IFS for Collective Liberation: an experiential in-person training this Oct. 23–27

A month from now, IFS practitioners will gather in Maine, USA, to expand the IFS framework beyond individual healing toward collective liberation. This embodied, practical training is about expanding IFS to include more robust ways of combating large-scale systems and cycles of oppression, applying traditional IFS techniques to the healing of legacy burdens that perpetuate harm, building relationships with local activists, and imagining next steps we might take as a community.

Members of the IFS Liberation Collective, led by Ethan Hughes, will teach what they’ve learned from using the IFS framework “to build a strategic peacebuilding community in El Salvador, do direct action to help prevent the building of fossil-fuel infrastructure, train peacebuilders in tools for nervous system regulation, and much more.”

• Where and when: October 23–27, 2024, at Little River Commons in Belfast, Maine, USA. The closest full-service airport is in Bangor, and organizers will help coordinate carpooling from Boston.
• Who it’s for: “IFS practitioners who are using (or wish to use) IFS as a framework for taking action to heal from systems of oppression, stop harm, and deeply embody the world that we wish to create.” Because this workshop assumes deep understanding of the IFS model, you must have at least Level 1 or equivalent formation to attend — plus “an openness and interest to bring this work into practical action in your own way.”
• Logistics: Meals will be provided by local volunteers. There aren’t many beds, but folks can sleep indoors on a mat or sleeping bag, camp outside on the spacious grounds, or arrange your own lodging nearby.
• How much: Like all the IFS Liberation Collective’s offerings, this training is offered as a gift. Those who are moved to contribute to the cost of the training are welcome to do so.

Reminder: Free tickets still available for the next Parts Work Unconference, this Oct. 12

You can still get your free ticket to the next global Parts Work Unconference, this Saturday, October 12, which alas is exactly Yom Kippur. Since folks are already signed up, they’re keeping the date, but Alex promises that they will definitely check the calendar for important dates before scheduling the next one.

How to attend the 8th Parts Work Unconference

• Here’s an FAQ about how the Unconference works from Pau and Alex. Read this first.
• Anyone can propose an Unconference session during the event itself, but you’re welcome to submit your session ideas in advance. You can also attend without proposing a session, and most folks do.

The Unconference is absolutely free to attend, but donations are gratefully accepted — please do chip in if you can!

Working group update: Four projects to make partswork more accessible

Earlier this month, members of our informal global working group met over Zoom to talk about how we might help make partswork more accessible to more people in more ways. Our conversation revealed both opportunities and challenges, and we ended up with a clear list of four projects we want to pursue as a group:

1. Build a trust-based online global community for partsworkers, designed to build social trust and safety by allowing members to vouch for each other’s competence in practice. ⏭️ Alex and Pau of the IFS Collective have been thinking about this idea for a while, but it’s a technical and resource challenge. We’ll need volunteers to start working practical implementation.
2. Create and maintain an open-source standard for partswork training programs to help build a common understanding of safe and effective practice. ⏭️ Siobhan Bale of Free(ing) IFS has compiled a wealth of research into an array of IFS training programs, and she’s recruiting knowledgeable folks to help draft a prototype standard.
3. Draft voluntary ethical guidelines for partswork practitioners that balance client safety with openness. ⏭️ Our conversations show widespread interest in this idea, and voluntary standards already exist (like this one by Presley Pizzo). We’re assembling a subgroup to start drafting a prototype guideline together.
4. Create infrastructure to equip non-clinicians to do peer-to-peer partswork safely and effectively. ⏭️ A subgroup led by Risa Adams has been inviting practitioners who’ve been experimenting with peer-to-peer partswork groups to share about what they’ve learned, identify common challenges, and identify training and safety infrastructure that might be needed.

We plan another Zoom for the working group this December. If you’d like to join us, just reply and we’ll add you to our email list.

That’s all for this third edition of The Partsworker, colleagues. Please forward this email anyone at all who might be interested, or post this link to your social networks to share. Like the lotus flower, our work is opening up! 🪷