Inner Sanctuary Institute
November 2026 - February 2027 |
Starting at $3,990IFS Clergy Training
INNER SANCTUARY LEVEL 1DOWNLOADWhat to ExpectOver approximately 120 hours of intensive training, you'll be guided by a select group of experienced IFS informed Clergy trainers. The program is structured so that there is plenty of time for supported small practice groups, with a participant-to-staff ratio of 3:1. This setup allows you to practice IFS in both minister and congregant roles within small breakout groups, providing you with the opportunity to hone your skills in a safe, supportive environment.
❋ PART ONE (ONLINE)November 9-13, 2026Part One introduces the core assumptions and structure of Internal Family Systems as a spiritually resonant, non-pathologizing model of the human inner world. Emphasis is placed on Self leadership, sacred multiplicity, and the alignment between IFS and faith traditions that affirm inherent goodness, dignity, and relational healing.
This part establishes shared language, safety, consent, and group norms, and begins the work of translating IFS concepts into each participant’s own faith vocabulary.
❋ OPTIONAL ADD-ON (IN-PERSON)January 9-10, 2027The optional add-on experience will give participants a deeper experience with IFS-informed circles, as well as a grounded educational experience.
This experience is an extension of the in-person learning during Part Two.
Includes: Private Guided walking tour with an expert of Historic Greenwood, Private Lecture from a Descendant, entrance into the Greenwood Rising Black Wall Street History Center, dinner together as a group at a local restraunt in the Greenwood area, an opportunity to attend church on Sunday Morning at one of several churches including Vernon AME or Mt. Zion or House Church Tulsa (among others), a lunch with House Church Tulsa and Experience of how they use IFS at church in a group setting.
❋ PART THREE (ONLINE)February 8-12, 2027Part Three deepens engagement with protector systems, burdens, and the relational dynamics that shape spiritual life, leadership, and community. Participants learn to recognize how theology, culture, and trauma become embedded as burdens carried by parts, and how IFS offers a faithful pathway for healing without bypass or coercion.
Special attention is given to legacy and cultural burdens, spiritualized protectors, and the ways faith communities often unknowingly reinforce polarized inner systems. Participants observe and reflect on facilitated demonstrations of IFS work within a faith-informed context.
❋ PART TWO (IN-PERSON)January 11-15, 2027Part Two is an in-person intensive centered on IFS as an embodied, relational way of living within faith, leadership, and community life. Emphasis is placed on presence, discernment, facilitation, and integration rather than technique.
Participants practice in IFS-informed IFS-RJ circles, receive feedback, and reflect on how Self leadership reshapes pastoral presence, preaching, teaching, and communal authority.
All the Details❋ Lodging $109 per night discounted rate @ Hyatt Regency when booked through our link. Optional early arrival and late departure available. *$400 Commuter fee applied if not staying at the Hyatt to cover conference fees.
❋ ELIGIBILITYSpiritual Leaders working in relationship with an organization (church, synagogue, mosque, chaplaincy setting). This training is designed for practicing clergy. Other trainings for ministers in formation and lay leadership will be available later in 2027.
❋ TUITION$3,990 + lodging
+$600 for optional add-on experience
❋ APPLICATIONAccepting applications on a rolling basis until filled. Limited spaces available.
Thank you!
Join a cohort experience with online live participation and in-person learning (with an optional in-person additional experience).
PART ONE (ONLINE)Foundations of IFS as Spiritual Practice
November 9-13, 20269:00am – 5:00pm CST
Participants will be able to:
Describe the origins and core assumptions of Internal Family Systems.
Articulate the non-pathological view of human multiplicity and the concept of Self.
Identify and describe the qualities of Self energy.
Differentiate Self leadership from parts-led spirituality or leadership.
Identify managers, firefighters, and exiles as relational roles rather than moral categories.
Explain unblending as a spiritual and relational practice.
Demonstrate the Six Fs as an inwardly practiced spiritual discipline.
Map their own inner system using IFS-informed language.
Identify resonances between IFS and their own faith tradition’s understanding of human nature, sin, goodness, or suffering.
Participate in and reflect on IFS-informed circles as a communal spiritual practice.
OPTIONAL ADD-ON (IN-PERSON)Educational Experience
January 9-10, 2027LodgingTransportationTuitionTulsa Race Massacre ExperienceThe PracticeJanuary 9, 9:00amJanuary 9, 1:00pmJanuary 10, 10:30amStarts at 9:00am CST on January 9
Post Oak Lodge, with discount rates available for nights of January 8-9
Use code ISI2026 for discounted group rate
Transportation provided to and from events if staying at Post Oak Lodge
+$600
Experience includes museum entrance and private Greenwood walking tour.
Join our monthly gathering at House Church Tulsa.
Sunday Morning ServicesOptional time to join the Sunday morning services
PART TWO (IN-PERSON)The Practice, Circles, and Embodied Integration
January 11-15, 2027LodgingTransportation9:00am – 5:00pm CST
Hyatt Regency Downtown Discounted rates $109/ per night early a
Transportation provided to and from events if staying at Post Oak Lodge
Participants will be able to:
Describe The Practice as a daily, relational, and spiritual discipline.
Demonstrate Self-led presence in circles and group processes.
Facilitate IFS-informed circles with attention to consent, pacing, and safety.
Identify and unblend leadership parts that interfere with presence or discernment.
Articulate how Self leadership reframes spiritual authority and pastoral care.
Integrate IFS language into preaching, teaching, and spiritual formation without clinical framing.
Recognize common polarizations within faith communities and describe Self-led responses.
Reflect on endings, integration, and continuation as spiritual processes.
Develop a personal framework for ongoing integration of IFS and faith.
Articulate ethical boundaries between spiritual leadership, therapy, and community care.
PART THREE (ONLINE)Protectors, Burdens, and Healing in Faith Communities
February 8-12, 20279:00am – 5:00pm CST
Participants will be able to:
Describe the origins and core assumptions of Internal Family Systems.
Articulate the non-pathological view of human multiplicity and the concept of Self.
Identify and describe the qualities of Self energy.
Differentiate Self leadership from parts-led spirituality or leadership.
Identify managers, firefighters, and exiles as relational roles rather than moral categories.
Explain unblending as a spiritual and relational practice.
Demonstrate the Six Fs as an inwardly practiced spiritual discipline.
Map their own inner system using IFS-informed language.
Identify resonances between IFS and their own faith tradition’s understanding of human nature, sin, goodness, or suffering.
Participate in and reflect on IFS-informed circles as a communal spiritual practice.
Meet the TeamLead Trainers
Margaret Conley, LCSW, MDiv
Margaret L. Conley, LCSW, MDiv, (She/Her/Hers), is the Executive Director of MLC Consulting, LLC, and the President of Mending Life Concepts Empowerment Group, Inc. She is a Licensed Clinical Social worker in Georgia, Alabama, and Tennessee where she provides crisis services and trauma-focused clinical therapy. Margaret is trained as a trauma therapist in Internal Family Systems, Somatic Experiencing, Brainspotting, EMDR, and Adlerian Play Therapy. Margaret is a Certified Daring Way™ Facilitator and LEGO® Serious Play® Facilitator. Margaret is a Certified Mental Health First Aid Instructor endorsed by the National Council for Mental Wellbeing.
Margaret produced an evidence-based model which is a clinically aligned theological method designed for use by clergy, academics, and clinicians to help lead the conversation around Faith-Based Trauma in individual and community settings. She is the founder of Healthy and Holy® Conversations and the producer of the Healthy & Holy® Summit.
Margaret received her Bachelor of Art focused on Sociology and Anthropology with a concentration in child welfare services from Valdosta State University. She received her Master of Social Work degree from Clark Atlanta University in 2009. Margaret completed her Master of Divinity from the Interdenominational Theological Center in 2013.
Jory Agate, LMHC, MDiv, MA
Jory Agate, LMHC, MDiv, MA, is both a certified IFS therapist and IFS assistant trainer.
Jory has been a student of IFS for over 10 years and has logged thousands of hours with a wide variety of patient populations. As an assistant trainer for the Center for Self Leadership (CSL), the IFS organization founded by IFS creator Richard Schwartz, PhD, Jory presents IFS workshops around the country and abroad. She maintains a long affiliation with CSL and their passion to educate mental health professionals worldwide.
She has successfully used IFS principles in a variety of cases and understands the real-world application of this effective treatment modality. As a speaker, Jory offers a unique blend of technical understanding of theory and clinical expertise, providing learners with comprehensive knowledge of the IFS approach.
Her private practice is located Cambridge, MA where she specializes in working with trauma, attachment, families, couples, sexuality and identity, and parenting. She received her counseling degree from Lesley University, Cambridge, MA. Previously, she had a 20-year career in Unitarian Universalist ministry.
Rev. Dr. Celeste Lebak
An ordained Unitarian Universalist minister and Internal Family Systems practitioner specializing in trauma-informed spiritual care and the intersection of mental health and spiritual formation. She holds a Doctor of Ministry and brings more than twenty years of experience across parish ministry, prison, hospital, and social justice chaplaincy.
Dr. Lebak is the founder of the Restorative Justice Institute of Oklahoma and the Inner Sanctuary Institute, where she develops IFS-informed education for clergy, chaplains, and religious organizations. Her work integrates contemplative practice, systems awareness, and attention to internal multiplicity, with a focus on religious leaders who can offer grounded, ethically attuned presence within complex institutional settings.