Go deeper, safely,
with IFS consultation

Learn directly from Lead Trainers whose wisdom comes from decades of working with, and learning from, a wide range of clients and contexts. Paul Ginter, Mariel Pastor, and Elizabeth Taeubert love IFS because they’ve experienced the transformations firsthand—in their clients and themselves. 

They’ve trained thousands of therapists across the globe, working closely with IFS founder Richard Schwartz since the 1990s. They see where therapists often get stuck or confused and offer creative approaches to common challenges that go beyond the basics—helping clinicians grow while keeping the client’s well-being front and center.   

Decades of IFS wisdom all within reach

Case consultations

Present your challenging cases and receive expert guidance.

Client-centered IFS

Learn how to adapt IFS to different client populations, issues, and readiness. 

Expand IFS Concepts & Methods

See how different trainers apply the foundations of IFS to broaden your IFS skills and knowledge base.

Role-plays and brief demos

Observe IFS in action as trainers offer various ways to approach the challenges you face in practice.

Experience IFS

Go beyond the ideas of IFS and build confidence by experiencing it from within, through meditations and exercises.

Q&A sessions

Test out ideas and get specific questions answered in weekly meetings or in the learning platform.

Two Programs to Transform Your IFS Practice

Our programs for both IFS-trained and IFS-informed mental health clinicians share a basic structure, though case consultation is tailored to the experience members have with the model. Our expertise is centered on IFS in clinical practice, and is focused on safely and effectively using the model with actual clients. Our consultation is designed for those who already have a solid grasp on the foundations of IFS, and is not a replacement for official training or formal instruction in the IFS Model.

IFS-Trained Clinicians

For credentialed therapists and practitioners who have completed one or more levels of training provided by the IFS Institute. Consultation is centered on clinical mental health settings and practices.

IFS-Informed Clinicians

For credentialed therapists and counselors who have studied the foundations of IFS but who have not yet completed a Level 1 training through the IFS Institute.  

Resources to learn more about IFS

IFS Institute

Official IFS trainings and other workshops

PESI

IFS-Informed workshops and programs

Six hours of consultation with Lead Trainers every month     

Plus access to exclusive resources, recordings, and community connections.

Join us for 90-minute group consultation on the first 4 Tuesdays of every month.

  • 1st Tuesdays with Mariel Pastor, LMFT

  • 2nd Tuesdays with Elizabeth Taeubert, LCSW

  • 3rd Tuesdays with Paul Ginter EdD

  • 4th Tuesdays with Mariel or Paul

Online via Zoom, with translated captions for non-English speaking members. Join us live or log in later to view the recording.

 Join us each Tuesday for 90 minutes

IFS-Informed Group Consultation
[clinical therapists only]

Tuesdays

9:00am - 10:30am Pacific   

IFS-Trained Group Consultation
[clinical therapists and practitioners]

Tuesdays

11:30am - 1:00pm Pacific

Joining us from another time zone or country?
Check your time zone here

  • Having had both monthly and weekly consultation I have found the growth that can happen when engaging weekly is exponential and invaluable. I am constantly in awe of their wisdom, skill level and teaching ability. They both provide a learning environment that feels safe and challenging, which in my opinion is crucial for growth.

    Zila, Certified L2 IFS Therapist

  • Weekly consultation with Paul and Mariel has really helped me expand my IFS skills beyond the foundation of Level 1. It has helped me find my voice as an IFS therapist, as well as gain confidence in applying IFS interventions other than Insight that might better serve clients' systems.

    Peggy, L1 IFS Therapist

  • Humor! I really appreciate that Paul and Mariel both have great senses of humor. That's very important for me in general, but especially in a field that can be so heavy. I also really appreciate that they both seem to be constantly reading and learning. They are not only very informed and current about all things IFS, but also other topics like grief and issues specific to certain populations.

    Peggy, L1 IFS Therapist

  • I am so grateful for the opportunity I have had to be involved in consultation with Paul, Mariel, and Elizabeth. I am a more confident, aware, and empathic therapist because of their guidance and personal influence. The benefits increase the longer you are in the group

    Calle, L2 IFS Therapist

  • They provide consistent modelling of the art of IFS. During the days following consultations with them, I continue to notice, realize and understand even more. Remarkable. They’ve slowed me down with clients and helped me appreciate the value of every minute in each session.

    Nancy, Certified L2 IFS Therapist

  • I have learned so much from witnessing Paul’s and Mariel’s style and practice of IFS therapy. They both are a wealth of insight and expertise in the practice of the model. Consultation has been incredibly helpful to bring real active cases, receive feedback and critique in real time, and be able to bring an embodied intervention back to the next session.

    Meghan, L2 IFS Therapist

  • Weekly consultation has had huge significance! Insights shared as well as guidance on how to approach clinical interactions have opened my thinking, my feeling, my responses to my clients. I feel more confident, more in SELF, more empathic handling difficult responses coming from my clients. I want to say the significance is difficult to quantify.

    Calle, L2 IFS Therapist

What happens in group

Weeks 1, 2, and 3 - Live Consultation

○ Opening Meditation (10 min) We’ll take time to help you connect within and prepare to receive new possibilities with IFS.

◔ Live Case Consultation (40 min) Cases are pre-selected for live presentation and group discussion, where therapists get practical feedback and support that elicits their intuitive wisdom. Teaching will highlight monthly themes and demonstrate interventions through role play to support the therapeutic process.

◕ Demos and Group Activities (30 min) Members will directly explore IFS steps and skills with demonstrations, exercises and reflective practices, building trust in the process and trust in themselves.

● Closing and Intention Setting (10 min) Integrate key takeaways and set intentions for bringing new learning into practice. 

Week 4 - Live Wisdom Integration

○ Opening Experiential (20 min) We’ll integrate the month’s learning by exploring therapist parts activated with clients and expanding ways for connecting to Self energy.

◔ Community Connection (30 min) Short break out sessions for reflection and peer support.

◕ Monthly Theme Integration (30 min) Open time for Q&A and reviewing the themes as experienced in actual practice.

● Preview and Closing (10 min) Debrief, & preview of next month’s theme.

Get the keys to open more doors with IFS

Monthly themes and IFS topics– brought to you in real life contexts

IFS therapy has become a global movement–effective with clients whose unique lives can be universally understood through the model’s systemic roots. Each of our trainers recognizes the importance of seeing clients, and the therapeutic relationship, in context to their external worlds–approaching consultation with humility, respect and compassion.

Each month, members’ cases will be chosen to highlight various common presenting issues and contexts, i.e., emotional or physical symptoms, cultural and relational concerns, etc. At the same time, trainers will draw upon the full menu of IFS concepts and methods to address the therapists’ main concerns while broadening their perspectives and skills.

Accessing Self energy

Working with complex systems

Enhancing the Self-to-part connection

Respectful unblending

Unburdening and retrievals

Move naturally between in-sight and direct access

Establishing contracts and goals

Depolarizing parts

Self-like parts

Ethical considerations for IFS therapy

Cultural considerations

Legacy burdens and gifts

Minimizing overwhelm and backlash

Working with therapist parts

Gaining trust with protectors

Introducing IFS to new clients

Frequently Asked Questions

Is IFS Consultation Right for You?

Here are some more questions we often hear from professionals considering IFS consultation.

  • To be considered IFS-trained means that you are a therapist or practitioner who has completed training provided by the IFS Institute.

  • IFS-informed therapists have learned the foundations of IFS through workshops and courses of various lengths and kinds but have not completed an official training level through the IFS Institute. Resources that offer programs about IFS therapy include IFS Institute’s Circle Program, PESI, Life Architect, and Stepping Stone. 

  • Yes, though practitioners who work within mental health settings will find our consultation more useful than those who do not. Our consultants’ expertise is centered around clinical applications of the model, and will be offering guidance from that perspective.

  • Not necessarily. We recognize that licensing guidelines vary widely from country to country. Our consultation services are available to mental health therapists and practitioners who provide counseling to their clients according to the laws and ethics set forth by their country or state. 

    The IFS Consultation Collective upholds all standards for professional and ethical psychotherapy through the lens of IFS, regardless of where our members reside and even in cases where they hold no particular license or certificate. It is the sole responsibility of members to apply the IFS model within their particular scope of practice and scope of competence.

  •  If you are a mental health clinician who has had experience working in a clinical setting with clients, and are IFS-informed or IFS-trained, you are welcome to join. We provide group consultation only and will choose cases from clinicians with an active caseload. 

  • We will use Zoom meetings, where all participants and consultants will be in the gallery. We will use the “spotlight” feature to highlight the consultant. Participants are encouraged to have their cameras on, but it is not required.

    If you are not presenting a case, you can decide how to engage during live group events:

    • Verbal Participation: If you unmute or appear on camera, your contributions may appear in the session recording.

    • Observe and absorb: Attend without using your mic.

    • Private Participation:  Camera turned off, ask questions via chat

    • View later and post questions on the community platform. 

    Your choice. If you do not wish to appear, you may keep your camera/mic off and avoid posting identifying information in chat. Your continued participation in a recorded session constitutes consent to be recorded. 

  • Our Case Presentation Form can be easily completed and submitted online. You will be notified via email if selected and your availability to attend must be confirmed. Cases will be selected to highlight themes chosen for that month according to: presenting issue, an IFS intervention or principle, or to allow for a wide representation of different identities and cultures.

    Please remember to safeguard your client's Personal Health Information (PHI) on this form and during the live call should your case be selected for presentation. Group members will have access to this information on our learning platform prior to attending the live session. It will remain on our platform until the next group meeting.

  • Yes! In our new member orientation agreements and case consultation form we address the kinds of client information that is appropriate to bring to the group. We will remind everyone in our welcome each week at the consultations.

  • The IFS-Informed Consultation will meet from 9:00am - 10:30am Pacific Time. 

    The IFS-Trained Consultation will meet from 11:30am - 1:00pm Pacific Time.

  • It’s important to see IFS core assumptions, goals, interventions, and steps applied to a wide range of clinical concerns and contexts. In consultation, we bring theory to life through role-play, case presentation, and group exercises. We begin with the assumption that participants have met the prerequisites for understanding IFS basic concepts and methods through other workshops or training. 

  • Similar to an IFS training, our consultation services provide a mix of experiential exercises, worksheets, demonstrations, and homework. There is less focus on active clinical work in training, which is why ongoing consultation is essential. However, in group consultation, there is no supervised practice where therapeutic skills are observed and detailed feedback is given. 

  • Whether you are IFS-trained or IFS-informed, it's possible that your particular credentialing organization may accept CE credits for live attendance, though we are not pre-approved with any particular professional trade association or CE clearinghouse.  

    Each month we will provide 6 hours of high-level consultation to build your confidence in IFS no matter your level of training or desire to be certified, with less emphasis on members needing to demonstrate competence. Our groups will be larger than the 6-member limit the IFS Institute has for certification and recertification, which makes our consultation ineligible for IFSI credit. 

    The complete IFS Institute Certification Policy can be found here.

  • The IFS Consultation Collective proudly supports safe and effective use of Internal Family Systems™. Our consultants work as independent contractors when they serve as Lead Trainers for the IFS Institute.  The IFS Consultation Collective is a separate entity not affiliated with the IFS Institute.

  • Our two groups will vary in size based on the number of subscribers and the number who choose to attend live each month. We can easily make room for all who want to join. In fact, regardless of the size everyone has “a front row seat” with choice about active or passive participation. We invite questions in the chat and will address as many as we can during the call, with follow ups available through the online community platform as well.

    We also encourage our subscribers to post questions at any time on the community platform, which we will continuously review and answer for others to access. You will benefit from hearing answers to others’ questions, even if you haven’t asked a question yourself.

  • Similar to an IFS training, our consultation services provide a mix of experiential exercises, worksheets, demonstrations, and community. There is less focus on active clinical work in a training, which is why ongoing consultation is essential. However, in group consultation, there is no supervised practice where therapeutic skills are observed and detailed feedback is given, nor will we be explicitly training people in IFS Case consultation for effective and safe application of IFS are what we care most about.

  • Our case presentation submission form includes recognition of therapist parts as influential in the IFS process. We get it that the therapist’s own personal history and circumstances can be activated for any number of reasons. We are all works in progress. While there may be some work with those parts directly in consultation, this is mostly to identify constraints within the therapist, help them unblend and connect more to Self, and to encourage follow-up therapy

  • Both forms of direct access will be included as appropriate throughout our consultations– demonstrated in role plays and through monthly Topic Videos. Our groups on the fourth week of the month will have time for experientials and connection. Members are encouraged to connect with each other and create opportunities for practice skills and techniques we address. 

  • Our weekly meetings will have both structure and flexibility to allow for what may be emerging in the group. The fourth group of each month will have more time planned for exercises and connection.

  • Members will have access to recorded mini-demonstrations of skills (coming soon). Consultations will frequently include role plays of common challenges faced by IFS clinicians.

  • It's important to us that consultation be accessible and we have priced our services competitively. We offer 6 hours of consultation from senior lead trainers averaging $35/90-minute group, depending on subscription length. Plus access to exclusive resources and community support available to IFS therapists wherever they live. 

    3-month subscription: $169 per month
    6-month subscription: $149 per month
    12-month subscription: $129 per month

  • Please send an email to our admin team at connect@ifs-tc.com. We’d be happy to help you get signed up.

  • Check out our webinar from August 2025, where lead trainers Mariel, Paul and Elizabeth share answers to your commonly asked questions.

    View here