Unconference?
An “Unconference” is a participant-driven meeting. The agenda is created by the attendees at the beginning of the event. Anyone who wants to initiate a discussion on a topic can claim a time and a space. See more here.
Our final Unconference of 2025 is happening in 9 days.
We hope you are as excited as we are.
But before we start: if you like what we do, if you like what you are reading, share it with others, and/or subscribe. We rely on word of mouth. Come to the events we organize, tell people about them, bring people that could benefit from them or benefit the events.
If you really like what we’re doing, you can book a 1:1 session with one of us to find out what it’s like to work with us. Subscribe to receive updates when we post content or about our events:
PRE-PROPOSED SESSIONS
To whet your appetite, here are some pre-proposed sessions:
Journey to Self (Rebecca Cooper):
I see the Journey to Self as a way of connecting to the Soul. Each person‘s traumas have shaped them for a unique purpose. It is by acknowledging our parts and healing the traumas of the exiles that we can come into alignment with the Soul/Self, so we can live our meaning and purpose in life and help others with their journey.
AI + IFS (Teo Embers):
IFS works better when our clients practice in between sessions, but this can be difficult. We’ve built the most advanced IFS-inspired AI on the market that extends client’s ability to do solo sessions. In this workshop you’ll get to see a live Demo of someone working with this AI, and then get access to it yourself.
Exploring IFS Through the Lens of the Akashic Records (Emy SoRelle):
The Akashic Records is the energetic space that holds all our soul’s history - and this includes the history and needs of all of our parts. In this session you’ll have the opportunity to ask questions to the Akashic Records and Guides, such as broader philosophical questions about Self, parts, and other things IFS, or specific questions about your own parts or trailheads and how to best help them.
Nondual IFS - the why and the how. (Dr Laura Patryas (Liinashakti)):
Following the success of this presentation at the IFS conference, this session explores how, in therapy, the Self is not a separate entity but a living wave of awareness co-creating the healing field. Therapist, client and their shared presence form an invisible yet palpable field that transmits connection, safety and transformation, often without effort or deliberate unblending.
Guides in IFS (Melissa Sandfort, IFSCP):
Learn about guides from a 23-year IFS mystic who has had two near death experiences and has long-term experience with guides and higher realms! We’ll center, I’ll do a short demo, and discuss in a field of Self-energy!
The Integration of Unburdened Parts into the System (Adam Sweeney):
Explore how unburdened parts—often overlooked in IFS—can become powerful allies when reintegrated. This session highlights the healing potential of welcoming these exiled yet resourceful parts back into the system, expanding the focus beyond burdened parts to support fuller internal connection and growth.
How to access grief using IFS (Mark Saltzman):
This class explores how grief manifests physically in the body and teaches you to connect with the protective parts that hold these feelings using Internal Family Systems (IFS) principles. You’ll learn compassionate techniques to identify, listen to, and befriend the parts of yourself carrying grief, fostering deeper healing and self-awareness.
Somatic Compassion: An IFS-Informed Healing Practice (Sanjara):
Somatic Compassion uses soothing touch and focused attention to shift the nervous system into safety, making IFS work more accessible and effective. This session introduces simple techniques to reduce activation, support protectors, and help parts feel seen and supported.
The Gift of the Holidays (Pau and Alex):
The end of the year and the holidays are close. Can we thrive in the festive season and not just survive it? We will explore how to prep, make the most of, maybe even look forward to the festive season, without setting the expectation of “this has to be merry” that has worked always oh so well in the past. (That was irony)
Tapping into Joy, Pleasure, and Desires (Pau and Alex):
Pleasure, fun, joy, desire: we all want that, right? At least a bit? In theory?
Then how come it is so hard?
Let’s explore together, share ways to lighten the grips, the “have-to”, the “should not”, and some of the related parts.
This could be even fun.
Please keep in mind that these are proposals: the Unconference is a participatory event, people can change their mind, not show up, propose something completely different, partner up with someone else, or decide they prefer to join a session instead of giving one.
Come to find out.
Do you want to propose a session?
You can do this during the event.
Do you have someone in mind that really, absolutely should come and bring their content?
Please let them know. Above all if you think they would enjoy it.
Do I have to propose a session/topic to participate?
Nope! Bring as much as you want, and can. Anyone is welcome to just join the proposed sessions. (Many get inspired to propose something once they see others do it. No pressure, of course!)
HOW TO PREPARE
Nothing really to prepare in advance, as it is participatory and co-created.
Everything that follows is to make sure you are actually able to join.
If you have a topic you want to bring, that’s plenty. It can be an open discussion, a workshop, an idea for a workshop, a question. They often emerge totally improvised during the event, when we realize that “oh, now I want to share/exchange about […]”.
We will be using Zoom.
Please make sure that:
you have an account, you know the user name and password, and that you can access it
that Zoom is installed and up to date
you use a computer or laptop, as navigating the schedule on a smaller device is challenging. With around 200 participants, it’s almost impossible to offer 1:1 technical support.1
Check your time zone. We start at 16:00 CET / 10:00 ET, we do not know when that is in your time zone, unless you are in CET or ET.
Follow the link for the times in different time zones. Please make sure about yours. People have been disappointed in the past about missing the event, and there is not much we can do about that.
(We do not record the event.)
This is the living schedule.
Make sure that you can access it. We will use it to co-create the program. It will become editable during the event.2
Please note the times are indicative, until we start the event. If you show up for a specific time slot, it could be already started, or happening 20’ later. Please give or take around 20’ for the times, apart from the starting time. We start on time.
We also have an FAQ, and you can find out more about the event on our website or, just email us at hello@ifs-collective.com.
Most of all: get excited, and share the enthusiasm
Share the event, tell people, or just come yourself.
THE USUAL DISCLAIMERS
This is NOT an official IFS-Institute training, or a setting for receiving therapeutic work.
A COMMERCIAL INTERLUDE
We do not organize the Unconference to make money, and yet some of our parts like being able to pay for bills and food. We do that by offering IFS therapy and IFS coaching sessions. (See here if you are curious about the difference; we will write a longer post about it someday). So if you feel called, or know someone that wants to dip into this world, feel free to explore booking a session with one of us.
See you at the Unconference!
really: it is hard, almost impossible on a phone (hard on a tablet too). The buttons are hard to find. We cannot help because a) we will be facilitating and b) we will not be on a phone.
Please do yourself a favor and use a bigger device.
maybe you are wondering why. In the past, people manage to somewhat change the content in a way we could not recover, AFTER some other humans had proposed sessions.
We scrambled and went back to a previous emptier version.
We would prefer to avoid this from now on.
The Eventbrite ticket says it’s for October. What is the date in December? Should I buy the October ticket?