IFS Training & Experience
I live what I coach — 24 years of Internal Family Systems, and counting.
Clients rave about Internal Family Systems (IFS), my coaching method, and so do I.
I live what I coach!
I’ve dedicated the past 24 years of my life to learning IFS. With over 2,350 hours of IFS training and over 8,000 hours of personal practice, I’m an expert at the Internal Family Systems model. I am also an IFS Certified Practitioner.
I have over 1,000 hours of training and workshop experience with the founder of IFS, Richard Schwartz.
24
Years dedicated to IFS
2,350+
Hours of IFS training
~8,000
Hours of personal practice
1,000+
Hours of training with Richard Schwartz
Melissa’s 2,350+ hours of IFS training
Core IFS & Couples Training
1,002 hrs- 2 Level 1 trainings (2004–2005)
- 3 Level 2 trainings (2006–2009)
- 5 Couples trainings with Toni Herbine-Blank (2009–2017)
- 13 Level 3 trainings with Richard Schwartz (2007–2016)
Details
Level 1
- 108 hr — Chicago, IL — Richard Schwartz & Susan McConnell — August 2004
- 108 hr — New Buffalo, MI — Kay Gardner, Paul Ginter & Richard Schwartz — December 2005
Level 2
- 54 hr — New Buffalo, MI — Gardner, McConnell, Sykes, Schwartz — Oct 2006–Apr 2007
- 54 hr — New Buffalo, MI — Gardner, McConnell, Elkin, Sykes — March 2008
- 72 hr — Chicago, IL — Gardner, Sykes, Herbine-Blank, McConnell — June–Dec 2009
Couples Trainings
- 64 hr — “Intimacy from the Inside Out” Level 2 — Watertown, MA — Toni Herbine-Blank — 2009
- 72 hr — “Intimacy from the Inside Out” Level 2 — Chicago, IL — Toni Herbine-Blank — 2011
- 28 hr — “Intimacy from the Inside Out” Advanced — Watertown, MA — Toni Herbine-Blank — Jan 2013
- 24 hr — IFS Couples Therapy Workshop — Kripalu, MA — Toni Herbine-Blank — Nov–Dec 2015
- 28 hr — “Intimacy from the Inside Out” Post-Advanced — Albuquerque, NM — Toni Herbine-Blank — Dec 2017
Level 3 with Richard Schwartz (13 × 30 hrs)
- Oak Park, IL — June 11–25, 2007
- Oak Park, IL — October 29–November 2, 2007
- Oak Park, IL — October 13–17, 2008
- Burlingame, CA — December 9–13, 2009
- Seattle, WA — August 12–16, 2011
- White Plains, NY — November 12–16, 2012
- Cape Cod, MA — July 22–26, 2013
- Techny, IL — March 4–8, 2014
- Berkeley, CA — December 5–9, 2014
- Delray Beach, FL — February 16–20, 2015
- Washington, DC — November 15–19, 2015
- Boulder, CO — April 12–16, 2016
- Delray Beach, FL — December 14–18, 2016
Advanced Training with Richard Schwartz
920 hrs- 8 “Wisdom of the Body” 7-day workshops in Mexico (2003–2010)
- 11 “The ‘I’ in the Storm” workshops at Esalen, Big Sur (2005–2017)
- 4 “Self-Compassion” workshops at Esalen (2014–2017)
- 9 “Embodying Healing Wisdom” workshops at Kripalu (2005–2016)
- Additional specialized workshops (2003–2012)
Details
“Wisdom of the Body” — 8 workshops × 33 hrs — Maya Tulum, Mexico
Richard Schwartz & Barbara Cargill
2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010
“The ‘I’ in the Storm” — 11 workshops × 26 hrs — Esalen, Big Sur, CA
Richard Schwartz
2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017
“Self-Compassion” — 4 workshops × 26 hrs — Esalen, Big Sur, CA
- 2014 — Richard Schwartz & Toni Herbine-Blank
- 2015, 2016, 2017 — Richard Schwartz
“Embodying Healing Wisdom” — 9 workshops × 26 hrs — Kripalu, MA
- 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009 — Schwartz & Herbine-Blank
- 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016 — Schwartz & Sarah Stewart
Additional Workshops
- 12 hr — “Embodying Self in Daily Life” — Chicago — Schwartz, Libman, Neve — July 2003
- 10 hr — Couples Workshop — Cenacle, Chicago — Richard Schwartz — 2004
- 15 hr — IFS Cape Cod Institute — Richard Schwartz — 2005
- 6 hr — “Two Masters, Two Methods, One Couple” — Schwartz & Real — June 29, 2012
Further Training with Senior Trainers
164 hrs- Women’s retreat with Herbine-Blank & McConnell (2006)
- Somatic IFS in Costa Rica with Susan McConnell (2010)
- IFS and Addictions with Cece Sykes (2010)
- Advanced techniques and specialized topics (2015–2022)
- Treatment for sexual abuse, food/body healing, difficult protectors
Details
- 25 hr — IFS Women’s Retreat — Rex Ranch — Herbine-Blank & McConnell — 2006
- 30 hr — Somatic IFS — Costa Rica — Susan McConnell — Feb 6–13, 2010
- 12 hr — IFS and Addictions — Indiana — Cece Sykes — Feb 26–27, 2010
- 12 hr — Advanced Techniques in IFS — Portland, OR — Michi Rose — March 2015
- 6 hr — Legacy Burdens — Evanston, IL — Kay Gardner — April 17, 2015
- 10 hr — New Psychotherapy Techniques — Chicago — Michi Rose — April 9–10, 2016
- 12 hr — Sacred Theatre for Couples — Chicago — Kay Gardner — May 20–21, 2017
- 15 hr — IFS Treatment for Sexual Abuse — Online — May–Sept 2019
- 15 hr — Using IFS to Heal Relationships with Food and the Body — Online — Sept–Dec 2019
- 15 hr — Harvesting Resources from the Unburdened System — Online — Muriel Pastor — 2021
- 12 hr — Befriending Difficult Protectors — Online — Mike Elkin — Feb 7, 2022
IFS Conferences | IFS Program Assistant
269 hrs- 12 IFS Conferences (2002–2016): 155 hours
- 3 five-day Level 1 Retreats as Program Assistant: 114 hours
Details
IFS Conferences (155 hrs)
2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2014, 2015, 2016
Assisting Level 1 Trainings (114 hrs)
- 76 hr — Durango, CO — Toni Herbine-Blank & Nancy Wonder — 2012
- 36 hr — Cannon Beach, OR — Paul Ginter & Nancy Wonder — 2013
Authentic Movement
1,000+ hrs- IFS-based Authentic Movement with Susan Cahill (2004–ongoing)
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