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 first Unconference of 2026 is happening in 5 days. We hope you join us!
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 (your) word of mouth. Come to the events we organize, tell people about them, bring people that could benefit from them or benefit the events.
PRE-PROPOSED SESSIONS
To whet your appetite, here are some pre-proposed sessions:
IFS and Restorative Justice + IFS As Relational, Systemic, Liberation Theology (Rev. Dr. Celeste Lebak):
Introducing a IFS-Informed Restorative Justice model through a listening circle focused on Self energy, to deepen Self presence, experience group IFS and shared meaning-making, and learn a circle practice you can bring into your own community to strengthen Self energy. IFS As Relational, Systemic, Liberation Theology explores Internal Family Systems as a relational, systemic, liberation theology.
Cultivating witnessing awareness and relational presence with T-group. (Stephanie Corona, Relating Arts):
T-group is an Authentic Relating “game”/ a conversational meditation. We practice present moment witnessing awareness by sharing what it’s like to be me, here with you, now. Expect insights, Self energy, and strengthened relational skills like deep listening, accurate empathy, somatic awareness, and honest in the moment expression.
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.
Saying ‘Thank You’ to our Parts (Maja):
Interactive session where people can give thanks to parts. Loosely framed, mostly intuitively lead. Structure is I speak and initiate some thankfulness gestures, people respond with inner attention if they want to, or simply listen. The response will guide the content. Closes with thankfulness expressed on the outside, among the participants, as seems appropriate.
IFS & Grief (Anja Hilkemeijer):
A Gentle Way for Grief. We’ll get to know our grieving parts, listen for their intentions, their gifts, and what they need, opening space for more compassion and understanding in our inner system.
This AND That > This OR That: Balancing in the Presence of Paradox within IFS and Beyond (Conrad Sichler):
The juiciness in a clinical session or a longer unfolding often feels like it happens somehow balanced on the razor’s edge of paradox - us and another; slow and fast; the known and novel. Come to explore and share around this in IFS and also in and around social justice dimensions of the larger work.
Be Your Creative Self! (Nan Genger, MA, BFA (she/her/hers)):
Let’s explore our internal family with art. Learn art techniques for documenting hurts, helpers, and healing energies (exiles, protectors, Self). Begin with a meditation to access creativity and calm; then have fun with a spontaneous doodle (parts detection); and use your cell phone photographs to create “portraits” of parts and Self.
Nurturing Young Parts (Verbal and Pre Verbal) (IFS Ruth and IFS Ruthie):
In this Session IFS Ruth and IFS Ruth B will demo for 15 minutes IFS work with a Young Part and then invite others in the group to take a turn being the client. Towards the end there will be time for discussion and Q&A. Both Ruth Gaston and Ruth Baigent have backgrounds working with many modalities on their younger parts and have childhood histories of neglect.
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.
This is the living schedule which will be the go-to document to know what session is happening when once the event starts.
Make sure you can access it, and that you know where it is; it will become editable during the event. 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.
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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.