Internal Family Systems, or IFS has taken the therapy world by storm as a model for dealing with the various parts of ourselves. Many clients are looking for IFS therapists but might be confused by what’s on offer.
At the moment, you can only call yourself an “IFC Certified Therapist” if you have trained at the IFS Institute. If you train elsewhere, no matter how much training or study you do, I believe you only call yourself an IFS informed therapist.
Here’s why I’ve chosen to be IFS Informed rather than ‘Certified’.
Completing all 3 levels of training is likely to cost over £10,000. This is simply unaffordable for me. And that cost would also eventually be passed on to my clients.
The courses are so over-subscribed that access to the IFS Institute courses is now via the means of a lottery. I worry about anything that tries to solve a problem with a lottery.
“Parts” aren’t something that the IFS Institute owns (nor do I suggest they are claiming that). Parts are talked about abundantly in many ways in other therapy models, including as “intrapersonal relationships” in person centred counselling. Gestalt therapy has used parts via two chair work since the 1960s. And Janina Fisher’s work of Structural Dissociation Theory also has parts at the centre of its model.
IFS training is now available elsewhere more cost effectively with highly qualified teachers. For example, Frank Andersen, who I believe met Dick Schwartz and worked with him from the mid-2000s, as well as delivered their training. Frank has now published a series of IFS courses online on the PESI website.
As I understand it, because he previously delivered training for the IFS Institute, I trust that when Frank Andersen puts an online course together, it’s going to be safe, informed and high quality training content.
Conclusion
I think IFS is a valuable addition to Structural Dissociation Theory, Gestalt chair work and and other models which acknowledge the importance of healing intrapersonal conflicts as a key issue in improving mental health. I’m committed to studying and reading as much as I can about this model because I think it’s useful.
I do hope that certified training will become more accessible to me in future. But for the moment, I’m studying it every way I can from books like No Bad Parts and Internal Family Systems Therapy and the online courses and webinars which Frank Andersen is working so hard on via PESI.