This practical online course provides therapists with accessible and trauma-informed approaches to helping clients develop greater awareness and separation from overwhelming internal experiences. Grounded primarily in Internal Family Systems (IFS), the training integrates attachment theory, somatic interventions, and experiential therapeutic techniques to support work with highly protective systems, dissociation, addiction, self-harm, and complex trauma presentations.
Learning Outcomes:
Participants will learn to:
• Understand blending and unblending through an IFS framework
• Recognise signs that clients have become blended with protective or vulnerable parts
• Support emotional regulation and Self-leadership in therapy
• Apply object-based externalization and spatial techniques to help clients create psychological distance from overwhelming emotional states
• Use mapping and visual tools to organise complex internal systems
• Integrate somatic interventions including grounding, orienting, bilateral stimulation, containment, and movement-based approaches
• Adapt interventions for online and in-person therapy settings
• Apply ethical, cultural, and pacing considerations when working with complex trauma and diverse client presentations
Course Structure
Module 1: Foundations of Unblending
Module 2: Object-Based Externalization
Module 3: Mapping and Spatial Mapping
Module 4: Somatic Unblending
Module 5: Integration and Troubleshooting
Presenter:
Colleen West, LMFT
Colleen West is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist, IFS Certified Therapist, and Approved Consultant with more than 20 years of experience working with simple and complex trauma. She specialises in Internal Family Systems (IFS), attachment theory, EMDR, sensorimotor psychotherapy, and trauma-informed therapeutic approaches.
Disclaimer:
The content of this endorsed CPD course is provided by the external course provider. Attendees are encouraged to approach the material with an open mind and consider diverse perspectives, particularly those from lived experiences related to the topics discussed. For feedback regarding the course, please contact the course provider directly.