Befriending Difficult Protectors

Michael Elkin

IFS level: Intermediate

12 IFS CEs

About this workshop:

Mike Elkin

4-week series

8 hours of video

Recording

Experiential activities:

7 short live demos

Guided meditations

Q&A sessions

Personal practice (journalling)

$297

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See what Michael has to say about the series:

The key skill set of the IFS

The key skill set of the IFS therapist is the ability to enlist the protective system as allies in their therapeutic project.

This is complicated by the fact that protective parts by definition have been forced into extreme roles, and so are very likely to have a radically distorted understanding of your client’s best interests.

This workshop is designed to help IFS therapists and practitioners at a variety of skill levels discover and address the fears and concerns of mistrustful protectors, and help them become resources in healing.

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Befriend Difficult Protectors in IFS Therapy

During this workshop series, you will learn how to:

Negotiate a valid therapeutic contact with your client’s myriad parts,
Detect and successfully address the concerns of your clients protective parts,
Maintain Self Energy in the face of fearful protectors, and recruit them as allies in your therapeutic project.

The trainer will also provide detailed guidelines for practice that you can use with colleagues and clients.

Befriending Difficult Protectors

A series of 4 IFS online workshops with Mike Elkin

Befriending Difficult Protectors

A series of 4 IFS online workshops with Mike Elkin

Learn how to discover and address the fears of difficult and mistrustful protectors

By signing up for “Befriending Difficult Protectors” workshop series you get:

All-time access to the recordings of 4 workshops – no time limits,
Training materials ready for printing,
Certificate of Completion,
12 IFS CEs available to be applied for IFS certification for those who have completed Level 1 training.

$297

Added to cart Go to Cart

IFS Therapy: Therapeutic Relationship & Power of Presence

Workshop 1

The role of shame

Workshop 2

The nightmare world of managers

Workshop 3

The exciting world of firefighters

Workshop 4

Stump the chump

befriending_difficult_protectors_shame_recording

Workshop 1: The role of shame

We will discuss:

The development of Shame, and its role in our system,
Anxiety and depression as responses to Shame,
Protectors’ relationship to Shame.

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Workshop 2: The nightmare world of managers

You will learn to understand and befriend:

Critics
Shamers
Blockers
Worriers
Distracters

befriending_difficult_protectors_firefighters_recordings

Workshop 3: The exciting world of firefighters

You will learn to understand and befriend:

Addicts
Dissociaters
Self Harmers
Suiciders
Ragers
Violators

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Workshop 4: Stump the chump

You will experience how these learnings are applied in practice:

Role played demos with your most difficult and fearful protectors,
Self led strategy,
Keeping your contract vital.

Meet the trainer

Michael Elkin

Michael Elkin, LMFT is a IFS Senior Lead Trainer who has been teaching the model since 1997.
He has over 45 years of clinical experience, and his early career was focused on treating mandated clients in drug and alcohol treatment agencies where he got extensive experience working with chronic addiction and violent and sexual perpetrators. In order to learn to be effective with these challenges, he got training in family, strategic and hypnotic therapies.

He is an author of the book: Families Under the Influence.

Mike has been married for 54 years; 30 years in his practice marriage which produced 2 sons, and his 24 year marriage to storyteller, Judith Black. This has contributed to his deep interest in intimacy and relationships. He has been nationally ranked as a billiard player.

See what others say about Mike

Anne Hallward MD

a psychiatrist who hosts the radio show “Safe Space Radio”. She had done plenary presentations at the IFS Conference, MA Association of Social Workers, the New England Society for the Treatment of Trauma and Dissociation (NESTTD) and TED

Mike Elkin is a wonderful teacher. He is earnest and genuine, while also being brilliant and insightful. He is a master at distilling complex psychological realities into clear and concise ideas that capture the essence of what matters. He is also fun! I am confident your students will enjoy learning from and with him.

Rina Dubin, Ph.D.

an IFS lead Trainer She has assisted me three times, and co lead three Level One trainings with me

Mike Elkin is a passionate and brilliant teacher who brings so much distilled skill. In particular he brings a warm humor that makes the experience all the richer as the nuggets keep coming. People who sit in his presence will likely find themselves (as I have) coming back to unique “clicks” that will continue long after the time together has ended. I have worked with Mike for many years and have lots of direct experience with this.

Satisfaction Guarantee

Up to 48 hours after purchase, if you are not completely satisfied just let us know about it. We will give you a full refund. You are not required to give any reason.

You have nothing to lose!

Completion of IFS Level 1 Training is not required

At the same time, you need to know the fundamentals of IFS, as we don’t offer basic didactics about the model during this workshop.

Make sure that you:

Have completed a thorough introductory course/workshop about IFS or the IFSI Online Circle,
Have a desire to embody the IFS Model – deepen the knowledge of your own system, and learn tools that aid you in this process.

Getting certified?

With this series there are 12 IFS CEs available to be applied for IFS certification for those who have completed IFS Level 1 training.

How it works

The workshop was held live in February and March 2022.

The whole process has been structured so you can go through it at any time, at your own pace. Explore almost 9 hours of video material – it’s important that you find the right space to immerse yourself in this process.

The recording contains didactics, meditations, demo sessions, and practice instructions so you will be able to do personal work in your own time. Please note that the practice group sessions and the group sharings were not recorded.

Remember that you get unlimited access to the course recordings, which means you will be able to view them in a year or even in a few years

Opinions about this workshop series

This workshop far surpassed my expectations. To study and learn from a master, sage teacher like Mike Elkin was tremendous. I will be taking as many workshops with him as possible moving forward. The workshop was a perfect blend of content, demo experiences, experiential exercises, time with other participants, and the gifts of Mike Elkin’s vast experience told in the form of compelling stories.

Dr. Christine E. Kiesinger

I really learned a whole lot in this series. My entire way of relating to protectors has changed. I can see them more clearly and I can sense them in others much more easily. This workshop has been very valuable and powerful and I hope you will have many more of this kind. It truly is upping my own parts work and how I work with others. I really learned a whole lot in this series. My entire way of relating to protectors has changed.
I can see them more clearly and I can sense them in others much more easily. This workshop has been very valuable and powerful and I hope you will have many more of this kind. It truly is upping my own parts work and how I work with others.

Verena Mezger

Highly recommend this workshop. Mike is the perfect combination of knowledgeable, self-led, kind, and entertaining.

Beej Christie Karpen

This training greatly moved my knowledge of the practice of IFS forward. The facilitator was great, and he communicated his knowledge masterfully.

Tim Barber

I really enjoyed every session and loved Mike’s wisdom and humor throughout. The Life Architect team was very professional and kept things on track. They were creative and it felt like a community space.

Jenna Murphy

This was a very enjoyable workshop. So great to meet and interact with others across the globe on the same topic. Workshops had a very good balance between learning and practicing, and the demos were very informative. Felt like everything was well thought out and organized, very professional.

Mia Sarosi

Befriending Difficult Protectors

A series of 4 IFS online workshops with Mike Elkin

Befriending Difficult Protectors

A series of 4 IFS online workshops with Mike Elkin

Learn how to discover and address the fears of difficult and mistrustful protectors

By signing up for “Befriending Difficult Protectors” workshop series you get:

All-time access to the recordings of 4 workshops – no time limits,
Training materials ready for printing,
Certificate of Completion,
12 IFS CEs available to be applied for IFS certification for those who have completed Level 1 training.

$297

Added to cart Go to Cart

Experiential activities

Please note that the teacher will respond to the needs of the group and because of that, the chosen activities may change

Guided meditations

Guided meditation is an internal practice that you do with closed eyes, following the teacher’s voice. The teacher will invite you to sit back, relax, and focus on your inner world. You will meet your parts, talk to them, and often learn things you weren’t aware of before. Guided meditation can allow you to do a significant piece of inner work.

Q&A sessions

Each of the workshops will have space for questions from the audience. If you buy a recording of the workshop, you will have access to the recording of the Q&A session that took place live during the workshop.

Personal practice (ex. journalling)

Personal practice means working on your own, usually with a piece of paper, after hearing the instructions explained by the teacher. These exercises may be various – sometimes you will be invited to communicate with your parts by journalling, sometimes you will do a drawing exercise (like mapping your parts). Other times you will get a more complex set of instructions and 10 or 15 minutes to do a piece of the process on your own.

Short, live demos

These are session demonstrations in which the teacher does a live session with a volunteer. It may be a short, role-played session or a whole, longer session. Sometimes teachers show videos of sessions they recorded in the past.