The Center for Self Leadership is now…IFS Institute
In 2000, Richard Schwartz founded The Center for Self Leadership as a training organization for the Internal Family Systems model of psychotherapy.  For many years we’ve grown together as a community – learning, teaching and living the IFS experience. In 2019, due to the increasing global recognition of IFS® , the organization was renamed to better fit our purpose and goals. We want to make it clear we are IFS® . IFS Institute.

Welcome to IFS Institute
IFS Institute welcomes all people of any age, race, religion, gender identity, sexual orientation, class, ability, language or cultural background into the Internal Family Systems®  community. You are welcome here, and all of your parts are welcome too. Learn more about our Individual and Organizational IFS Training Scholarship opportunities which support our quest to expand diversity and inclusivity in our community.

What we do?
The mission of IFS Institute is to bring more Self leadership to the world. We provide IFS®  training for professionals, a practitioner directory for those looking for IFS trained providers, and international learning opportunities for those exploring personal growth through IFS® . We want to make our programs as inclusive and accessible as they are informative and inspiring.

What is Internal Family Systems® ?
IFS®  is a transformative tool that conceives every human being as a system of protective and wounded inner parts lead by a core Self. We believe the mind is naturally multiple and that is a good thing. Just like members of a family, inner parts are forced from their valuable states into extreme roles within us. Self is in everyone. It can’t be damaged. It knows how to heal. 

IFS®  is frequently used as an evidence-based psychotherapy, helping people heal by accessing and healing their protective and wounded inner parts. IFS®  creates inner and outer connectedness by helping people first access their Self and, from that core, come to understand and heal their parts.  

But IFS®  is much more than a non-pathologizing evidence-based psychotherapy to be used in a clinical setting. It is also a way of understanding personal and intimate relationships and stepping into life with the 8 Cs: confidence, calm, compassion, courage, creativity, clarity, curiosity, and connectedness. Professionals from many different backgrounds such as, but not limited to, legal mediation, school administration, life coaches and religious leaders may utilize IFS®  to inform and guide their work. Our growing list of educational programs aim to serve not only therapists but the wider public and other professions.

IFSI’s Commitment to Diversity, Equity and Inclusion
This is a live document and as such, it will evolve as our organization evolves.
Our goal at the IFS Institute is to create learning environments and a community that teach and support the internal welcoming of parts that have been exiled, shamed, or marginalized within our systems so that they may be seen, heard, valued, and ultimately healed. Our hope is that this work will lead to greater Self leadership where all of us are more connected, curious, and compassionate with ourselves and with each other.

We recognize that IFS was developed and is still primarily taught and managed through a white lens. This has made it difficult to create an inviting space for everyone to feel safe and welcome and to contribute fully to the evolution and growth of the community. As a result, we have not been as effective as we could be in the ongoing fight for freedom and healing for ALL peoples.

To focus our efforts and hold ourselves accountable, we have developed four specific commitments. These commitments reflect our desire for all peoples to find solace and healing from IFS, while we hold space for individual to contribute their unique gifts, voices, and perspectives to the IFS movement.

Careers
We aspire to model the IFS principles in practice through all our efforts, both as a team and as individuals. We do this most effectively when we are operating from the place of our "highest Self" embodying the following universal attributes:
 

• Calm, in our demeanor, our inner state, and how we engage with others
• Curious about ourselves and each other
• Compassionate, to ourselves and each other
• Confident in who we are in the world
• Courageous in our exploration within, and in how we engage with others
• Creative in how we approach life's opportunities and challenges
• Connected to all parts of our Self and to the other people with whom we have relationships

If you're interested in becoming an IFS Trainer, please see our IFS Trainer Career Track