Understanding Complex Trauma Through the IFS Lens
A 1.5-Day Workshop for IFS-informed Clinicians
Working with complex trauma can be both deeply rewarding and uniquely challenging. This experiential workshop is designed for clinicians who want to integrate the Internal Family Systems (IFS) model into their trauma-focused work. Together, we’ll explore how complex trauma shows up in the therapy room and how to use IFS to deepen self-compassion, curiosity, and healing in your clients and yourself.
By the end of this workshop, participants will be able to:
Differentiate between managers, firefighters, and exiles in your work with clients with complex trauma.
Understand how protectors (managers and firefighters) function to keep trauma at bay and how to engage them.
Deepen your understanding of how to work with common client presentations, including parts that distract, intellectualize, people-please, say ‘I don’t know,’ or become highly activated or shut down in the therapy room.
Explore the idea of Self and what it means to be “Self led.”
Have opportunities to engage with your own “therapists parts” that get activated in working with individuals with complex trauma.
Schedule at a Glance
Friday October ?
5:00 PM–8:00 PM
Welcome, introductions, meditation
Brief IFS Overview
Overview of complex trauma and its impact on parts
Managers and firefighters: Understanding protective strategies
Group experiential: Meeting our own protector parts as therapists.
Saturday
9:00 am–4:30 pm with lunch & breaks
Morning Session
Exiles: Understanding the burdens of complex trauma
How protectors prevent access to exiles—and how to approach with care
Demonstration: Gentle steps toward exile work
Small group practice: Using Self to build trust with protectors
Afternoon Session
The role of Self in trauma healing
From insight to unburdening: supporting integration and repair
Clinician self-care: Identifying triggers, preventing burnout, and working from Self
Closing experiential: Parts check-in & integration circle
Meet your trainer
Sara Bryan is Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC) who has been practicing since 2007, with a deep focus on complex trauma, attachment, and the inner experiences of therapists. I’ve been trained in Internal Family Systems through the IFS Institute since 2019 and am a Certified IFS Therapist and Approved IFS Clinical Consultant.
My approach is warm, grounded, and experiential. I hold space for the personal and professional parts of this work — because in IFS, how we show up matters just as much as what we do.
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