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History of LiveIFS & My Practice

Hoping to become an IFS practitioner by following in my footsteps? A warning:

This experiment has an n=1. I’ve researched best practices around “how to learn/practice”, and consistently apply them, but the same protocol might yield 10x or 10% of the results for someone else. You can find IFS playmates without publishing your work.

Eager to heal/grow through IFS by following in my footsteps? There are shorter paths!

I’m learning to guide others, and although some mutual growth occurs, it’s not the most efficient way to heal thyself. If I could go back a couple years, I’d focus more on my inner work. Insight there is always useful in guiding others, but the inverse is not always true.

2024

Q2: All about health; base of pyramid.

Q1: Make arrangements to live in Vietnam. Simplify all podcast processes

2023

Q4: Focus on my health, go to Vietnam. (3 Week break from LiveIFS)

Q3: Connect Engage privately, find IFS buddies. Update daily solo practice

  • July – Visit every regular meeting group I can find
  • July – Find new mentor/buddy since Kerpelman is on maternity leave
  • July – Implement booking calendar version 3 (no more shortages / contending for spots). Works!
  • July – Co-create termination guidelines.
  • July – Meet w Christine Dixon, join her weekly meetings and practitioner groups. Download tons of her recordings cuz she’s great.
  • July – Reached out to famous person re LiveIFS. Fun.
  • Aug – Sign up as guide for Laurie Chancey’s group, then decide I’d rather be student for now.
  • Aug – Get clear on intentions/boundaries w Discord
  • Aug – Encouraged Discorders to adopt publish names. Now they know who they’re talking to.
  • Aug – Contacted every single person that matched google: IFS + Vietnam
  • Aug – Started daily “office hours” voice chat on Discord.
  • Sep – Recommit to “Expert Session Review” 3+/week habit, still a lot to learn.
  • Sep – Started new secret podcast. Recording my parts work. Unpublished, but motivating!
  • Sep – Meet w Alicia Jackson
  • Sep – Settle on favorite groups, get them on *green* (not just ‘maybe’) calendar.

Q2: Promote publicly

  • Abandon Main Goal early in the quarter. Making numbers go up doesn’t help me or the people I’m working with. Also not worth the unpleasant engagement w gatekeepers.
  • April – Create monitoring service and 3x/week practice of checking for new IFS content (mostly on youtube). Increase review expert sessions to 3-5x/week
  • June – Milestone: Finally forgot to hit record on call. 362 in a row!
  • May – Finalize audio flashcard system, establish twice/week audio flashcard review
  • June – Publish something new: #250 – James, Solo
  • June – Record another Live LiveIFS with Clare
  • June – Design Booking Calendar iteration #3, to implement in Aug
  • June – Reduce available hours to avoid calls when tired
  • June – Increase to 6-7 calls per week, an experiment
  • Increase/modify prep time/habits for calls, seems like #1 correlate re being present
  • May – Reduce to 2.5 Mornings/week reserved for this project, add one for taking care of me

Q1: Deliberate practice, Review sessions w mentors

  • Propose to 20-30 pros. Work with 5 or more, primarily Emily Kerpelman.
  • Compile all IFS notes into sane system
  • First time taking 2 weeks off from calls. Closer to 3 weeks off of project (not that I quit telling people about it in Vietnam)
  • New habit: review previous call immediately before todays call.
  • Stop working with Non-IFS Coach. Design AI coach.
  • Jan – Try “office hours”, hanging out in Discord voice chat room. Fun!
  • Jan – Start creating Audio Flashcards

2022

Q4: Get great at IFS, create “Master’s Program”

  • Pause “Showcase pros” project
  • Interview teachers and doctors of clinical psychology, start designing course
  • Design “IFS competencies” feedback form to solicit pro feedback
  • Integrate Tony Rousmaniere’s “Deliberate Practice for Psychologists”, get his approval of course design
  • Finish designing private knowledgebase & flashcards
  • Diagnose chronic physical ailment interfering with Self-presence in calls
  • Begin formal (solo) deliberate practice sessions, share scoreboard with coach
  • Receive session review from Percy Ballard
  • Hire Bill Tierney as coach/mentor

Q3: “Retire” from biz, Get good at IFS

  • Aug – Publish 100th LiveIFS episode
  • Aug 30 – Start seeking mentor, Percy Ballard appears on calendar
  • Sept – Add “Anonymous feedback” form to episode description
  • Sept – Poll Discord audience for direction, agree with top result (the one most focused on improving my practice)
  • Sept – Publish “Discover IFS” podcast

Q2: Showcase pros & quit anything that isn’t IFS (or supporting it)

  • Create reddit.com/r/IFS_sessions
  • April – Publish non-LiveIFS sessions database
  • April – Lucas Forstmeyer says yes
  • May – Test ~12 audio engineers, Hire Ivan
  • June – Hire ICF-style coach for accountability re: IFS projects
  • Through next quarter – Contact ~168 Pros to showcase

Q1: Establish IFS Dojo

  • Transcribe, diagram pro sessions
  • Start attending Bill Tierney’s group, abandon Q goal
  • Become moderator reddit.com/r/internalfamilysystems 
  • Feb – Begin publishing every other day
  • March – Research “Free and open‐source therapy”, meet w Gita Kiper 
  • March – Quit public knowledgebase project, publish “Free Resources” on Notion
  • March 18 – First Pro showcase call recorded (Bill Tierney)

2021

Q4: Get Good At IFS 

  • Oct 14 – Publish LiveIFS podcast first calls
  • Oct 29 – First recorded triad with supervisor – not published
  • Nov – Start building public knowledgebase
  • Nov 30 – Quit work with supervisor
  • Nov – Begin contacting pros to showcase, Lucas Forstmeyer says no

Q3: Unrelated to IFS (Help microschools w tech, start blog re: Accountability)

  • Join IFS-Institute’s circle program. Good, but equivalent resources are freely available
  • July 31 – purchase LiveIFS.com
  • Aug – Start booking callers daily
  • Aug – Test ~20 audio engineers. Hire Zikri
  • Sept – Quit accountability blog project
  • Sept-Jan – Daily blogging re: my parts work. Not published as of Dec ’22
  • Sept – Contact ~73 IFS pros in search of supervisor. Hire one
  • Sept 10 – create Intro / Outtro for podcast
  • Sept 27 – Decide to stop seeking highlights of calls, instead focus on the challenging spots

Q2: Unrelated to IFS (Plan visit microschools)

  • May – IFS zoom calls with IFS Guide (Facebook)
  • Start using Discord, join IFS servers. 
  • June – Begin recurring peer work
  • Experience first of my own exile unburdenings
  • June – Record my first demo to share publicly 
  • June – Start daily practice: reviewing expert sessions first thing – still at it, Dec ’22

Q1: Unrelated to IFS (Create student-led documentary module for microschools)

  • Jan – Tim Ferris interviews Dick Schwartz. I learn that IFS is not pseudoscience. 
  • Feb – Quit former passion project (podcast about alternative education)