NIMH, NCI, CDC, as well as the NIH Science of Behavior Change Initiative, NIH Helping End Addiction Long-term [HEAL], and NIH Behavioral Research to Improve Medication-Based Treatment [BRIM] program. He is a co-investigator on a NIMH P50 center grant focused on equitable mental health delivery for racial, ethnic, and linguistic minority youth. He is the Director of the Clinical Core for the NCCIH Program Project grant focused on integrating mindfulness and transcutaneous vagal nerve stimulation for chronic pain. He is principal investigator of the PARTS study, which is a randomized controlled trial of a live-online, group-based IFS intervention for PTSD in a community mental health setting.
Sessions
Zvi Ish Shalom, PhD, MA, BA
Zvi Ish-Shalom, PhD, is a teacher, author, and professor of world wisdom at Naropa University. He holds a BA in Ancient Greek and Latin from McGill University, a PhD in Jewish Mysticism from Brandeis University, and has formerly served as an orthodox rabbi, Rolfer, Diamond Approach teacher, and yoga instructor. He is the founder of Kedumah (Hebrew for "primordial"), a modern mystical path and school that integrates revelations from the primordial light realm, Kabbalah and other ancient wisdom traditions, and contemporary knowledge of science, psychology, and the embodied healing arts. Zvi's recent books include: The Path of Primordial Light (2022); Sleep, Death, and Rebirth (2021); and The Kedumah Experience (2018). He currently teaches retreats, workshops, and offers healing and awakening transmissions to groups of students both online and internationally.
Session
Sunny Strasburg, LMFT
Sunny Strasburg, LMFT is a certified psychedelic trauma therapist, entrepreneur, and author merging novel technology, art, and science. Sunny develops novel approaches to healing by delivering therapy, presentations, interviews, training, retreats, virtual reality and mobile app content, and psychedelic exploration. Sunny Strasburg is a licensed psychotherapist, trained in Internal Family Systems and certified in EMDR. Mrs. Strasburg graduated with a Certification of Psychedelic Assisted Therapy from CIIS. She is trained in the Gottman Couples Method, attachment theory, and Jungian psychology. Mrs. Strasburg is certified in psilocybin therapy and MDMA therapy by Michael and Annie Mithoefer of MAPS. Sunny is the Clinical Director of Operations at TRIPP PsyAssist, INC. She authors and provides voice-over talent for meditations, psychedelic
journey invocations, and writing exercises and curates music for psychedelic journeys. She trains clinicians in psychedelic assisted psychotherapy with Dr. Richard Schwartz, the originator of Internal Family Systems, Dr. Bessel van der Kolk, and other leaders in psychology.
journey invocations, and writing exercises and curates music for psychedelic journeys. She trains clinicians in psychedelic assisted psychotherapy with Dr. Richard Schwartz, the originator of Internal Family Systems, Dr. Bessel van der Kolk, and other leaders in psychology.
Session
Alexandra M. Barbo, Ph.D.
Licensed Psychologist
Alexandra (Sandy) Barbo, Ph.D. is a psychologist licensed in three states (FL, PA, NJ) with over 25 years of private practice experience offering psychotherapy to children, teens, families, and adults. Trained in School Psychology, she has provided consultation to parents, teachers, and school administrators in a wide variety of settings including the NJ State Day Care System, NJ Pre-School Handicapped and Early Intervention, as well as at the primary and high school grade levels across three states. She has taught graduate students at New York University and Hebrew Union College. Level 3 trained in IFS, Dr. Barbo has been actively involved in supporting the work of Joanna Curry-Sartori's Self-Leadership Collaborative (SLC) who adapted IFS for non-therapeutic application in educational and community settings via the P.A.U.S.E. model. As a consultant, trainer, and research advisor to SLC, she is actively involved in program development and all three levels of training in the U.S. and internationally. Her volunteer efforts include introducing the P.A.U.S.E. model to Ukrainian therapists, coordinating SLC's essay submissions to educational journals, and conducting qualitative interviews with trainees and group participants. She believes IFS provides a foundational roadmap for healthy human interactions grounded in a deep relational understanding of each individual’s inner world. She hopes to foster our understanding of the interconnections between that inner world and the outside environment.
Session
Martha Sweezy, Ph.D
Dr.
Assistant Professor, Part-Time, Harvard University Medical School
IFS Therapist in private practice
IFS Therapist in private practice
Session
Chelsea Casey, EdS, LPC
Chelsea Casey is an IFS Level 2 trained Licensed Professional Counselor, Dancing Mindfulness Facilitator, Certified Instinctual Trauma Response Therapist, and holds a graduate certificate in WGST with a focus on intersectionality and preventing violence against women and other marginalized populations. Chelsea founded her own virtual IFS private practice, Chelsea Casey, LLC, where she delivers trauma focused and culturally competent IFS therapy to adult survivors of childhood trauma from various racial, socioeconomic, and cultural backgrounds.
Chelsea has worked as Program Coordinator for the Women’s Wellbeing Initiative at the University of South Carolina, teaching intersectional feminist art classes to young girls in Juvenile Arbitration, and worked alongside several nonprofit organizations to offer free individual and family therapy to high risk youth in urban areas of South Carolina.
Chelsea is dedicated to continuous learning, and has expanded her knowledge and expertise on cultural competence by pursuing an Anti Racism specialization certificate from The University of Colorado Boulder, and taking additional courses on Asian American History and Identity. Chelsea currently resides in Boston, MA, where she enjoys yoga, dancing, comedy shows, and spending time with her beloved cat, Mila, outside of work.
Chelsea has worked as Program Coordinator for the Women’s Wellbeing Initiative at the University of South Carolina, teaching intersectional feminist art classes to young girls in Juvenile Arbitration, and worked alongside several nonprofit organizations to offer free individual and family therapy to high risk youth in urban areas of South Carolina.
Chelsea is dedicated to continuous learning, and has expanded her knowledge and expertise on cultural competence by pursuing an Anti Racism specialization certificate from The University of Colorado Boulder, and taking additional courses on Asian American History and Identity. Chelsea currently resides in Boston, MA, where she enjoys yoga, dancing, comedy shows, and spending time with her beloved cat, Mila, outside of work.
Session
Elizabeth Irwin, MEd, LPC, BCN
Elizabeth Irwin is the Chief Clinical Officer of an outpatient practice in Clayton, Missouri called Integrative Mind Institute specializing in eating disorders, trauma, IFS and neurofeedback. She has completing her Doctorate in Counseling from University of Missouri St. Louis and is currently adjunct faculty at University of Missouri St. Louis. She speaks regionally and internationally on the subjects of supervision and neurofeedback.
Session
John Palmer, LCSW
John Palmer, LCSW (he/him), has over 25 years experience working with couples and individuals. Certified in Internal Family Systems Therapy and an IFIO Lead Trainer, he is passionate about helping clinicians deepen their IFS/IFIO skills. John brings to his work a deep understanding of neuroscience with a strong focus on the autonomic nervous system as applied to couple relationships and the therapeutic process. He maintains a private practice in Austin, Texas, and spends his leisure time hiking in the great outdoors.
Session
Jeanne Catanzaro, PhD, IFS Approved Clinical Consultant, Licensed Clinical Psychologist
Jeanne Catanzaro, PhD, is a clinical psychologist who has specialized in treating eating disorders and trauma for the past 25 years. She trained in psychodynamic psychotherapy, Somatic Experiencing, and EMDR before discovering the Internal Family Systems Model. An approved IFS consultant, she has written two chapters on using IFS to treat eating disorders, one in Innovations and Elaborations in Internal Family Systems Therapy (2017) and another in Trauma-Informed Approaches to Eating Disorders (2019). For the past ten years she’s been focused on healing eating issues across the spectrum. Her book, tentatively titled Unburdened Eating: An IFS approach to Healing Your Relationships with Food and Your Body, focuses on healing the cultural legacy burdens that keep people from having Self-led relationships with their bodies.
Session
Analia Castanos-Davis, LMHC, IFS Trainer
Analía Castaños-Davis is a certified, level 3 IFS therapist and a member of the Lead Trainer Program of the IFS Institute, she joined the IFS community in her level 1 in 2016. She received her masters in systems counseling in 2009 from Bastyr University in Seattle and has worked in community mental health and private practice since then.
Analía created the first online IFS-Intro-Training in Spanish. She is trained as a psychedelic therapist by the Multidisciplinary Association of Psychedelic Studies (MAPS), and is being trained in curanderismo by Amita Indigenous Medicine School in México.Originally from Guadalajara, Mexico, she divides her time and practice between Ajijic, México and Seattle, WA with her husband and son.
Analía Castaños-Davis es terapeuta certificada IFS de nivel 3 y miembro del Programa de Entrenadores Líderes del Instituto IFS, ella se unió a la comunidad IFS en su nivel 1 en 2016. Recibió su maestría en terapia sistémica en 2009 de la Universidad de Bastyr en Seattle, WA y ha trabajado en salud mental comunitaria y práctica privada desde entonces.
Analía creó el primer curso en línea de IFS español. Está formada como terapeuta psicodélica por la Asociación Multidisciplinaria de Estudios Psicodélicos (MAPS), y está siendo formada en curanderismo por la Escuela de Medicina Indígena Amita en México.
Analía es originaria de Guadalajara, México, divide su tiempo y práctica entre Ajijic, México y Seattle, WA con su esposo e hijo.
Analía created the first online IFS-Intro-Training in Spanish. She is trained as a psychedelic therapist by the Multidisciplinary Association of Psychedelic Studies (MAPS), and is being trained in curanderismo by Amita Indigenous Medicine School in México.Originally from Guadalajara, Mexico, she divides her time and practice between Ajijic, México and Seattle, WA with her husband and son.
Analía Castaños-Davis es terapeuta certificada IFS de nivel 3 y miembro del Programa de Entrenadores Líderes del Instituto IFS, ella se unió a la comunidad IFS en su nivel 1 en 2016. Recibió su maestría en terapia sistémica en 2009 de la Universidad de Bastyr en Seattle, WA y ha trabajado en salud mental comunitaria y práctica privada desde entonces.
Analía creó el primer curso en línea de IFS español. Está formada como terapeuta psicodélica por la Asociación Multidisciplinaria de Estudios Psicodélicos (MAPS), y está siendo formada en curanderismo por la Escuela de Medicina Indígena Amita en México.
Analía es originaria de Guadalajara, México, divide su tiempo y práctica entre Ajijic, México y Seattle, WA con su esposo e hijo.
Sessions
Mary Petro, Certified Professional Coach
Mary Petro is the Co-Founder and Coaching Director at Ithraa Center Jordan. She brings a
diverse background with over 22 years of experience in training and team building and 14
years in business leadership. She has worked with a wide variety of audiences in the field
of training and coaching ranging from individuals and families to students, educators and
researchers, as well as corporate, government, and NGO employees and various leaders in
the community that has spanned across various continents and cultures, including North
& South America, Europe, and the Middle East region.
In 2014, Mary co-founded a second branch of Ithraa Training Center in Lebanon. Since
then, the number of coaches she has trained (ToT) and certified has exceeded 75 in total
between the offices in both Jordan and Lebanon. Her professional credentials include a
certification as a professional coach with the International Coaching Federation (ICF)
involving over 10,000 hours of hands-on training and one-on-one coaching. She is also an
Internal Family Systems (IFS) Practitioner.
diverse background with over 22 years of experience in training and team building and 14
years in business leadership. She has worked with a wide variety of audiences in the field
of training and coaching ranging from individuals and families to students, educators and
researchers, as well as corporate, government, and NGO employees and various leaders in
the community that has spanned across various continents and cultures, including North
& South America, Europe, and the Middle East region.
In 2014, Mary co-founded a second branch of Ithraa Training Center in Lebanon. Since
then, the number of coaches she has trained (ToT) and certified has exceeded 75 in total
between the offices in both Jordan and Lebanon. Her professional credentials include a
certification as a professional coach with the International Coaching Federation (ICF)
involving over 10,000 hours of hands-on training and one-on-one coaching. She is also an
Internal Family Systems (IFS) Practitioner.
Session
Karen Harrington, MCouns., MHealSci, IFS Certified Therapist
Karen Harrington, MCouns., MHealSci., is licensed counsellor and certified IFS therapist. She has a background in mental health nursing in inpatient and community settings. Karen has a private practice and an interest in working with people with childhood trauma and dissociative experiences. She has a passion for disseminating the IFS model in New Zealand at a grassroots level and started to co-facilitate IFS Kiwi workshops in early 2023 with Helen Foot. Karen lives in Christchurch, New Zealand with her husband, Greg, and they particularly enjoy catching up with their adult sons and their partners over good food and competitive canasta games.
Session
Julie Abrams Faude, PhD
Clinical Developmental Psychologist
Julie Abrams Faude (M.A., Ph.D.) has worked in educational settings and private practice for over 35 years. As a 25-year veteran Lower School Psychologist at a suburban Independent school, Dr. Faude is enthusiastic about sharing the unique benefits of applying the Self-Leadership Collaborative- P.A.U.S.E. model in the school setting. Dr. Faude leads coaching and consultation groups at The Self-Leadership Collaborative with educators while contributing widely to the ongoing development of books and curricular materials for schools to implement the Self-Leadership Collaborative's compassionate approach. Dr. Faude is appreciated for her deep enthusiasm and dedication to discovering the optimal way to support educators, parents, mental health practitioners, school systems, and wider communities so that young people can access Self and treat themselves and others with kindness and care.
Session
Tavonia Adams, MBA, PMP
Tavonia Adams is a business professional with a decade of experience in operations, project management, and cross-cultural communication. With an educational background in East Asian Languages and Cultures, as well as Global Management, Tavonia brings a unique perspective on the model minority myth in professional settings.
Her personal connection to Asian cultures, including her time teaching English in Japan for three years, Thai family heritage, and her extensive travels to more than 25 countries, offers a genuine understanding of the nuances within various communities. Tavonia's work history has honed her ability to communicate effectively in diverse environments.
In addition to her professional achievements, Tavonia has pursued ongoing education in areas such as Diversity and Inclusion, Psychology of Leadership, and Change Leadership. She actively engages with her community through volunteer activities, mentoring, and participating in global initiatives.
Her personal connection to Asian cultures, including her time teaching English in Japan for three years, Thai family heritage, and her extensive travels to more than 25 countries, offers a genuine understanding of the nuances within various communities. Tavonia's work history has honed her ability to communicate effectively in diverse environments.
In addition to her professional achievements, Tavonia has pursued ongoing education in areas such as Diversity and Inclusion, Psychology of Leadership, and Change Leadership. She actively engages with her community through volunteer activities, mentoring, and participating in global initiatives.
Session
Marcella Cox, LMFT, CEDS-S
Marcella Cox (she/her), LMFT is a Certified IFS Therapist and Approved Clinical Consultant,
Certified Eating Disorder Specialist – Supervisor & Certified Body Trust Provider. Marcella
specializes in treating disordered eating, body shame and trauma. She is the founder of Kindful
Body, a collaboration of experienced eating disorder professionals providing online therapy and
nutrition counseling throughout California. Marcella also co-founded the IFS Telehealth
Collective with lead IFS trainers, Mariel Pastor, LMFT and Paul Ginter, Ed.D. The IFS Telehealth
Collective is a multi-state mental health group practice dedicated to providing high-quality
Internal Family Systems Therapy online. Marcella provides individual and group supervision,
clinical consultation, and professional workshops for therapists. She will soon be launching her
online course and offering in-person retreats to support healing from disordered eating and body
shame
Certified Eating Disorder Specialist – Supervisor & Certified Body Trust Provider. Marcella
specializes in treating disordered eating, body shame and trauma. She is the founder of Kindful
Body, a collaboration of experienced eating disorder professionals providing online therapy and
nutrition counseling throughout California. Marcella also co-founded the IFS Telehealth
Collective with lead IFS trainers, Mariel Pastor, LMFT and Paul Ginter, Ed.D. The IFS Telehealth
Collective is a multi-state mental health group practice dedicated to providing high-quality
Internal Family Systems Therapy online. Marcella provides individual and group supervision,
clinical consultation, and professional workshops for therapists. She will soon be launching her
online course and offering in-person retreats to support healing from disordered eating and body
shame
Session
Theresa Chesnut, LCSW
Theresa Chesnut specializes in the treatment of Eating Disorders, Post Traumatic Stress Disorders (PTSD), and issues related to anxiety, depression and stress. Her focus embraces the optimization of athletic performance as well as the resolution of conflicts arising within the family, particularly those pertaining to adolescent growth. Her therapeutic orientation is holistic, strength-based, and grounded in both psychodynamic and Internal Family Systems (IFS)
theories.
Theresa has worked with adolescents and adults for over 30 years, managing her clients’ challenges with Anorexia, Bulimia, and Binge Eating Disorders. Previous to her having formed her own private group practice, she held the position of Clinical Director at The Healthy Teen Project (HTP), an adolescent, eating disorder-specific outpatient clinic. Before her tenure at HTP, Theresa held many roles over her 13-year stint at a national eating disorder residential treatment center, including Program Director, Lead Individual and Group Therapist, Program Director, Director of Regional Marketing, and supervising master level interns. She was also instrumental in a senior management role, starting new programs, training new staff, overseeing operations, creating policies and procedures for programs, and expanding existing practices into
new geographic locations.
Theresa lectures locally and nationally, both in person and virtually, on therapeutic interventions targeting the entire eating disorder recovery process. Over the last 3 decades, Theresa has lectured on college campuses as well as to allied professionals covering the state of the art of symptom identification and eating disorder prevention, therapeutic interventions. She has been trained in Family Based Therapy (FBT), Emotionally Focused Family Therapy (EFFT), and has
been an Internal Family Systems (IFS) therapist for 2 decades; additionally, she has assisted in Level One Trainings.
Theresa served as a Board member of the national Binge Eating Disorder Association (BEDA) from 2009-2017 and held board positions as the Secretary, Vice-Chair, and Chair. Additionally, she sat on several committees including the Conference Committee and Weight Stigma Awareness Week." Theresa currently runs an annual event - The Tri-State Eating Disorder Conference in Evansville, Indiana. She maintains group practices in California and in Indiana. The practice offers practicum internships for Masters level students. She is an IAEDP Certified Eating Disorder Specialist, in addition to being an approved supervisor. Although she maintains her private practice in Northern California, she resides in Evansville, IN where she is a proud grandmother to 4 grandchildren and her therapy Shepadoodle, Stevie Nicks
theories.
Theresa has worked with adolescents and adults for over 30 years, managing her clients’ challenges with Anorexia, Bulimia, and Binge Eating Disorders. Previous to her having formed her own private group practice, she held the position of Clinical Director at The Healthy Teen Project (HTP), an adolescent, eating disorder-specific outpatient clinic. Before her tenure at HTP, Theresa held many roles over her 13-year stint at a national eating disorder residential treatment center, including Program Director, Lead Individual and Group Therapist, Program Director, Director of Regional Marketing, and supervising master level interns. She was also instrumental in a senior management role, starting new programs, training new staff, overseeing operations, creating policies and procedures for programs, and expanding existing practices into
new geographic locations.
Theresa lectures locally and nationally, both in person and virtually, on therapeutic interventions targeting the entire eating disorder recovery process. Over the last 3 decades, Theresa has lectured on college campuses as well as to allied professionals covering the state of the art of symptom identification and eating disorder prevention, therapeutic interventions. She has been trained in Family Based Therapy (FBT), Emotionally Focused Family Therapy (EFFT), and has
been an Internal Family Systems (IFS) therapist for 2 decades; additionally, she has assisted in Level One Trainings.
Theresa served as a Board member of the national Binge Eating Disorder Association (BEDA) from 2009-2017 and held board positions as the Secretary, Vice-Chair, and Chair. Additionally, she sat on several committees including the Conference Committee and Weight Stigma Awareness Week." Theresa currently runs an annual event - The Tri-State Eating Disorder Conference in Evansville, Indiana. She maintains group practices in California and in Indiana. The practice offers practicum internships for Masters level students. She is an IAEDP Certified Eating Disorder Specialist, in addition to being an approved supervisor. Although she maintains her private practice in Northern California, she resides in Evansville, IN where she is a proud grandmother to 4 grandchildren and her therapy Shepadoodle, Stevie Nicks
Session
Sand Chang, PhD, Licensed Psychologist
Sand Chang, PhD (they/them/their) is a Chinese American genderfluid/nonbinary psychologist, trainer, and DEI consultant in practice for over 15 years. Sand co-authored A Clinician’s Guide to Gender Affirming Care (New Harbinger, 2018) and the APA Guidelines for Psychological Practice with Transgender and Gender Nonconforming Clients (2015). Sand’s work is focused on gender, sexuality, disordered eating (from an anti-diet and HAES perspective), addictions, trauma/EMDR, Internal Family Systems (IFS), and attachment concerns. Sand is a certified Body Trust Provider. Outside of work,
they are a dancer, food top, punoff competitor, and small dog enthusiast.
www.sandchang.com
they are a dancer, food top, punoff competitor, and small dog enthusiast.
www.sandchang.com
Sessions
Samar Azzi Rahme - MA Clinical Psychologist, Special Ed
Samar is a special educator and is currently finishing the process of getting her license as a psychotherapist. She has worked for years as head of Special Education and therapy departments at different inclusive schools focusing on modifying and accommodating the mainstream curriculum and setting behavioral plans to help children and adolescents succeed in a school setting. She also works as an SEL consultant for QITABI 2 World Learning that aims to train school principals, coordinators, and teachers on integrating Social Emotional Learning into the curriculum. Along with her husband and a team from Lebanon, she has started a training and coaching center
(Ithraa Lebanon) and has given different pieces of training and workshops for staff, couples, parents, and youth based on relational needs. She was first trained in IFS by Tom Holmes in Jordan in 2019 and finished IFS Level 1 in 2022. She has worked with refugees on mental health and parenting skills and trauma healing using the attachment approach and IFS.
(Ithraa Lebanon) and has given different pieces of training and workshops for staff, couples, parents, and youth based on relational needs. She was first trained in IFS by Tom Holmes in Jordan in 2019 and finished IFS Level 1 in 2022. She has worked with refugees on mental health and parenting skills and trauma healing using the attachment approach and IFS.
Session
Hanna Soumerai, LICSW
Hanna Soumerai Rea (she/her), LICSW, is the Clinical Director for the Program for Alleviating and Resolving Trauma and Stress Study (The PARTS study) at Cambridge Health Alliance (CHA). Hanna works with individuals, couples and groups and has a specialty working with LGBTQI+ individuals. She has completed several IFS trainings, served as a program assistance for IFS trainings and completed an IFIO training. Hanna is IFS certified and has a therapy and consultation practice in Arlington, MA. Hanna is on a journey to unlearn bias of all forms
Sessions
Lia Smith, MA
Lia Smith, M.A., is a pre-doctoral clinical intern with the Center for Mindfulness and Compassion and CHA/ Harvard Medical School. Lia is a doctoral candidate at the University of Houston and NIAAA F31 Predoctoral Fellow. Her study is entitled, An Examination of the Effects of Global Sleep Disturbance and PTSD on Alcohol Cue Reactivity. Lia's research and clinical interests focus on risk (e.g., sleep, distress tolerance) and resilience (e.g., mindfulness, psychological flexibility) processes at the intersection of addictions, trauma, and health disparities. In her free time, Lia enjoys spending time with her family, playing with her dog, and traveling.
Session
Irina Diyankova, PhD, Psychologist
Irina Diyankova, Ph.D., is a licensed psychologist, certified IFS therapist, IFS-I approved consultant, and Assistant Trainer. She has private practice in Knoxville, TN where she specializes in working with complex trauma in adults and adolescents. Being born and raised in Russia, Irina has a special interest in applying IFS across cultures, as well as working with cultural dynamics and burdens. In addition, she identifies as neurodivergent and has a special interest in using IFS with neurodivergent population.
Irina has conducted multiple IFS workshops and consultation groups in the US and Russia. She is very passionate and excited about IFS Model and loves sharing it with other therapists and human services professionals. In her leisure time she loves practicing yoga, hiking, traveling, reading and writing.
Irina has conducted multiple IFS workshops and consultation groups in the US and Russia. She is very passionate and excited about IFS Model and loves sharing it with other therapists and human services professionals. In her leisure time she loves practicing yoga, hiking, traveling, reading and writing.
Session
Mary Catherine Ward, LICSW
Mary Catherine Ward, LICSW is a therapist and Program Leader/ Manager in the MCREW (Malden, Chelsea, Revere, Everett and Winthrop) Outpatient Psychiatry Department at Cambridge Health Alliance (CHA). She received her MSW from Simmons School of Social Work in 1995 and completed the now defunct 2 year Couples and Family training Program at CHA in 1997 while working full time with pregnant and parenting teenagers in local Boston High Schools. After completing the couples and family therapy training in 1997, she joined the CHA OPD. Her interest in trauma, systems theory, and attachment theory led her to embrace the IFS model. Since completing IFS training Levels 1, 2 3, as well as the IFS couples therapy training Intimacy From The Inside Out, Mary Catherine has worked as a PA in multiple Level 1 and 2 trainings that serve a cross section of disciplines and include LBGTQ and BIPOC participants. In 2020, Mary Catherine and Hanna Soumerai, her colleague from the Outpatient Psychiatry Department at CHA, co-led an online IFS group pilot study for 16 patients who were diagnosed with Complex PTSD. Mary Catherine also represented the IFS perspective on a panel case discussion at the April 2, 2022 Harvard Medical School online conference ”The Age of Anxiety: Assessment and Treatment.”
Session
Laura Bafford Leslie, LCSW
I graduated with a degree in Zoology from Duke University in North Carolina way back when, and I adore frogs, toads, salamanders, and snakes! I had and continue to have a deep love for the natural world, but my life path ultimately led me away from the field of environmental science. After raising two wonderful children in Connecticut, a series of significant people and events propelled me onto a path that led to the graduate school of Social Work at UT in Austin, Texas. It was a long time coming, but this shift was a monumental one for me.
~
To be honest, one of the reasons it took me so long to become a therapist was that a part of me was disappointed in my fellow human creatures. How could others not see the value of caring for our beautiful and exquisitely interconnected planet? We may be getting better, and it does feel as though a global awakening is under way. In the meantime, I experienced an awakening of my own. Over the course of my life, I have come to appreciate the extraordinary value of our, for lack of a better word, beingness.
~
So what is beingness? In my understanding, it is nothing more, nor nothing less, than the intrinsic value of being alive. A miracle. With this awareness, I realized the crucial responsibility we owe to ourselves, to one another and to all living beings (and possibly to whomever or whatever higher power) to live our lives fully. We are born worthy. We exist to provide something valuable to the world. But what if we don't know what this means? What if we experienced stuff early in our lives, or later, that prevents us from truly knowing how important we are so we can figure out why we are here? What if we have been exposed to so many adverse experiences that we never had the opportunity to explore our true nature, to love ourselves, to learn that it is okay to be vulnerable, take risks and make mistakes, to connect with our true potential and purpose? With these questions in mind, I discovered the field of Social Work.
~
Upon graduating from the University of Texas, Austin in 2013, I spent four years conducting a group therapy program at Austin Lakes Outpatient Services. About halfway into my time there and following a post-graduate training in trauma studies and related programs led by Bessel van der Kolk, I created a trauma-informed group. The subsequent wondrous discovery of Dick Schwartz and Internal Family Systems inspired the course of my training in Levels 1-3 culminating in an IFS certification. I transitioned to a private practice in 2016 and currently revel in the opportunity to foster healing in others through the compassionate, non-pathologizing lens of IFS.
~
As of 2019, I have pursued a doctorate through the collaboration of the Taos Institute in the US and Canterbury Christ Church University in the UK. The title of my research- An Exploratory Qualitative Study: How Internal Family Systems (IFS) May Afford a Way into Generativity Among Corrections Officers, Behavioral Health Staff and Youth Offenders in a Correctional Institution. I anticipate completing the requirements of the PhD portfolio some time in early 2024.
~
~
To be honest, one of the reasons it took me so long to become a therapist was that a part of me was disappointed in my fellow human creatures. How could others not see the value of caring for our beautiful and exquisitely interconnected planet? We may be getting better, and it does feel as though a global awakening is under way. In the meantime, I experienced an awakening of my own. Over the course of my life, I have come to appreciate the extraordinary value of our, for lack of a better word, beingness.
~
So what is beingness? In my understanding, it is nothing more, nor nothing less, than the intrinsic value of being alive. A miracle. With this awareness, I realized the crucial responsibility we owe to ourselves, to one another and to all living beings (and possibly to whomever or whatever higher power) to live our lives fully. We are born worthy. We exist to provide something valuable to the world. But what if we don't know what this means? What if we experienced stuff early in our lives, or later, that prevents us from truly knowing how important we are so we can figure out why we are here? What if we have been exposed to so many adverse experiences that we never had the opportunity to explore our true nature, to love ourselves, to learn that it is okay to be vulnerable, take risks and make mistakes, to connect with our true potential and purpose? With these questions in mind, I discovered the field of Social Work.
~
Upon graduating from the University of Texas, Austin in 2013, I spent four years conducting a group therapy program at Austin Lakes Outpatient Services. About halfway into my time there and following a post-graduate training in trauma studies and related programs led by Bessel van der Kolk, I created a trauma-informed group. The subsequent wondrous discovery of Dick Schwartz and Internal Family Systems inspired the course of my training in Levels 1-3 culminating in an IFS certification. I transitioned to a private practice in 2016 and currently revel in the opportunity to foster healing in others through the compassionate, non-pathologizing lens of IFS.
~
As of 2019, I have pursued a doctorate through the collaboration of the Taos Institute in the US and Canterbury Christ Church University in the UK. The title of my research- An Exploratory Qualitative Study: How Internal Family Systems (IFS) May Afford a Way into Generativity Among Corrections Officers, Behavioral Health Staff and Youth Offenders in a Correctional Institution. I anticipate completing the requirements of the PhD portfolio some time in early 2024.
~
Session
Alexandra "Lexie" Comeau, MA
Lexie is the Research Manager at the CHA Center for Mindfulness and Compassion.She helped to launch the PARTS Pilot Study and currently manages the PARTS randomized controlled trial. Lexie has a Master’s degree in Psychology from Boston University, and is passionate about investigating the efficacy of mental health interventions, helping to make evidence-based treatment more accessible, and helping to reduce the stigma associated with mental health care.
Session
Lou Lukas, MD
Dr. Lou Lukas is a palliative medicine physician in Omaha, Nebraska, where she lives with her mom, three playful Shi Tzus, and surrounded by friends and family. She is an associate professor of Palliative Medicine at the University of Nebraska Medical Center (UNMC), Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Geriatric and Palliative Medicine. Born and raised in Omaha, she started off her career as a retail buyer before switching gears when her mother was diagnosed with cancer. After returning to Omaha to attend medical school at UNMC, she became a family physician at the Lehigh Valley Health Network’s Family Medicine residency and gained research and policy training through the Robert Wood Johnson Clinical Scholars Program at the University of Michigan. She’s spent most of her medical career being an edge-walker, spanning boundaries between the science, the psychological and the sacred aspects of serious illness. The renaissance of psychedelic therapy has offered a path to deepen the connections between those realms, and she’s extended her training though the Synthesis Institute’s Psychedelic Practitioner Training Program. She’s currently launching a clinical practice called “Palliadelic Health,” to provide care to the patients, their families, and the healthcare providers who struggle with the distress related to serious illness.
Session
Ilanit Tal, PhD
Dr. Tal is the Associate Director for Research at the Foundation for Self Leadership.
