Challenging protectors often arise in IFS therapy as critical voices, defenders, or perceived to be blockers of deeper healing. This training will offer clinicians practical skills to navigate these dynamics and building a connection with protectors with confidence. We will focus on techniques for unblending from challenging protectors, responding to therapist parts that get activated in the process, and building trust-based relationships with protective systems so that our clients can access deeper healing. Through experiential practice and interactive learning opportunities, participants will leave with strategies they can immediately apply in their work.
Kayla Bell-Consolver (she/her) is the owner and founder of Question Kayla, LLC which offers mental health trainings, public speaking, and consultations through an inclusive lens. She is also the Director of the Broadlawns Drake University Student Counseling Center, community mental health advocate, and mental health content creator (Question Kayla on all platforms). She is also She is formally trained in Level 1 Internal Family Systems and has served as a program assistant for several IFS Level 1 Trainings through the IFS institue. Kayla also integrates EMDR and Dialectical Behavioral Therapy with IFS when appropriate with therapy participants. Kayla is passionate about supporting her participants with inner child work, shame, and trauma, with an emphasis on racial and LGBTQ+ trauma. In her free time, Kayla enjoys spending time with her family, powerlifting, playing her clarinet, and collecting a new pair of sneakers.