Advanced IFS: How to Work with: Inner Critic/ Inner Champion, Polarized Parts, Legacy Burdens, Case Consultation

This class will expand on the Internal Family Systems (IFS) Course and provide opportunities for Case Consultation. Those with equivalent previous knowledge or experience of IFS are welcome.

This course will explore the following IFS concepts:

The Inner Critic is a protector that tries to control our behavior by reminding us of all of our negative traits and failings. Most clients have them and they can be one of the most challenging parts to work with. The Critic is experienced as a nattering voice in our heads, that can evoke feelings of shame and deflation and cause us to feel unworthy and dejected. Ultimately, it is trying to help us achieve what we want: connection, acceptance, and self-esteem; but, paradoxically, its efforts do the opposite.

The Inner Champion, on the other hand, is a set of capacities of the Self that is an antidote to the Inner Critic. It supports self-acceptance and self-esteem. The four aspects of the Inner Champion are: Strength, Self-Compassion, Perspective and Guidance, and looking at the Kernel of Truth.
Polarized Parts: Many parts present in pairs: two parts that are polarized with each other and invested in protecting by maintaining opposing positions. There are three basic strategies in working with polarization.

Legacy Burdens: are passed down through the generations. They result from the experiences of a family line over lifetimes. These burdens affect our views of the world, our expectations for ourselves, our level of reactivity, and our responses to stress. They impact our feelings of personal worth, value, and possibility.

The 6-week live online program, via zoom, will consist of guided meditations, class lectures, IFS demonstrations, and opportunities for individualized feedback and case consultation.

The course will be taught by videoconference, so we can see each other, which enhances the group connection, making it safe for you to be open and vulnerable in class. Each class is recorded, so you can watch the recording of any class you miss.

Between sessions, participants are required to read the text below, and participate in a 30 minute - 1 hour weekly practice session in order to practice skills.

The texts for the course are Freedom from Your Inner Critic: A Self-Therapy Approach by Bonnie Weiss and Jay Earley and Resolving Inner Conflict: Working Through Polarization Using Internal Family Systems Therapy by Jay Earley.

This 6-week course will take place on the following Wednesdays from 7:00-9:00 PM EST (4:00-6:00 PM PST): December 4, December 11, December 18, January 8, January 15, and January 22. 

Participants will receive 12 CEs following their conclusion of the course (CE credit will only be awarded for classes completed in real time).

Note: This course is not affiliated with the Internal Family Systems Institute (IFSI) or a substitute for IFSI's Level 1 training. To become IFS certified, you must complete the IFS Insitute's Level 1 training and requirements.

Bonnie Weiss, MA LCSW is a teacher of the Internal Family System Method in online classes and workshops. She has taught internationally in Australia, Israel, Germany, and Ireland. She is the former Director of the Gestalt Center of Long Island, and The Long Island Center for Eating Disorders. Her books include, Self-Therapy Workbook: An Exercise Book for the IFS Processˆ and Freedom from Your Inner Critic and Letting Go of Perfectionism with Jay Earley. She lives and maintains a private practice in the Bay Area, CA.

Additional Program Information:

Target audience: social workers, mental health professionals

Content level: Advanced

Learning objectives:

1 . Participants will be able to identify the seven types of inner critics and understand the protocol for working with an Inner Critic part in IFS.

2. Participants will be able to explain what polarization is in IFS and name the three ways of resolving it.

3. Participants will be able to explain what a capacity is in IFS and be able to use it to enhance the work.

Outline and Agenda:

Class 1

7:00 - 9:00 - Identifying Inner Critics

Class 2

7:00 - 9:00 - Types of Inner Critics

Class 3

7:00 - 9:00 - Working with the Inner Critic

Class 4

7:00 - 9:00 - Identifying Polarized Parts

Class 5

7:00 - 9:00 - Working with Polarized Parts

Class 6

7:00 - 9:00 - Working with Legacy Burdens

Course interaction and system requirements:

This live webinar hosted on Zoom is fully interactive. Attendees may ask and answer questions throughout the presentation (using their microphones and/or the chat option). System requirements for Zoom can be viewed at https://support.zoom.us/hc/en-us/articles/201362023-System-requirements-for-PC-and-Mac.

Fee and registration:

Cost is $450 for 12 credits. Refunds are available for up to seven days prior to the program (this does not include TicketTailor fees). After that, we offer credit that can be applied to a future program. Registration is open until the course is full. In some cases, we will enable a wait list option once the course is full.

Course completion and CE info:

To attend CE credit, social workers must log in at the scheduled time, attend the entire program and complete an online evaluation at the end of the program.

Certificates will be emailed out within 7 business days following receipt of evaluation.

CE credit is currently available for social workers in all 50 states. All other professionals (including psychologists, counselors, and marriage and family therapists) must confirm CE approval with their state board.

Bright Ideas Continuing Education, provider # 1757, is approved as an ACE provider to offer social work continuing education by the Association of Social Work Boards (ASWB) Approved Continuing Education (ACE) program. Regulatory boards are the final authority on courses accepted for continuing education credit. ACE provider approval period: 11/19/2024-11/19/2027. Social workers completing this course receive 18 clinical continuing education credits.

Bright Ideas Continuing Education is recognized by the New York State Education Department's State Board for Social Work as an approved provider of continuing education for licensed social workers #SW-0781.

​Bright Ideas Continuing Education is also authorized by the Board of Social Work Examiners in Maryland to provide social work continuing education.

Our credits are also accepted by the New Jersey Board of Social Work Examiners.

If you have any questions, concerns or special accommodation requests, please contact us at 410-575-3870 or info@brightideasceus.com.