Email: contact@souliology.com
WIRED TO FEEL
A 4-day non-residential in-person workshop with Sarah Bergenfield and Martha Sweezy.
April 9-12, 2027 - Avon, Connecticut
What to expect from this 4-day workshop with Sarah and Martha…..
Based entirely on their book, Wired to Feel: Autism as a Condition of Sensory Surplus, Sarah Bergenfield and Martha Sweezy bring together predictive processing, Internal Family Systems (IFS), and lived autistic experience to deepen practitioners’ understanding of autistic clients. The workshop explores how differences in perception, prediction, and responses to uncertainty shape autistic experience.
Participants will consider how sensory surplus, physiological arousal, and neurological needs influence what clients feel, how they communicate, and their capacity to engage in therapeutic work.
Through the IFS lens, we will examine how parts respond to autistic experience, protect against misunderstanding and rejection, feel shame and carry beliefs formed over a lifetime. Particular attention is given to distinguishing neurological needs from protective responses and recognizing how they interact. This distinction helps practitioners consider when to support sensory regulation, adjust the therapeutic environment, or engage with parts.
Across four days, we address masking and burnout, intimate relationships and parenting, diagnosis and identity, and practical accommodations.
Teaching, examples from the book, guided experiential exercises, and case discussion will help participants apply these ideas to their work.
Participants will develop a more informed, compassionate approach to supporting autistic clients: recognizing capacity, respecting sensory needs, reducing uncertainty, and adapting IFS language and practice to the individual.
Learning Objectives:
By the end of the workshop, participants will be able to:
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Describe the book’s sensory-surplus perspective on autistic experience.
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Explain how prediction, uncertainty, and sensory demands can influence arousal and engagement.
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Distinguish neurological needs from parts’ protective responses while recognizing their interaction.
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Adapt IFS language, pacing, and practices to individual autistic clients.
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Identify the clinical implications of masking and burnout.
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Support clients in understanding diagnosis, communicating needs, and developing appropriate accommodations.
Please note: This 4-Day in-person workshop is limited to 45 participants and is open to IFS informed therapists/practitioners. We require a minimum of 24 participants for this workshop to proceed so please do not make travel arrangements until you have been formally advised in writing that the workshop is proceeding. If we do not get the required numbers for the workshop to proceed, we will refund all fees paid to Souliology towards the workshop cost only.
Workshop Leaders
A little about Sarah …
Sarah is an autistic writer, educator, and Certified Level 3 IFS Practitioner. Her work supports autistic individuals - and the people in relationship with them - to make sense of how the autistic mind, body, and nervous system experience the world. She integrates Internal Family Systems, predictive processing, and the science of constructed emotion, bridging lived experience with emerging neuroscience to reveal not what’s broken, but what’s working, often in beautifully complex ways.
Sarah also works with attorneys and legal professionals as a forensic consultant and subject-matter expert, specializing in how autism can influence communication, behavior, and decision-making in legal settings. Her work includes the interpretation of autistic behavior, interviewing and interrogation, and the effects of uncertainty, heightened arousal, masking, and compliance.
As a writer and educator, Sarah offers professional consultation, workshops, and trainings that challenge pathologizing narratives and invite more nuanced, respectful understandings of neurodivergence. For more information, please visit her website: https://www.sarahbergenfield.com/
A little about Martha …
Martha Sweezy, PhD, is an Assistant Professor part-time in Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School, a research and training consultant at the Center for Mindfulness and Compassion at the Cambridge Health Alliance, and a psychotherapist in private practice.
Martha has a blog on IFS in Psychology Today, and co-hosts a podcast called System Updates: IFS Chitchat.
She has authored, co-authored, and co-edited eleven published books on various applications of Internal Family Systems (IFS), including Internal Family Systems Therapy for Shame and Guilt.
She teaches IFS therapy nationally and internationally. For more information, please visit her website: https://marthasweezy.com
WORKSHOP OUTLINE
Day 1
Understanding the Autistic Brain and Body
Focus: Predictive processing, sensory surplus, uncertainty, interoception, and arousal versus anxiety.
Clinical Application: Understand clients’ experiences beyond observable behavior; identify sensory demands and sources of uncertainty in sessions.
Day 2
IFS and Autism
Focus: Parts and Self, protective strategies, and the interaction between neurology and parts.
Clinical Application: Assess capacity, accommodate neurological needs, and adapt pacing, language, and internal exploration to the client.
Day 3
Masking, Burnout, and Family Life
Focus: The protective functions and costs of masking; depleted capacity; relationships and parenting.
Clinical Application: Recognize when apparent competence conceals overwhelm; support communication and accommodations while attending to the parts involved.
Day 4
Diagnosis, Identity, and Meeting Needs
Focus: Responses to diagnosis, revisiting personal history, self-understanding, and self-advocacy.
Recommended Reading:
Sarah and Martha have co-authored a book titled - Wired to Feel: Autism as a Condition of Sensory Surplus - which was published by New Harbinger and released in April, 2026.
Reading the book prior to the workshop will support getting the most out of your experience.
You can purchase the book by clicking the attached link. https://www.newharbinger.com/9781648486357/wired-to-feel/?gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=23578158921&gbraid=0AAAAADsfoaWWPUbItUPUgb1kk3Uap9WvB&gclid=CjwKCAjwotzWBhBFEiwA1JhPoNWgPTWW9-bfMq-VaY2gAGMBf3M6cY5O2PQr3bnt9WLH0iAF_SQYwBoCpkgQAvD_BwE
Please note that this workshop is only open to participants who are IFS informed as an in-depth understanding of IFS therapy and parts work is essential to get the most from this workshop.
The Non-Residential Workshop Location
Avon Old Farm Hotel is the perfect place for our 4-day non-residential experiential workshop. Nestled amidst 10 acres of breathtakingly manicured grounds on Connecticut’s scenic Talcott Mountain, Avon Old Farms Hotel is a haven of peace and timeless New England charm.
Just a short drive from downtown Hartford, and a 30-minute Uber drive from Bradley International Airport, the hotel offers a serene sanctuary where nature and luxury harmonise.
During the mid-day breaks or lunchtime, you can wander through picturesque gardens blooming with vibrant flowers, cross a charming wooden bridge over a gentle stream, or find a moment of quiet reflection in the garden gazebo.
Avon Old Farms Hotel creates the perfect space to learn and fully engage in this experiential workshop with Sarah and Martha, allowing for deep connection, understanding, exploration, and personal growth.
While this workshop is offered as a non-residential program, participants are very welcome to stay at the hotel during the workshop week—particularly if you are traveling from out of town or wish to avoid long commute times.
We have negotiated a discounted bed-and-breakfast rate exclusively for workshop participants who choose to stay on site. Accommodation is optional and is not included in the workshop fee. Once you are formally registered and approved to attend, we will share the discounted booking link with you, should you wish to stay onsite for the workshop week.
Workshop Particulars
Applications are currently open for this 4-day non-residential in-person experiential workshop in Avon, Connecticut from April 9 - 12, 2027.
The workshop will take place over 4 days starting at 6pm on Friday evening, April 9th and concluding Monday, April 12th, 2026 at 12pm.
NON-RESIDENTIAL WORKSHOP COST: $1,380
The workshop cost includes the 4-day experiential in-person workshop itself with Sarah and Martha, and a delicious evening meal at 6pm on Friday night before we commence plus lunch served each day during the workshop schedule to include vegetarian options. There will also be tea/coffee breaks with refreshments mid morning and mid afternoon during the workshop hours.
An application form will be available to you once you register your interest.
This workshop is limited to 45 participants. If you are interested in participating, please register your interest. You will then be directed automatically to a registration form for completion. Only applicants who complete a full registration form will be considered for this workshop. Once your registration is approved we will advise you formally and it is only at this point that we will request a $500 non-refundable and non-transferable deposit to reserve and secure your place.
Workshop Schedule:
4-Day Non-Residential Experiential Workshop Schedule – This is a broad outline of what the schedule for the week will look like but please note it is subject to change at the workshop leaders discretion.
Friday, April 9th – Monday April 12th, 2026
Friday
Saturday and Sunday
Monday
6pm - 7pm
7pm – 9pm
10am – 1pm
1pm
2pm – 5pm
9am – 12pm
12.30pm
Dinner
Evening Session
Morning Session
Lunch
Afternoon Session
Morning Session
Lunch and workshop close
Please note we will serve teas/coffees and refreshments during our morning and afternoon breaks which will usually be at 11.30am and 3.30pm daily during the workshop hours.
If you decide to stay at the hotel throughout the workshop, Hotel Check-In is strictly from 3pm on Friday April 9th and check out is strictly by 11am on April 12th. You can store your luggage at reception before check in on Friday if required and after check out on Monday until the workshop closes.
Your Investment:
Total 4-Day Non-Residential In-Person Workshop Cost: - $1,380 (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 $1,380 (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. $880 (USD) due by January 15th, 2027 - Strictly Non-Refundable and Non-Transferable
IMPORTANT: If the second payment instalment is not received within two weeks of the second payment instalment deadline, we will regrettably need to offer your place to another participant on our waiting list and you will forfeit your non-refundable and non-transferable deposit.
If you register for the workshop after the specified payment option deadlines outlined above, the existing payment options will no longer be available and you will be required to pay for the workshop in full.
PLEASE NOTE: Please note that all fees paid towards this workshop are strictly non-refundable and non-transferable unless the retreat is cancelled by Souliology. To protect your financial investment, we strongly recommend purchasing comprehensive insurance, including CFAR (Cancel For Any Reason) coverage, to safeguard against illness, emergencies, adverse weather, travel disruptions, flight delays or cancellations, or any other unforeseen circumstance that may prevent you from attending.
