Email: contact@souliology.com
EMBODIED SELF, EMBODIED SYSTEM
A 4-Day Experiential 18-hr Somatic IFS Online Workshop for IFS-Informed Professionals.
A 4-Day Experiential Somatic IFS Workshop for IFS-Informed Professionals led by Somatic IFS Co Lead Trainers, Marcella Cox and LaDonna Silva with a guest appearance by Susan McConnell.
Workshop Description -
You already have a strong foundational understanding of the IFS model. This Somatic IFS workshop invites you beyond conceptual understanding and into direct, lived embodied experience, offering an opportunity to deepen your relationship with your internal system and explore how embodying your parts, including Self, can profoundly enrich and potentiate the healing, insight, and wisdom cultivated through your IFS journey.
Your personal embodiment is the focus of this 18 hour online workshop. Through guided experiential somatic practices combined with the IFS model, you will discover how restoring the embodiment of your internal family - parts and Self - awakens and deepens your innate intelligence, creativity, and healing potential.
This online workshop is an experiential workshop designed solely for your personal growth and to provide you with a personal experience of the 5 steps of Somatic IFS. It is NOT a didactic training, nor is it an official or accredited training program of the IFS Institute or its model. This online workshop is intended exclusively as a personal growth experience and should be understood as such in all respects.
This workshop is limited to 40 IFS-informed participants with a solid foundation of both didactic and experiential learning of the IFS Model.
Learning Outcomes...
Entering the rich territory of the bodymind through guided explorations of the practices of awareness, breathing, resonance, movement and touch, will invite a deeper intimacy with your internal family.
You will discover how your protector parts may fear and resist embodiment due to individual, cultural, ethnic, ancestral, and transgenerational burdens.
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You will learn how parts’ stories and burdens shape our bodies and are revealed in our bodies’ behaviors, movements, and physical symptoms.
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You will learn practical tools to find, befriend, and witness the parts’ implicit body stories.
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You will understand that as parts unburden physiologically, their transformations can be integrated and stabilized in the body.
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You will learn how the Somatic practices, incorporated into the IFS Model, restore the fullest expression of Embodied Self energy to bring a deeper dimension of presence in your personal, relational, and professional lives.
Through guided experiential exercises, mindful reflection, journaling, mini demonstrations, and small-group exploration, participants will discover how the body can become a powerful doorway to increased self-awareness, regulation, presence, and connection with their internal system.
Workshop Leaders
Assistant Trainer - Marcella Cox
Marcella Cox, LMFT, is a therapist, author and presenter who has devoted her career to exploring the intersection of embodiment, trauma healing and eating disorder recovery. She’s a Level 3 Certified IFS Therapist, an Approved IFS Clinical Consultant, Certified Eating Disorder Specialist, Supervisor, and is a Somatic IFS Assistant Trainer on staff for Susan McConnell, developer of Somatic IFS.
In addition to her clinical practice, Marcella provides IFS and Somatic IFS consultation and leads workshops, trainings, and retreats for professionals on somatic parts work, IFS for disordered eating, as well as combining somatic practices and body-based interventions, including the Safe and Sound and Rest and Restore Protocols with IFS. She is committed to creating an inclusive, and empowering learning environment where participants can explore the transformative potential of IFS and Somatic IFS.
Marcella contributed the chapter on IFS and Disordered Eating in IFS Integration: A Comprehensive Guide to Applying Internal Family Systems Across Modalities, Populations, and Clinical Presentations. (PESI Publishing, Inc., 2025). She is also the lead author of the IFS and Listening Therapies (Safe and Sound Protocol and Rest and Restore Protocol) Combined Delivery Guidelines (Unyte, 2026).
Marcella is the founder of Kindful Body, providing online therapy and nutrition counseling for eating and body issues in California, as well as co-founder of the IFS Consultation Collective providing weekly consultation with IFS lead trainers. To find out a little more, you can visit her websites:
Assistant Trainer - LaDonna Silva
LaDonna Silva, LMFT (she/her), is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist, IFS Approved Clinical Consultant, Level 3 Certified IFS Therapist, and a member of the Somatic IFS teaching staff, serving as an Assistant Trainer with Susan McConnell.
With over 20 years of clinical experience, LaDonna is deeply rooted in the Internal Family Systems model and integrates Somatic IFS throughout her therapeutic, teaching and professional work. She leads IFS workshops, trainings, retreats, and multiple consultation groups, specialising in SIFS, trauma, sexual abuse and assault, grief, couples work, and support for the LGBTQI+ community.
She has served on the faculty at John F. Kennedy University, the Institute of Transpersonal Psychology/Sofia University, and Santa Clara University, teaching courses in clinical practice and integrative psychotherapy. LaDonna was also a lead trainer at a training Institute in Northern California.
Earlier in her career, LaDonna’s work included advocacy for survivors of sexual abuse, including presenting to the California legislature and participating in national media to bring greater visibility to the impact of unspoken abuse within families. She remains dedicated to advancing Somatic IFS as a compassionate, body-informed framework for trauma healing.
To find out a little more, you can visit her website: www.ladonnasilva.com
Guest appearance by Susan McConnell. the creator and founder of Somatic IFS for a live demo and Q&A
Susan McConnell, MAPD, CHT, is a senior trainer for the IFS Institute and has taught Internal Family Systems in the US and internationally since 1997. Somatic IFS is the culmination of her experience and teaching of various bodywork, movement, spiritual, and psychotherapeutic modalities that facilitate the embodiment of the internal family—the subpersonalities as well as the essential core Self—to bring compassionate witnessing to the implicit body stories of our individual hurts and societal burdens.
Somatic IFS is a branch of the Internal Family Systems (IFS) Model. IFS is a psychotherapeutic model that normalizes multiplicity of the mind and views each person as having a Self that the therapist helps to uncover so that it can fully lead the system of parts, or subpersonalities.
IFS holds that all parts, regardless of how they currently manifest, hold positive intent and can be helped to contribute their wisdom and gifts to the person’s system. Somatic IFS explores the embodiment of the internal family with the goal of restoring the client’s Self to leadership and allowing parts that express through the body to come into relationship and alignment with the client’s Self.
Eligibility Requirements & Training Pathways
This workshop is designed for participants who are IFS-informed and curious about exploring the embodied dimensions of healing and self-awareness. The workshop assumes that participants have a foundational understanding of the Internal Family Systems (IFS) model, including both a conceptual understanding of the core principles and some personal experience applying the model to their own inner system through personal therapy. Without this foundation, participants may find aspects of the workshop challenging and may not be able to fully engage with the experiential nature of the program.
As with all Somatic IFS programs, we recommend that participants familiarize themselves with the foundational teachings of IFS before attending. This workshop is designed to build upon an existing understanding of the model rather than teach the fundamentals.
It is not a formal training in Somatic IFS or the Internal Family Systems (IFS) model. Rather, it is a gentle, experiential introduction to the five practices of Susan McConnell's Somatic IFS, designed to help participants cultivate greater embodiment, Self-energy, and compassionate inner connection.
As this workshop requires a foundational understanding of the core principles and language of IFS, preference will be given to applicants who have completed comprehensive introductory IFS programs such (but not limited to) -
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IFS Foundations for Coaches with IFSI
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IFS Foundations Masterclass with Kendall Hart
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IFSCA Stepping Stones Program
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The One Self Institute Foundation Training
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Ted Riskin's Essentials of IFS,
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Thinking Hearts Comprehensive 16-Week IFS Course,
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Other substantial IFS-informed trainings that provide a solid grounding in the fundamental concepts and practices of the IFS model.
Please note that this workshop is offered as a standalone experiential learning opportunity and does not form part of a formal Somatic IFS training pathway. Participation in this workshop does not qualify participants for progression to a Somatic IFS Step 2 training.
For the avoidance of doubt, eligibility for Somatic IFS Step 2 training currently requires successful completion of a Somatic IFS Step 1 in-person residential retreat, together with IFS Institute Level 1 training (or any other prerequisites specified by the training provider at the time of application).
By registering for this workshop, you acknowledge and understand that the purpose of this offering is to deepen your personal experience of embodiment through the five Somatic IFS practices rather than to provide professional training, certification, or a pathway into advanced Somatic IFS training at this time.
Your Workshop Journey
Day 1 — Listening to the Wisdom of the Body
Focus: Somatic Awareness—Reading the Body Story
Day 2 — Breath, Presence & Inner Calm
Focus: Conscious Breathing-Integrating Inner and Outer Worlds
Day 3 — Connection, Movement & Relationship
Focus: Radical Resonance & Mindful Movement—Interpersonal Relationships and Restoring the Flow
Day 4 — Embodied Presence & Integration
Focus: Attuned Touch & Embodied Self
Recommended Reading
Susan McConnell is also the author of Somatic Internal Family Systems: Awareness, Breath, Resonance, Movement and Touch in Practice and The Somatic Internal Family Systems Therapy Workbook. The workbook is both a stand-alone book and a companion to her Somatic Internal family Systems Therapy book.
You can purchase these books at https://www.embodiedself.net/book and they are also available on Amazon UK and US or at North Atlantic Books - https://www.northatlanticbooks.com/
To help you get the very most from this workshop, we strongly encourage all participants to read Susan McConnell's book, Somatic Internal Family Systems: Awareness, Breath, Resonance, Movement and Touch in Practice, prior to the beginning of the program. Participants may also find it beneficial to work through the accompanying workbook and experiential exercises where possible.
In addition, this workshop assumes that participants have a foundational understanding of the Internal Family Systems (IFS) model, including both a conceptual understanding of the core principles and some personal experience applying the model to their own inner system. Without this foundation, participants may find aspects of the workshop challenging and may not be able to fully engage with the experiential nature of the program.
As with all Somatic IFS programs, we recommend that participants familiarize themselves with the foundational teachings of IFS before attending. This workshop is designed to build upon an existing understanding of the model rather than teach the fundamentals of IFS. Arriving with this background knowledge will help ensure you can fully participate in the practices and receive the greatest benefit from your experience and financial investment.
The 4-Day 18-hr Experiential SIFS Workshop Schedule
This is a broad outline of what the schedule will look like but please note it is subject to change at the workshop leaders discretion.
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Wednesday and Thursday - January 20 & 21, 2027 - 11am - 4.15pm, ET, USA
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Wednesday and Thursday - January 27 & 28, 2027 - 11am - 4.15pm, ET, USA
January 20
January 21
January 27
January 28
11:00 - 12:30
12:30 - 12:45
12:45 - 2:15
2:15 - 2:45
2:45 - 4:15
11:00 - 12:30
12:30 - 12:45
12:45 - 2:15
2:15 - 2:45
2:45 - 4:15
11:00 - 12:30
12:30 - 12:45
12:45 - 2:15
2:15 - 2:45
2:45 - 4:15
11:00 - 12:30
12:30 - 12:45
12:45 - 2:15
2:15 - 2:45
2:45 - 4:15
Morning Session
Bio Break
Mid Morning Session
Lunch
Afternoon Session
Morning Session
Bio Break
Mid Morning Session
Lunch
Afternoon Session
Morning Session
Bio Break
Mid Morning Session
Lunch
Afternoon Session
Morning Session
Bio Break
Mid Morning Session
Lunch
Afternoon Session
Please note: Due to the experiential and sensitive nature of this workshop, it will not be recorded, and no recordings will be provided at any time, including in the event of absence for any reason. Therefore, please ensure you are available to attend all the live sessions.
Your Investment
Applications are now open for this 4-day 18-hr online workshop in January 2027
Total 4-Day Online Workshop Cost: - $995 (USD) per participant.
Workshop Payment Schedule: We are delighted to offer flexibility with our payment options. You have two choices: you can make full payment now of $995 (USD) or you can opt for our convenient payment plan. The payment plan breaks down the workshop cost into 2 convenient payments as follows:
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Payment 1: $500 (USD) Non-refundable and non-transferable deposit – (Due on acceptance onto the workshop).
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Payment 2. $495 (USD) due by the 9th of October, 2026 - Strictly non-refundable and non-transferable
If you register for the workshop after the specified payment deadlines outlined above, the existing payment plan will no longer apply and you will be required to pay for the workshop in full.
This workshop will be delivered over two weeks as follows:
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Wednesday and Thursday - January 20 & 21, 2027 - 11am - 4.15pm, ET, USA
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Wednesday and Thursday - January 27 & 28, 2027 - 11am - 4.15pm, ET, USA.
This online workshop is limited to 40 IFS-informed professionals with a solid foundation of both didactic and experiential learning of the IFS Model.
To Register:
1: Register your interest (once you register your interest, you will be redirected to an application form for completion)
2: Complete and submit your registration form
3: Pay at least your non-refundable and non-transferable deposit to secure your spot, once accepted.
We require a minimum of 30 applicants for this workshop to proceed. In the event that there are less than 30 confirmed applicants, all your fees paid to Souliology for the workshop cost will be refunded to you.
IMPORTANT: Please read our FAQS page on this website. The FAQS page provides general information which you may find useful. If after reading it you have any further questions, please feel free to email us at contact@souliology.com.