SFACBS welcomes you to an exciting in person workshop:
Introduction to Internal Family Systems Model for ACT Practitioners: An Experiential Workshop
Instructor: LaDonna Silva, LMFT
Friday, November 10, 2023, 8:30 am - 4:30 pm
&
Saturday, November 11, 2023, 8:30 am - 4:30 pm
2 Marina Blvd (Fort Mason), Bldg. C Room C205-C235
San Francisco, CA 94123
*No CEs are available to be offered.* We can provide an attendance/completion certificate for the workshop.
Scroll to the end for workshop logistics (after workshop schedule).
Description of the Workshop:
This workshop offers an introduction to the Internal Family Systems (IFS) model through experiential and didactic explorations while also spending time using curiosity about our own systems. My hope is that you'll more deeply understand your own internal parts in relationship to the model being discussed. We'll explore the foundational assumptions of the model and have some open conversations about how ACT is different and similar. You will get acquainted with a beginning understanding of the different kinds of parts of an internal system and Self. Participants will learn an overview of the flow of IFS sessions and some essential skills of unblending from parts and fostering relationship with them. Participants will learn through didactic lectures, meditations, and engaging experiential exercises and explorations. Some of these discussions will be in the larger group setting as well as smaller breakouts. We will offer opportunities to learn about one's own parts and have experiences of Self energy. No prior IFS knowledge is required.
From a process-based therapy lens (Hayes, Ciarrochi, Hofmann, Chin & Sahdra, 2022; Hayes, Hofmann, & Ciarrochi, 2020), learning about and from other modalities (including IFS) fosters flexible cross-training and an opportunity to integrate client-centered and therapist-level processes/approaches to one's current contextual behavioral science (CBS)-aligned practice (such as ACT). Although some familiarity with ACT may be helpful, mental health practitioners from any theoretical orientation or practice approach can benefit from learning IFS methods to target client processes of attention, thinking, affect, sense of self, motivation, and behavior.
We will have opportunities for reflection, discussion, and integration with ACT and CBS-aligned approaches at the end of each day. This will facilitate the use of IFS strategies to move ACT processes forward. We also plan for follow-up discussions (dates to be determined) via Zoom for workshop participants so we can deepen and enhance our learning.
Educational Objectives:
Participants will be able to:
1. Identify the main assumptions of the Internal Family Systems (IFS) model
2. Cite the key therapeutic goals of IFS therapy
3. Describe the qualities of a Self-led therapist according to the IFS model 5 P's (patience, perspective, presence, playfulness, persistence)
4. Describe the three common roles assumed by sub-personalities that most often present in therapy
5. Familiarize with the concept of Unblending from Parts and differentiating sub-personalities from Self in order to speak for, as opposed to from, reactive affective states
6. Cite the IFS concept of Self and explain its role as the most effective leader of the inner system
7. Identify and describe the 8 qualities of Self energy (curiosity, calmness, compassion, confidence, courage, clarity, creativity, connectedness)
8. Utilize the 6 F's (find, focus, flesh out, feel toward, fears, befriend) as interventions for differentiating a sub-personality and developing its internal relationship with Self
9. Demonstrate a deeper understanding of the Flow of the IFS model by describing the requisite tasks during a course of IFS therapy
10. Explain the IFS belief that all parts, even those that manifest with extreme behavior, carry a positive intention for the system
11. Identify and describe one's own reactions in response to client's protective system as well as parts of the therapist that often emerge when working with exiles
12. Define personal, legacy, and cultural burdens
13. Describe basic concepts and overview of unburdening systems
14. Explain the general overview of the completion process in IFS therapy
15. Describe IFS strategies that can be used to facilitate the advancement of ACT processes
Instructor
LaDonna Silva, LMFT (she/her)
LaDonna Silva, LMFT is a Process Therapist, an IFS Approved Clinical Consultant, a Level 3 Certified IFS Therapist, and a member of the Somatic IFS Staff. She has been seeing clients for over 18 years and has proudly been on her own healing journey for the last 34 years. In recent years, she has focused on bridging her background in Somatic and Transpersonal Psychology with Process Therapy and the IFS/Somatic IFS model. She specializes in trauma, sexual abuse/assault, grief, couples work, group work, and working with the LGBTQI+ community.
LaDonna loves practicing the Art of Being and Doing in the therapeutic setting. She invites her clients to return to their own natural state of balance and well-being, all the while holding a compassionate and non-pathologizing place for those internal systems that need attention and loving care. She incorporates diverse modalities, like movement, music, somatic process, play and curiosity, to discover and address what shows up in the room.
LaDonna has served on many local boards as a community leader, and she has held faculty positions at John F. Kennedy University, Institute of Transpersonal Psychology/Sofia University, and Santa Clara University. She assisted many senior IFS trainers before joining the staff with Susan McConnell (senior trainer for the IFS Institute).
Prior to her career in psychology, LaDonna advocated for survivors of sexual abuse, speaking to the California legislature and sharing her own story, on an MTV special and as a guest on Oprah, about the pain of unspoken sexual abuse within families.
LaDonna has a passion for living life consciously and for inviting others to be curious and ultimately guided by their own discovery of Self. She also encourages and supports therapists to explore their own internal journeys, so they can truly be present with others.
LaDonna enjoys music, movement, travel, soccer, pickle-ball, yoga, Buddhism, a good workout, exploring nature, and time with friends and family, including her wife of 18 years, her adult daughter, step-daughter, two grandchildren, and her fur family.
Testimonials
LaDonna Silva is a shining presence in the Somatic IFS community. She brings embodied wisdom, expertise with groups, and generous, collaborative leadership to all of her teaching. -- Susan McConnell, MAPD, CHT, Author, Senior IFS trainer, Founder of Somatic IFS
LaDonna Silva's ability to connect with training participants in a self-led way helped them learn the model and work with their parts. She is warm and speaks for and owns her parts as they present themselves. She humbly asks for feedback and makes changes as needed. I recommend LaDonna for training and leadership roles and would definitely work with her again. -- Tamala Floyd, LCSW, BACSIFS Lead Trainer & Clinical Consultant
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Intended Audience:
This workshop is suitable for all postgraduate professionals, including psychologists, counselors, social workers, etc. who are interested in learning about IFS and parts work, which can be used within a CBS-aligned/ACT frame. A working knowledge of ACT will be useful but not necessary. No prior IFS knowledge is required. Although some familiarity with ACT may be helpful, mental health practitioners from any theoretical orientation or practice approach can benefit from learning IFS methods to target client processes of attention, thinking, affect, sense of self, motivation, and behavior.
Fees:
| Professional Member early - by Oct 13 |
$225 |
| Professional Member regular |
$240 |
| Professional Nonmember early - By Oct 13 |
$240 |
| Professional Nonmember regular |
$265 |
| Student/Intern (Member or Nonmember) |
$120 |
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Included in the workshop fees:
12 hours of instruction (no CEs are available to be offered)
Snacks
Workshop Schedule:
Friday, November 10, 2023
8:30-9:00am Arrive and sign in
9:00-10:30 Didactics, experiential, demonstration
10:30-10:45 Break
10:45-12:15 Didactics, small group breakouts, large group sharing
12:15-1:15 Lunch break
1:15-2:45 Experiential, small/large group discussions
2:45-3:00 Break
3:00-4:00 Didactics, experiential, small/large group discussions
4:00-4:30 Q &A -- reflection, discussion, and integration
Saturday, November 11, 2023
8:30-9:00am Arrive and sign in
9:00-10:30 Didactics, experiential, demonstration
10:30-10:45 Break
10:45-12:15 Experiential, small/large group discussions
12:15-1:15 Lunch break
1:15-2:45 Didactics, experiential, small/large group discussions
2:45-3:00 Break
3:00-4:00 Didactics, experiential, small/large group discussions
4:00-4:30 Q &A -- reflection, discussion, and integration
Disclosures:
The instructor will receive a fee for teaching this workshop.
The costs of this workshop are completely supported by participant fees.
Workshop Logistics/Suggestions:
Please allow plenty of time to park, find the classroom and sign in. Instruction starts at 9:00 am. On Saturday, the SF Coffee Fest will be ongoing at Fort Mason so allow a bit more time. Rooms C205-C235 are located on the second floor of Building C on the left side of the corridor.
Here is a map of the buildings and parking:
FMC Blank_Parking Lot Map 2023.pdf
Here is a link to the Fort Mason Center website that has parking lot information / hourly rates and directions to the campus:
https://fortmason.org/visit/
We will have coffee and tea in the morning and some snacks through the day. Bring your own water. You may wish to bring a yoga mat, blanket/pillow if you think you may want to use the floor for some of the experiential. Chairs will be provided for everyone. Plan to wear comfortable, casual clothing that allows for movement and perhaps layers for weather. You may wish to bring a journal/notebook and a pen.
We strongly suggest bringing a lunch, as options nearby may be limited and there will only be 60 minutes for the lunch break.
On Friday, join us for a casual social at the Interval at Long Now (about a 4 minute walk from workshop venue), starting around 5pm. Register your interest here: https://acbsbayarea.org/event-5446871
Refund Policy
If you cancel your registration:
21 or more days before the date of the event, we’ll refund all of your registration fee or give you credit to a future event;
20 to 7 days before the event, we’ll refund 75% of your fee;
Fewer than 7 days before an event, we’ll refund 50% of your fee.
If you don’t cancel before the event begins, we can’t refund your fees, but we’ll give you a credit toward a future event in the amount of 50% of your registration fee. If we cancel an event for any reason, of course, we’ll refund all of your registration fees. Continuing-education certification fees can be refunded until the day before the event. They become non-refundable on the first day of the event. Continuing-education certification purchased at an event is non-refundable.
If you have any questions about the event please contact Mai Manchanda at mai.manchanda@gmail.com.
