Weekly from September 2nd to December 16th 2025
IFS Healers 16 week Foundations Course
Presented by Sigrid Kulkowitz
Begin your Transformational IFS Journey with IFS Healers’ Foundations Course:
This 16-week live, experiential IFS training will introduce you to the IFS model and help you internalize these learnings through extensive practice and expert consultation.
What you will learn:
- Deepen your understanding of the Internal Family Systems model through teaching that honors both the theory and the spirit of the work.
- Engage in immersive, live practice with peers, gaining the confidence and fluency needed to apply the model skillfully and compassionately.
- Receive expert guidance and consultation to help you integrate IFS into your professional work with nuance, integrity, and care.
- Reconnect with the spiritual and self-healing essence at your core, and learn to support others in doing the same.
- Embrace IFS as a practice of inner and outer peace, one that nurtures healing within yourself, your clients, and the communities you serve.
Deepen your understanding of the Internal Family Systems model through teaching that honors both the theory and the spirit of the work.
Engage in immersive, live practice with peers, gaining the confidence and fluency needed to apply the model skillfully and compassionately.
Receive expert guidance and consultation to help you integrate IFS into your professional work with nuance, integrity, and care.
Reconnect with the spiritual and self-healing essence at your core, and learn to support others in doing the same.
Embrace IFS as a practice of inner and outer peace, one that nurtures healing within yourself, your clients, and the communities you serve.
Meet Lead Trainer:
Sigrid Kulkowitz
– Certified Level 2 IFS Therapist
– Certified IFS Consultant and Clinical Supervisor
– Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist (LMFT)
Meet Guest Faculty:
David Stern, Psy.D
– Certified Level 3 IFS Consultant
– Licensed psychologist
– Trained in EMDR & Brainspotting
– Doctorate at the Massachusettes School of Professional Studies
This course is rooted in practice, not just theory
– offering live demonstrations, guided practice groups, and a supportive learning community to help you truly integrate IFS.
48 hours of contact time, recorded demos, access to the IFS Healers portal and many handouts supporting all the elements of this course
16 x 3 hour workshops comprised of teaching, demonstrations, practice groups, Consultation and Q&A
Times
10am – 1pm EST (New York)
7am – 12am PST (Oregon)
3pm – 6pm UK (London)*
Dates
2, 9, 16, 23, 30 September 2025
7, 14, 21, 28 October 2025
4, 11, 18, 25 November 2025
2, 9, 16 December 2025
Price
USD $ 2300
*In the US, we change from daylight savings time on November 2. Be mindful how this will impact start and end time in your time zone
There will be 4, 4-week modules.
Each module will follow the structure outlined below:
🌟 Week 1 - Teaching & Demonstration / 3 hours
What to Expect in Our Sessions
In our first gathering, we’ll take time to settle in—greeting one another, establishing shared guidelines for safety and connection, and orienting ourselves to the core principles of the IFS model. We’ll begin with an overview of the three primary types of parts typically encountered in sessions, and introduce the foundational concept of Self and Self-energy.
In the weeks that follow, we’ll explore topics such as:
Building trusting relationships with Protectors
Working with your own Therapist Parts
Mapping and understanding your internal system
The process of unburdening Exiles
Introducing IFS to both new and existing clients
Throughout the course, we will return again and again to a central IFS practice: learning to speak for your parts, rather than from them—a skill that deepens self-awareness and supports client work at every level.
Most weeks, one participant will be invited to volunteer for a live demonstration. These sessions are powerful opportunities to witness the model in action. You’ll be invited to engage internally during these demonstrations—not as a performance or role-play, but as a space to do real, personal work. Knowing and tending your own system is essential to becoming an effective IFS practitioner.
All sessions will be recorded and available for later viewing, so you can revisit the material or catch up if you’re unable to attend live.
🌟 Week 2 & 3 - Practice Groups / 3 hours
Weeks 2 & 3: Guided and Peer Practice
In Week 2, you’ll engage in a supervised practice session facilitated by one of our experienced Program Assistants (PAs). These sessions take place in small groups of three to four participants, using a secure, HIPAA-compliant* Zoom platform. Your PA will serve as a supportive consultant and coach, helping you apply the IFS model skillfully while also tending to any parts of you that may arise during the process.
In Week 3, you’ll reconvene with the same practice group—this time without a PA—to deepen your confidence and connection within a peer-led environment.
Each practice group will rotate across the four modules, giving you the opportunity to work with different people and styles. In each session, you’ll take turns in the roles of therapist, client, and observer. You’ll have up to 45 minutes in the therapist role, followed by time for reflection, feedback, and integration—up to 15 minutes after each session.
These practice sessions are the heart of your learning journey, offering real-time opportunities to embody the IFS model and grow in both skill and self-awareness.
Confidentiality and Group Agreements
To create a space where true healing and learning can occur, all participants are expected to uphold clear agreements around confidentiality, respect, and self-leadership. What is shared within your practice groups—whether spoken, witnessed, or felt—remains within that circle. We ask each participant to approach both their own system and others’ with care, curiosity, and compassion. These shared commitments help cultivate a sense of safety and trust, allowing the work to unfold with depth and integrity.
*HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996) A United States legislation that provides data privacy and security provisions for safeguarding medical information.
🌟 Week 4 - Consultation Group / 3 hours
Large Group Integration and Consultation
We will reconvene as a full group for integration, reflection, and continued learning. You’ll be invited to bring questions that have emerged from your practice sessions or from engaging with the theory. This is a space where we can pause, go deeper, and support one another in real time.
If you’re feeling stuck with a particular client or uncertain about how to apply the model, we may choose to explore a live piece of work together. This may include tending to therapist parts that have been activated in the course of your client work. These sessions often offer powerful clarity and the potential for personal unburdenings.
This is also a valuable forum for getting to know and care for your own therapist parts. Challenging clinical dynamics, such as working with suicidality, trauma, addictions, or difficulty unblending, are welcome topics in this space. Together, we will approach these complexities with steadiness, compassion, and shared wisdom.
All group consultation sessions will be recorded and made available to you for review at your convenience.
Sigrid has a gift for creating space where every part feels seen and respected. She brings such presence and care that protective parts begin to soften—not through persuasion, but through genuine attunement.
She doesn’t just explain IFS—she lives it. I’ve seen her meet skeptical protectors with warmth and curiosity, trusting each person’s system to unfold in its own time.
Her questions are thoughtful and spacious, inviting Self-energy and tenderness to emerge. Even fear, resistance, and confusion are welcomed—not as obstacles, but as intelligent parts worthy of relationship and respect.
Learning from Sigrid feels less like being taught, and more like being deeply accompanied. She brings reverence to every part.”
–Martha Lasley
“Sigrid’s teaching was both creative and clear. She demonstrated how IFS can benefit many fields—from therapy to life coaching—and brought warmth and patience to every session.
She adapted the curriculum to meet our group’s diverse learning styles and gave us lots of space to practice. Each concept was explained with clarity, making the experience both engaging and fun.
It’s clear how passionate she is about IFS—and that passion is contagious.”
–Angela Yantorno, LMSW
“David Stern is born to teach. He knows and experiences IFS in mind, body and heart, and conveys the concepts and the techniques from that deep well. He is kind, clear, and connected. I have seen him be part of a group and almost immediately be recognized as a leader, even if he wasn’t in that role. People look to him for clarity and ever more expansive views of our inner system and the Self that permeates it.”
–Mona Barbera, Ph.D. author of “Bring Yourself to Love”
“Dr. David Stern brings profound wisdom and humanistic talents to his teaching. He combines years of solid experience using the IFS method with a deep communion with spiritual depths. His personal style is intensely supportive and connective and he brings a passion for the unfolding of the soul. Learning with David is a rich and transformative experience.”
–Bonnie Weiss, LCSW, author of Self-Therapy Workbook
A Deeply Experiential Approach to Learning IFS
This 16-week intensive is for therapists, coaches, and healing professionals who want to engage deeply with the Internal Family Systems (IFS) model—not just learn about it, but practice it.
Each week, we will explore key aspects of IFS through:
⭐ Live teachings and demonstrations to see the model in action.
⭐ Guided practice groups with Program Assistants for hands-on experience.
⭐ Opportunities for personal exploration—because knowing your own system is key.
⭐ A collaborative learning community to support your growth beyond the course.
⭐ 48 CE credits available for social workers and counselors.
“Internal Family Systems Therapy Second Edition”
by Richard C. Schwartz and Martha Sweezy (available from the IFS Institute Bookstore.)
Recommended readings:
“Introduction to Internal Family Systems Therapy” also by Dick Schwartz
“Many Minds, One Self” by Dick Schwartz and Robert Falconer,
“Self-Therapy: A Step-By-Step Guide to Creating Wholeness and Healing Your Inner Child Using IFS, A New Cutting-Edge Psychotherapy, Third Edition” by Jay Earley PhD.
You will have access to many handouts supporting all the elements of this course.
In addition to the readings, I have collected many recorded demos that can help you see the model in action.
There are many interesting articles on the resources page of the IFSCA site and several will be recommended during the course. Also, Laura Schmidt, LMFT has a wonderful resource list on her site, https://lauraschmidtlmft.com/ifs/resources/.
The IFSCA website has many resources. You are invited to view the 10-part video series “IFS for Therapists” to enhance your learning during the course. In addition there is a five episode video series, “IFSQ&A” that addresses common questions you will encounter (these can found on the IFSCA website)
The course will be conducted twice a year, with a minimum of 15 participants and a maximum of 24.
It is open to social workers, therapists, counsellors, coaches, and other healing professionals.
The cost for the entire 4-month course is USD $2300. After paying the full amount, your registration is automatically complete.
48 CE Credits for Social Workers, Counselors, and Marriage and Family Therapists are available through NASW authorization # RI-9721 (please check with your local licensing boards to see if this authorization is accepted). There will be a fee of $20 to cover administration costs.
Cancellation Policy:
For full refund of registration fee, an USD$125 admin fee will be applied.
Payment may be refunded up to 4 weeks prior to the start date of the course. There will be no refunds 4 weeks prior to the start date.
Partial Scholarships:
To accommodate participants from diverse economic backgrounds, we will offer significantly reduced fees and a limited number of scholarships. Individuals with limited financial resources or experiencing financial harship will also be eligible for a reduced fee or a payment plan.
Each 3-hour full group meeting will be recorded, and the recordings will be made available only to participants. At the end of the course, you will receive a certificate of completion provided you have attended 90% of the live sessions – i.e., you may miss two of the 3 hour sessions.
Graduates are recommended to refer to themselves as offering IFS-Informed Therapy.
A few more important words:
Who This Course Is For
To receive the greatest benefit from this course, it’s ideal to be working one-on-one with others in a professional or healing capacity—whether as a therapist, coach, guide, or caregiver. While the training is rich and comprehensive, it is not affiliated with the IFS Institute and does not lead to IFSI certification. Those seeking certification must complete the IFSI Level 1 Training and all requirements through the IFS Institute.
A Note on Safety and Self-Leadership
IFS is not just a treatment modality—it is a way of being. And the only way to truly learn it is by turning inward, with courage and care, toward your own internal system. This means you will be stirred, activated, and moved. That is not a problem; it is the path. Each trigger is an invitation to meet your parts with compassion and to uncover the gifts they carry.
We are committed to co-creating a learning community rooted in emotional safety, curiosity, and mutual respect. As we learn together, we will practice applying the very tools of IFS to whatever arises—individually and collectively—so that growth and healing happen in real time, not just in theory.