Stacy Ruse – IFS Therapy Core Skills Certificate Training

Stacy Ruse – IFS Therapy Core Skills Certificate Training

Introducing the all-new IFS Therapy Core Skills Certificate Training Program…

…one of the most comprehensive, flexible, and support-packed IFS trainings you’ll find anywhere at this price.

This fully online 18-hour program shows you how to use IFS from beginning to end at your own pace — no pressure and no deadlines.

And let’s face it —  learning new skills can be tough. Having an expert to talk to can be the difference between feeling lost and truly getting it.

What you’ll learn in IFS Therapy Core Skills Certificate Training

Module 1: Getting Started with IFS: Theory, Self-Leadership, Neuroscience and More

In this module, you’ll get to know the core of the IFS model—where it came from, what it’s built on, and how it embraces a holistic, inclusive approach to healing. We’ll dive into what it means to be a Self-led therapist, exploring the qualities that support presence, compassion, and clear boundaries in your work. You’ll also get a down-to-earth introduction to key neuroscience concepts, like Polyvagal Theory and the brain’s role in trauma, to see how IFS connects mind and body in the healing process.

Module 1 Outline

• Introduction to the IFS Model and Theory
• Basic assumptions and a holistic approach
• Therapeutic and clinical applications
• The Self-Led Therapist
• The benefits of self-energy and therapist presence
• Setting appropriate boundaries
• Biases and transference in the therapeutic relationship
• Neurobiology, Neuroscience, and IFS Therapy
• Neuroscience 101 for therapists — what you need to know
• Sensing vs. making sense of things
• Stress reactions and the autonomic nervous system: Polyvagal 101
• Fear circuitry and the development of PTSD, trauma, dissociation, and complex trauma

Module 2: Inside the Internal System: Parts, Self, and the Flow of IFS Therapy

In this module, you’ll dive deeper into the heart of the IFS model by getting to know the internal system—what parts are, how they function, and how they relate to the Self. You’ll meet Managers, Firefighters, and Exiles, and learn how each plays a role in protecting and shaping a person’s inner world.

We’ll walk through the six phases of IFS therapy, from mapping the internal system to working with protectors, healing wounded parts, and guiding clients through integration and closure. You’ll also begin learning the step-by-step process of IFS therapy, including unblending, using the 6 F’s, and engaging in direct access and insight work. By the end of this module, you’ll have a clear, practical understanding of how to begin using IFS with clients.

Module 2 Outline

• Defining parts: who and what are parts?
• Defining self: who and what is self?
• The burdened system
• Managers: the proactive parts
• Firefighters: the reactive parts
• Exiles: the wounded & shadowed parts
• Engaging the client: Intro, relationship, target, and tracking
• Permission to work with the protective system
• Healing exiles and internal wounds
• Integration of the work: Adapting to changes
• Completion & closure: appreciation and closing sessions
• Unblending the system for emotional regulation
• Shifting to inner story & connection
• In-sight and direct access work

Module 3: Deepening the Work — Protectors, Exiles, and the Path to Healing

In this module, we’ll roll up our sleeves and get into the heart of IFS practice: working with Protectors and Exiles. You’ll learn how to build trust with protective parts—like Managers and Firefighters—by creating safety, recognizing resistance as protection, and using trailheads to guide the work. We’ll focus on how to respectfully engage these parts and prepare the system for deeper healing. You’ll also explore how to safely connect with Exiles—the parts carrying pain, trauma, and attachment wounds—and guide them through the unburdening process. Step by step, you’ll learn how to help clients witness, heal, and reintegrate these parts without overwhelm.

You’ll learn to overcome common challenges—like polarizations, therapist parts, or systems that are hard to track—and how to stay grounded and flexible in complex cases. Finally, you’ll learn to adapt IFS to include somatic work, attachment theory, and spiritual dimensions.

Module 3 Outline

• Working with protectors
• Creating safety and getting permission
• Distinguish between parts and self
• Assess the ability for in-sight or direct work
• Getting to know managers and firefighters
• Common protector concerns and fears
• Working with and Unburdening Exiles
• Getting to know exiles
• Trauma, attachment wounds, and exiles
• Common exile concerns and fears
• Safely working with exiles
• Unburdening process step by step
• Internal polarizations and alignment
• Therapist parts interfering
• When burdens and parts come back?
• Predicting ‘backlash’
• Blended parts not unblending
• Adaptations and Integration of IFS Therapy
• Attachment-based
• Somatic-based
• Complex trauma and dissociation
• Spirituality, transpersonal psychology, and IFS therapy
• Integration with other models

More courses from the same author: Stacy Ruse