Full Course Description
IFS-Informed Sex and Couples Therapy with Drs. Frank Anderson and Tammy Nelson
Dr. Frank Anderson and Dr. Tammy Nelson provide a comprehensive exploration of sexuality, trauma, and therapeutic approaches through the lens of Internal Family Systems (IFS) and related modalities. Participants will deepen their understanding of key concepts like erotic recovery, sexual function, attachment wounds, and the integration of parts within clients. The modules emphasize the therapist's role in supporting clients through experiences of sexual trauma, betrayal, identity exploration, and relational repair.
Program Information
Target Audience
- Counselors
- Social Workers
- Psychologists
- Psychotherapists
- Therapists
- Marriage & Family Therapists
- Addiction Counselors
- Case Managers
- Physicians
- Other Mental Health Professionals
Objectives
- Identify the highest energetic vibration in human connection.
- Demonstrate understanding of Eros and Thanatos energy by describing how to balance these forces in a therapeutic or relational context.
- Define the concept of erotic recovery, emphasizing empathy and validation between partners.
- Recognize the most common presenting issue in sex therapy and differentiate it from other sexual relationship challenges.
- Describe the goals of IFS therapy, particularly in relation to Parts.
- Analyze the role of attachment wounds and early caregiver experiences in shaping adult relationship behavior and relational decisions.
- Explain the role of the Self in trauma recovery, particularly in the context of sexual trauma.
- Assess how the Self interacts with various parts internal system.
- Describe how different brain structures, such as the periaqueductal gray and thalamus, contribute to trauma responses and the implications for clinical interventions.
- Differentiate between extreme parts and their roles in trauma responses, including caregiving, wounds, hypo-aroused, and hyper-aroused categories.
- Discuss the psychological and emotional dynamics of forgiveness and monogamy within intimate relationships, emphasizing the role of compassion, integrity, and therapeutic neutrality in the healing process.
- Analyze the process of healing from betrayal and addiction, including necessary therapeutic steps such as establishing safety, disconfirming shame, and releasing maladaptive responses.
- Examine LGBTQ+ identities and issues, including sexual orientation, gender identity, internalized shame, and the mental health professional’s role in affirming care and interdisciplinary collaboration.
Outline
- Introduction
- Module 1
- Integrative Sex and couples/relationship therapy
- Cycle on Intimate Relationships
- Relationship Dysfunction
- Module 2
- Exercise
- IFS
- Goals
- Integration
- Parts
- Sex & Parts
- Module 3
- Self-energy and emotional intimacy
- 8 C’s
- Self and Parts in trauma
- Demo
- Attachment
- Integrating Lost Selves
- Parts with Attachment Trauma
- Partner selection
- Countertransference
- Demo
- Communication
- Module 4
- Parts work for sex and erotic life
- Epigenetics
- Family legacy burdens
- Shame, guilt and the brain
- Module 5
- Parts, Sex and Trauma
- Narrative, Grief and Vision
- Techniques for working with trauma
- Self with Sexual Trauma
- Stages of Healing
- Module 6
- Module 7
- Therapist parts around Sex and Sexuality
- LGBTQIA+
- Gender and identity
- Therapist parts
- The Self/Parts
- Sexual Health
- Module 8
Copyright :
10/02/2024
Broken Trust: Treating Betrayal Trauma in Couples
Beyond affairs, violations in intimate relationships are often the result of more common and seemingly small and innocuous betrayals. And when one or both members of the couple have a trauma history, it can significantly impact their ability to work through betrayals of all kinds. This session will explore how to apply complex PTSD interventions in couples' treatment to help partners work through the initial shock of a betrayal, minimize blame and shame, heal the root trauma, and regain trust in the relationship. In this session, you’ll learn:
- How to prevent couples from re-injuring partners in sessions
- Strategies for creating corrective emotional experiences to regain trust
- How to work with “parts” that get activated and triggered when working with betrayal
- How to integrate the stages of couples’ treatment with IFS informed trauma techniques
Program Information
Objectives
- Execute three steps required for forgiveness to be achieved by someone who has been relationally violated.
- Catalogue the core components of healing relational wounds.
- Assess the qualities of resilience that are necessary for clients to overcome complex PTSD.
Outline
- How understanding the impact of betrayal can guide us clinically in therapy
- Why re-injury can occur in therapy and how to prevent it
- Implementing IFS-based strategies for treating betrayal trauma
- Limitations and Risks of using IFS for betrayal trauma
Target Audience
- Counselors
- Social Workers
- Psychologists
- Marriage & Family Therapists
- Addiction Counselors
- Physicians
- Physician Assistants
- Nurses
- Nurse Practitioners
- Other Mental Health Professionals
Copyright :
03/18/2023
Low-Sex and Sexless Couples
How do you help couples in low-sex and sexless relationships? This recording will uncover where lack of desire originates and how to treat desire discrepancy using contemporary interventions and treatment models. Through real case studies, we’ll focus on three areas that are often at the root of low- or no-sex marriages—pleasure resistance, avoidance, and rejection—and the most effective strategies to help couples achieve sexual empathy and long-term erotic recovery. You’ll discover:
- Techniques to work with couples around desire vs. arousal and performance vs. pleasure
- How to create individualized models for treatment using integrative sex and couples therapy when treating sexual dysfunction
- Clinical strategies for healing arousal dysfunction, renewing and rekindling desire, and integrating a trauma model into your work
- How to address the three areas of pleasure disorder, and why they often involve issues around betrayal, trust, identity, and self-esteem
Program Information
Objectives
- Apply techniques to work with couples around desire vs. arousal and performance vs. pleasure.
- Assess the ins and outs of helping couples create monogamy agreements and other interventions for renewing low- and no-desire relationships.
- Distinguish how attachment-based vs. individuation-based approaches compare when treating sexual dysfunction in couples.
- Use clinical strategies for healing arousal dysfunction, renewing and rekindling desire, and integrating a trauma model into your work.
- Determine how to address the three areas of pleasure disorder, and why they often involve issues around betrayal, trust, identity, and self-esteem.
Outline
- Intro
- Lack of desire in sexless and low-sex couples
- How to treat desire discrepancy
- Desire v arousal
- Performance v pleasure
- Monogamy vs agreement
- Dyads
- Sexual empathy – case study
- Erotic recovery
- Interventions for low and no desire relationships
- Attachment vs individuation - case study
- Clinical strategy for arousal dysfunction, renew and rekindle desire
- Healing trauma and betrayal, trust, identity, self esteem
- Q&A
Target Audience
- Counselors
- Social Workers
- Psychologists
- Psychotherapists
- Therapists
- Marriage & Family Therapists
- Addiction Counselors
- Case Managers
- Physicians
- Nurses
- Other Mental Health Professionals
Copyright :
03/20/2021
Live Q&A Call with Drs. Frank Anderson and Tammy Nelson - IFS-Informed Sex and Couples Therapy
Copyright :
11/05/2025