AUGUST 2025 UPDATE
- Aug 1, 2025
- 6 min read
Now open for registration! The Somatic IFS Step 1 Retreat in Portugal this April 22-29, 2026
Visit www.embodiedself.net or souliology.com/sifs-portugal for more details and to register.
Many of us are looking forward to being together in a few weeks for the Somatic IFS Step 1 Retreat in Connecticut, followed by our online Step 2 in November, and the two Step 1 Retreats in Costa Rica in February, 2026. All these programs are fully booked. In this newsletter I will provide information about our other offerings.
Those of us in the northern hemisphere are now experiencing the end of our summer season, basking in the last of the warm days and enjoying the abundance of ripe fruits and vegetables. Our plants are soaking up the soggy ground from last night’s thunderstorm. I am refreshed by the cool northern winds over Lake Michigan. My energy begins to shift towards transitions in preparation for the evolution of a new phase of Somatic IFS.
Regardless of where we live, these times compel us to draw on the qualities of Self energy in every way possible. One of my staff members and a gifted astrologer, Nicole House, recently asserted that these challenges can only be met if we are embodied. These times inspire me to continue to engender Somatic IFS, with the five practices that lead us to the embodiment of our Self energy that we develop with the IFS Model.
When I am asked in a retreat to define “embodiment,” I often feel I fall short of capturing the essence and impact of this concept central to Somatic IFS. So I share with you this description of embodiment by Alice Frank that was sent to me by another beloved staff member, Sherry Ruben:
“What is embodiment? Into your soul, and all of creation, something of the sublime has been downloaded. That which we experience as presence, as love, as life-changing, as divinity, is in you. Embodiment is the process of uploading that presence into action — into movement, into voice, into love, into our social structures — so that it can be encountered and felt.”
When the overwhelming challenges facing our planet threaten my balance, my groundedness, and my optimism, I am reminded that Somatic IFS is a powerful, tangible approach, fostering our inherent ability to love, to connect, and to effect positive change in the world. When we come together, supported by our ancestors, guides, and the elements, we experience and witness this healing power individually and collectively. The energy and information of Embodied Self ripples beyond time and space. I hope to share this experience with some of you in Portugal.
Every morning my inbox introduces me to a few new subscribers to this newsletter and mailing list. With each message I feel a spark of delight that the web of Somatic IFS continues to grow and expand, followed by a part that regrets not writing more newsletters and offering more Somatic IFS programs. Then I remind my parts that, with the support of so many people, we are responding to the need and moving organically and intentionally in many directions to grow and create for the future.
I am pleased to welcome 33 new graduates of our Step 2 Training. They built upon their IFS Training and the SIFS Step 1 experiential immersion to qualify as Certified Somatic IFS Therapists. Their contact information can be found on the Practitioner Directory of my website. Several graduates have been invited to become mentees for our upcoming programs.
Our Somatic IFS Staffing is expanding with several promotions. Debbie Jacobs, Rebecca DeRaud, Tamar Berry, and Anna Gartshore will be Program Assistants for our upcoming winter and spring Step 1 and 2 programs. Marcella Cox and LaDonna Silva are Assistant Trainers. Maritza Erazo and Dario Martinez are Assistant Trainer Mentees. All four of them will be assisting me in the leadership of the Step 1 retreat in Connecticut this coming September.
Please continue scrolling to discover Somatic IFS individual and group consultation and workshops offered by SIFS Staff, as well as my podcasts and online courses that introduce you to Somatic IFS.
Staff-led Somatic IFS Programs
Consultation Groups
Marcella Cox
New Group Forming! Frequency of Self: Somatic IFS & Safe and Sound Protocol (SSP) for IFS Professionals
Online | 7 Weeks | Mondays, Oct 13 – Nov 23, 2025 | 12–2 pm PT Limited to IFS-trained professionals interested in exploring the powerful synergy of Somatic IFS and the Safe and Sound Protocol (SSP) to deepen embodied Self energy. For more information and to register, visit the Kindful Body website or email marcella@kindfulbody.com
To inquire about individual and group consultation (new groups forming in 2026), please contact marcella@kindfulbody.com
Marcella also recently had the pleasure of introducing Somatic IFS to 900 coaches around the world through Coaches Rising’s Symphony of Self program. She also taught a 3 day online Somatic Parts Work for Trauma workshop featuring Somatic IFS through PESI. She will be presenting on Somatic IFS at Psychotherapy Networker Symposium in Washington DC, March 2026. Marcella will also be presenting on Somatic IFS for trauma and eating disorders on Oct 9 & 16 through NScience UK.
LaDonna Silva
ladonnasilva@gmail.com
To inquire about LaDonna's Somatic IFS consultation groups, please contact her through her website at www.ladonnasilva.com
LaDonna Silva and Marcella Cox are teaming together again!
New Group Forming! Deepening & Expanding with Somatic IFS
Online | 6 Month Group | Meets Monthly Beginning January 2026 | Dates TBD | Time TBD
Limited to Step 1 Retreat Participants & Step 2 Graduates
This is a space for continued practice, integration, and renewal to help you stay connected to your body, your parts, and your embodied Self energy.
Join Our Interest List to be the first to hear when registration opens. The group begins January 2026.
IFS Conference
Join us at the 2025 IFS Conference for Deepening Connection: An Experiential Workshop on Radical Resonance in Somatic IFS.
Sept 19, 2025 | 2:30–5:30 pm CT | St. Charles, IL
Facilitators: LaDonna Silva, Marcella Cox & Maritza Erazo
Discover how Radical Resonance can deepen therapeutic relationships and promote healing through embodied presence.
Dario Martinez
dario@dariomartineztherapy.com
2 New Somatic IFS Consultation Groups
Open to all Level 1 IFS graduates who want to learn how to integrate IFS with somatic practices. Each group will meet online every other week for six 2-hour sessions (10am–Noon PST). Group 1 will meet on Mondays; Group 2 will meet on Fridays. Please contact me directly for more information
Debbie Jacobs,
LMHC, ATR-BC, CYT, SEP
Offering online, creative and embodied IFS/SIFS individual and group consultation.
IFS Level 3 trained, Certified Somatic and Expressive IFS Therapist, IFSI Approved Consultant, and experienced IFS Program Assistant.
Please contact Debbie at debbie@makearttherapy.com or makearttherapy.com for more information.
Sherry Rubin
SherryGRubin@gmail.com
Two spaces remain in my upcoming, new online SIFS consultation group.
Second Thursdays this Fall: 9/11, 10/9, 11/13 and 12/11. There will be an option to continue into 2026, but I would be asking for just the four-meeting commitment. The details:
Two hours starting at 10:00 EST, Fee: $300 (I will be donating 25% of the fee to local nonprofits), and I do not want the cost to deter anyone from joining, so don't hesitate to contact me if you need to pay less. Maximum six participants
Corinne Peterson
Somatic IFS & Yoga Nidra: Deepening the Journey
Online. Six Wednesdays from October 1 -- November 5, 2025.
10am –10:45am CT (optional discussion before and after)
This is an experiential series using practices from Susan's workbook, and supporting them with specialized yoga nidra practices for deeper integration. Each week is a different exploration. All classes are recorded and made available the same day of the class.
For more information and to register, contact Corinne Peterson at corinne.peterson@gmail.com or corinnepeterson.com
Nancy Berkowitz
IFS Deep Dive Body-centered Retreat-March 14 to 21, 2026IFS Deep Dive Body-centered Women’s Retreat-April 19 to 25, 2026
Retreats are at Pura Vida Retreat & Spa, Alajuela, Costa RicaThe retreats are open to participants who have either completed an IFS training or IFS experiential program, ongoing IFS therapy or an IFS retreat.
IFS Body-centered consultation group, online, open to a maximum of 6 participantsWednesdays, 9 to 11 ET, October 15 to December 3, 2025. Hours can count towards IFS certification.
For more information about the retreats or consultation group and to register, visit my website.
For individual consultation contact Nancy Berkowitz at nfberkowitz@gmail.com.
SIFS Podcasts and Online Courses
Featuring Susan McConnell
1) Soon to be released: A Free 60-minute introduction to Somatic IFS. Awake Network's summit Somatic Approaches in Therapy airs from April 24-26. All talks are available for free to the public for 48 hours. After the free event, lifetime access + CEs are available in an optional upgrade package, with unlimited scholarships available. Susan McConnell’s presentation is 60 minutes.
2) IFS Talks:
3) The One Inside:
4) Being Well:
5) Life Architect:
6) Embody Lab:
Two, 2-hour videos are available as part of the 2022 Integrative Somatic Trauma Therapy Certificate Program
7) IFS Continuity Program:
"An Introduction to Somatic IFS; An Embodied Approach to Healing Trauma." An archive of the course is available for purchase at the IFS-I catalogue and for new members who join the Continuity Program it is available at a discounted rate (9 1/2 hrs total)
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