Interactive IFS

Group Leader Didactic Training

Interactive Group Institute Didactic Training

In this course, you will be trained in how to lead an Interactive IFS Group using didactic presentations about principles and techniques of group leading. Click here for an article for professionals on Interactive IFS Groups.

I have been told by people taking this training that they even learned useful perspectives on group leading that applied to groups they were leading that weren't interactive.

Unlike my other group trainings, these trainings will not also be Interactive Groups. They will be purely lecture and discussion. They are useful for:

People who already have personal experience being a member of or leading an interactive group.
People who become a member of an Institute group along with this training.
People who want a professional introduction to Interactive IFS Groups.
People who want to learn more about leading IFS groups, even if they aren't interactive
People who can't attend or get into a regular training.

People in the training pair up for homework to discuss the material and how it relates to their practice.

The Interactive Group Institute certifies people who have demonstrated competence as Interactive Group leaders. The Institute has a long waiting list of people who want to join an interactive IFS group, so you might be able to lead a group under the Institute as part of your training and then continue with it once you are certified.

I have been leading Interactive Groups for 40 years. I am currently revising my book Interactive Group Therapy to incorporate IFS and other advances in my knowledge of group leading since it was originally written. You will receive this material as I prepare it. I have been teaching experiential courses on IFS for 20 years.

Since Interactive IFS Groups can be either therapy groups or personal growth groups, you don't have to be a therapist to take this training.

Interactive IFS Group Leader Didactic Training

with Jay Earley, PhD

Stay tuned for when the next didactic training will be held.

Course Logistics

Prerequisite: An experiential knowledge of IFS, which means that you use it some with your clients and in your own personal work.
Course meets online twice a month, on Zoom, for 1 1/2 hours
For 12 sessions
Tuition is $500.00.
Recordings of each session will be available on the page for this training.
You can take the course even if you can't attend the meetings. You can watch the recordings, and you can submit questions in writing that Jay will answer.

What People Are Saying About the Interactive IFS Groups:

Dr. F. Towne Allen

Psychotherapist

As a veteran of 30 years of therapies and groups, I have experienced both the mediocre and the masterful in the psychotherapy profession. Never before in such a short time have I received so much growth, power, nurturing, conflict and resolution as I have in Jay’s interactive group. My expectations, already high, have been far exceeded. Jay is consistently present, vulnerable, ego-less, accepting, challenging, available, and impersonally caring. What I had hoped to learn for my clients has been given to me in greater measure personally. Jay’s model is learnable and adaptable. It has affected my psychotherapy work and life.

Jim Spohn

I think it’s a testament to the efficacy of Jay Earley and his relationship group that, unlike some therapy and group experiences I’ve had over the years, I am clearly aware of a number of specific and valuable interpersonal skills I have developed there. I am able to address people in conflict situations in ways that help them hear me without defensive distortions and escalated bad feelings. In turn, I am more able to listen without defensive reactivity. I’ve become aware of lifelong patterns of thinking and behaving that have been problematic for me, and I’ve come to understand their connections to parts of my personality that have been in pain since they were formed in my childhood. Most importantly, I’m learning how to care for and heal those parts. By being able to take in and validate the good feelings people have for me, I have come to appreciate myself more and accept my good qualities. I’ve become a much better friend to myself. I’ve learned the great pleasure of being an authentic person.

Marla Silverman

Ph.D., Director of Training, New York Gestalt Center for Psychotherapy and Training

Jay Earley is a thinker, doer, and trainer in the practice of Gestalt group work. His training groups and workshops have been taken by therapists and trainers from all the major Gestalt training centers in the New York area. California’s gain is New York’s loss! Whether you want to learn how to do group therapy or be a participant, Jay’s gentle style and unique approach will make the difference.