Awakened IFS-1

Introduction to Healing and Awakening
with Internal Family Systems

Awakened IFS-1 (AIFS-1) is a six-month, comprehensive, professional training for those who want to integrate Internal Family System (IFS) and awake awareness into their practice.

You will learn an 18-step protocol to work with the entire internal system — Self, protectors, and exiles.

It is also a personal development workshop where you will begin to heal and awaken — so that you can guide others in their healing and awakening.

We teach you how to come into embodied, open-hearted Presence, creating the conditions conducive to healing.

The IFS protocol, in combination with awake awareness, begins to show you how to relate skillfully with each client’s unique system.

Note: The Institute for Healing and Awakening is not affiliated with the IFS Institute. We are, however, deeply indebted to IFS developer Richard C. Schwartz. His teachings have inspired us, and we are grateful for his generosity in sharing the model. Internal Family Systems and IFS are trademarks of the IFS Institute and used here with authorization.

Join us for a free informational webinar

Meet founders Guthrie Sayen and Barti Bourgault

Bring your questions about Awakened IFS-1

Wednesday, August 19

12:00 - 1:00 PM Eastern Time (New York)

Register

AIFS-1 overview

(Click the down arrow for more information.)

  • Module 1: Oct 1 - 2, 2026

    Module 2: Nov 5 - 6, 2026

    Module 3: Dec 3 - 4, 2026

    Module 4: Jan 7 - 8, 2027

    Module 5: Feb 4 - 5, 2027

    Module 6: Mar 4 - 5, 2027

  • $500 early bird savings through September 1. Tuition increases to $3,750 after that date. Payment plan available.

  • Two 15-minute breaks and one 60-minute break included.

  • 12 full-day classes on Zoom presented as six monthly two-day modules

  • Interactive teaching, live demonstrations, Q&A, peer practice, 7.5 hours of group mentoring, guided meditations, a complete course manual, class recordings

  • Coaches, therapists, spiritual directors, dietitians, mindfulness teachers, bodyworkers, yoga instructors, and other healing professionals

  • To create a safe and intimate container that allows for vulnerability and healing, we limit the number of students to 36.

    Relationships among the cohort and with the trainers and mentors flourish. Community is created.

  • This training offers 40 CCEs (pending approval) from the International Coaching Federation.

What makes Awakened IFS-1 different?

While we teach the classic IFS methodology, or what we call the “bottom-up” approach to healing, we also teach the “top-down” approach. This is our key distinction from other trainings.

In “bottom-up,” with a clear IFS protocol, you learn to heal parts one by one to gain greater access to Self, the awake aware core of every human.

In “top-down,” you learn to access Self directly and begin to live and work from Presence.

You will start to become a conduit for Divine energy, and IFS will begin to reveal its magic.

You will not only experience your own healing in this training, you will also awaken to your true nature and unique gifts.

  • [From personal healing to practitioner confidence]

    “IFS transformed my life, then Awakened IFS gave me the skills and confidence to do the same for others. I looked forward to each weekend, with its mix of masterful demos, step-by-step guidelines, group practice and community Q&A. I now can't unsee everyone's parts and the power of this methodology, and will be forever grateful to Guthrie, Barti, and the supporting team of experienced coaches who brought this to life."

    — Derek Haswell

  • [A grounding presence I can return to]

    “Guthrie creates and holds a beautiful space that allowed me to be vulnerable and open for healing and learning in a safe environment. His grounding presence and peaceful energy enabled me to access a deeper place within myself that now I am able to go back to in my daily life and also share the same openness and grounding presence with others on a personal and professional level.”

    — Fernanda Suarez

  • [Access to Heart-Courage and Embodied Confidence]

    “The approach to parts work that I learned from Guthrie and Barti is absolutely foundational to my own well-being and my ability to more fully show up to my life, my parenting and my calling in the world. It's helped me access more heart-courage and embodied confidence, as I know that I have an abundance of ways back to center -- back to my core Self and to my inner knowings. My gratitude for my time with them continues to unfold, as the gifts of the work continue to be revealed. “

    — Nicole Feola

  • [Coaching as a Doorway to Deeper Connection]

    "Guthrie’s approach is unique in that he doesn’t just master coaching techniques and skills, but uses them as a tool to deepen the connection with oneself, which becomes a powerful agent for healing and personal growth."

    — Dmitry Dumik

  • [Learning from Two Distinct, Complementary Teaching Styles]

    “Through Awakened IFS I have learned from demonstrations of the highest order from Guthrie and Barti. Guthrie with his creativity and Barti with her structure, the duo bring in different perspectives to the coaching process. To me this has been an incredible journey into what is deep compassionate presence.”

    — Rashish Sahasranama

  • [Anchoring in Something Beyond Fear and Survival]

    “By bringing curiosity and compassion to my internal family, new relationships could arise and a greater, gentler force was able to energize my being. I learned to anchor my deepest self in something beyond fear and survival; a healing force that resonates closer to love.”

    — Meditation Teacher and Coach, Kim Ruggiero, MA

To preserve the depth and intimacy of the training, enrollment is limited to 36 participants.

Early enrollment is encouraged to secure your spot. The cohort is forming.

Enroll

Have questions? Email us to see if the training is right for you.

What will I learn?

You will learn the basic principles of IFS and a clear 18-step protocol for deep healing. In addition you will learn how to:

  • Access your own enlightened core, which is whole, wise, loving, and good (an awakened state of being that is Self)

  • Collaborate with clients to safely enter their internal world with curiosity and compassion

  • Meet the many sub-personalities (parts) that live within all of us

  • Understand the parts’ complex relationships (systems theory)

  • Befriend challenging parts who try to keep us safe (protectors)

  • Identifying protectors that seek to control and protectors that seek to soothe (managers and firefighters)

  • Open doors to Self without asking parts to step back

  • Find and heal young vulnerable parts (exiles)

  • Move skillfully between two different methods of engaging the inner realm (direct access and in-sight)

  • Stabilize in a compassionate, non-judgmental, and agenda-less presence

What will I get?

  • An understanding of a model that assumes you and all humans are intrinsically endowed with everything needed to heal, grow, and love

  • Proficiency in using an 18-step process for finding, witnessing, and unburdening the wounded parts of the psyche 

  • Greater access to your own wisdom, divinity, and sense of wellbeing 

  • Intimacy with your own internal world of parts

  • A community of lightworkers

  • Witness (and participate as a client) in live demonstrations of the full protocol

  • Group mentoring, peer practice, class recordings, and a comprehensive course manual to support your journey

  • A certificate of completion indicating you’ve earned 40 ICF-approved CCEs

Is this for me?

This training integrates spirituality and our connection to each other and the Divine. Along with learning how to integrate the full IFS protocol into your practice, you will experience what it’s like to sit in the practitioner’s seat fully Present — creating the conditions for healing and trusting the intelligence of the client’s system to reveal how it wants to heal.

You may be:

  • A practitioner who seeks an IFS training that includes unburdening exiles 

  • Longing for an intimate community for learning and evolving

Prerequisite:

We ask that you have training as a coach, therapist, dietitian, or other practitioner with experience working one-on-one in a healing relationship. If you have doubts whether this training is for you, email us.

What Students Are Saying

Nicki McClusky, M.A., M.A.
PCC, BCC, CTPC
IFS 1 Trained Coach
LCSW, LPC
IFS 1 Trained Coach

Rachel Fink Parks, MS
Certified Professional Coach

Michael Thompson
IFS Practitioner
Founder of Return2Presence

Support for your journey

Six live two-day modules

Learn live with Guthrie Sayen and Barti Bourgault. Experience meditations, clear teaching, demos, and Q&A.

AIFS-1 manual

Receive a comprehensive manual to help you integrate your learning.

Class recordings

All live sessions are recorded and can be watched afterward for up to 1 year.

7.5 hours of group mentoring

Mentors provide feedback on your skills according to the IFS protocol.

Certificate of completion plus 40 ICF CCEs

Format

Our two-day modules (Thu, Fri) will take place October 2026 - March 2027 (dates below). All classes are live on Zoom.

Each day:

  • We meet from 10:30 am – 5:00 pm Eastern Time (New York).

  • We take two 15-minute breaks and one 60-minute meal break.

Class days include presencing practices, teaching, demonstrations, debriefs, Q&A, peer practice, and mentoring.

Our goal is to provide a learning environment that is structured, open, inclusive, and energizing. Our community is connected, compassionate, and playful.

Your commitment

  • To receive the ICF CCEs, plan on attending at least 9, and preferably all 12 class days. Exceptions are given with instructor pre-approval.

  • For classes missed, watch the class recordings.

  • Keep pace with the assigned reading in the class manual.

  • Bring meditation and Presence into your daily life.

  • Meet with your practice partner(s) at least three times between classes.

Class dates/times

All classes are on Thursdays and Fridays running from 10:30 am – 5:00 pm Eastern Time (New York) on Zoom

Module 1: Oct 1 - 2, 2026

Module 2: Nov 5 - 6, 2026

Module 3: Dec 3 - 4, 2026

Module 4: Jan 7 - 8, 2027

Module 5: Feb 4 - 5, 2027

Module 6: Mar 4 - 5, 2027

Our next AIFS-1 cohort starts April 2027. Enrollment opens November 2026.

Payment Options for Awakened IFS-1

Cohorts are limited to 36 students.

Pay in full

One payment

$3,750

$500 early bird discount through September 1

$3,250

Enroll

Payment plan

Two payments

$1,950

$500 early bird discount through September 1

$1,700

$1,700 due upon enrollment
$1,700 due Oct 29

Enroll

Frequently asked questions

  • Awakened IFS-1 is designed for coaches, therapists, spiritual directors, dietitians, bodyworkers, and other healing practitioners who want to deepen their ability to facilitate lasting transformation using IFS.

    You will learn an 18-step protocol to work with your client's entire internal system — Self, protectors, and exiles.

    It is also for practitioners who want to live and work from a state of awake awareness — able to disidentify from the contents of their consciousness and come from awareness itself.

  • No. Awakened IFS-1 is our foundational training. While prior experience as a coach, therapist, spiritual director, or another healing professional is expected, no previous Internal Family Systems training is required.

  • Our offerings are not only professional trainings, they are personal development workshops in which you will be transformed.

    We help you step into the magic of Presence, where you are naturally creative, resourceful, and whole.

    From here, you can facilitate healing and awakening in others.

  • Yes. Every training combines guided meditations, interactive teaching, live demonstrations, discussions, supervision, and peer practice between sessions.

    All classes are live -- no prerecorded material.

  • Yes. Group mentoring with qualified mentors provides feedback in small practice groups. Our feedback is intended to have you feel more empowered and confident not only in using the IFS protocol but also in how you show up as a practitioner.

  • Students practice with their cohort peers in breakout rooms during class and with rotating assigned partners between monthly modules.

    You are also encouraged to apply your learning when working with clients.

  • Yes. As your skills develop throughout the program, many students begin thoughtfully integrating what they are learning into their existing practice while continuing to receive mentoring and supervision. The protocol is safe because it is permissioned-based and client-led.

  • Graduates may refer to themselves as "Awakened IFS practitioners" or "IFS-informed practitioners."

    The Institute for Healing and Awakening is not affiliated with the IFS Institute, which has their own training programs and requirements for certification.

  • Graduates leave with a strong foundation in Awakened IFS — able to integrate the protocol into their practice and to show up in the relational field more awake and aware.

    To gain greater competence and confidence in Awakened IFS, you may choose to enroll in Awakened IFS-2.

    You will also be eligible to join other IFS practitioners in an Awakened IFS consultation group.

    And you will always be a member of our college of lightworkers.

  • Yes. Awakened IFS-1 provides the foundation for our intermediate and advanced trainings. You will be eligible to continue with Awakened IFS-2, where you'll deepen your competence and confidence in working with more complex systems.

  • We ask that you attend at least 80% of live class time.

    Missing more than 20% requires approval. Missing more than 50% makes you ineligible for a certificate of completion and CCEs.

  • No partial completion credit is offered. Students unable to finish because of health or emergencies should contact us about joining a future cohort.

  • Our agreements are as follows:

    Maintain confidentiality. Anything you learn about another is treated as sacred and not to be shared without explicit permission. Recorded materials may not be shared outside the cohort.

    You have freedom of choice. Participate at the level that feels safe to you.

    You have the right to privacy. Share only what you want.

    Practice self-care. You are responsible for your own comfort. Ask for what you need.

  • Yes. We ask students to arrive on time, keep cameras on when possible, come to class prepared, respect the learning space, and honor the dignity and humanity of others.

  • We offer the option of enrolling with one half the tuition as a deposit. The balance is due one week prior to the second module. Payment must be current to attend the second module.

  • We have a limited number of scholarships for each training. They are awarded according to need on a first-come, first-served basis. Inquire here.

  • If you withdraw up to two weeks before the training starts you will receive a full refund less $150 cancellation fee. (This provides us time to fill your spot.)

    If you withdraw two weeks prior to the start of the training, you receive a 75% refund.

    If you withdraw after the first module but before the second, you receive a 75% refund.

    No refunds are provided after the second module.

Still have questions?

Get in Touch