Foundation volunteers Pamela Krause, LICSW; Jenn Matheson, PhD, LMFT; and Laura Crandall, EdM; supported by Jill Stanzler-Katz, MSW, LICSW, BCD, have been diligently planning “Foundation Friday” for this year’s IFS Annual Conference (October 30 through November 1) to raise greater awareness of the Foundation. In addition to Friday mornings plenary, throughout an all-day atmosphere of fun and frivolity, attendees will be able to bid in a silent auction where all proceeds go towards fulfilling our mission. The Foundation’s Board, led by Chairman Frank Anderson, will be hosting a reception in the foyer prior to the evening’s entertainment of the Rainbow Dance Theatre. Some auction items include: therapy consultation hours; CSL scholarships for: a Level 2 training on Deepening and Expanding and a Level 3 training; handmade jewelry; a sunset cruise; a weekend getaway in the Pocono Mountains, among many others. If you would like to donate something to the silent auction please contact Pamela soon.
During its first full year of operation, 2014, the independent not-for-profit Foundation received $46,375 in total donations, either through direct giving or through our Gala event, which was held at the Annual IFS Conference in November. There were 121 attendees at the 2014 Gala and an additional 59 donors. Gifts hovered around an average of $620 and the median stood at $120. There were several gifts of $5,000. Every member of the volunteer board and the CSL staff made donations. Some non-CSL-led training programs have also sent in voluntary contributions to the Foundation.
These gifts have made possible the awarding of the first research grant, the ongoing development of an IFS-publications database, and the building of basic elements of the operational infrastructure. The Foundation is now set up to accept gifts of equity stocks, and has accepted its first such gift. A planned giving program is currently being set up.
We send a very warm sincere THANK YOU to each and every donor, as we are profoundly grateful for your support.
Michele Bruce will be providing administrative support with Chairman Frank Anderson, MD, and Foundation events. Michele holds a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology from Westfield State University. She began her career in Human Resources at a large medical device company. For two years now, after spending many years as a stay-at-home mother, she has been serving as Assistant to Richard Schwartz, PhD, and Founder of The Center for Self Leadership. She looks forward to lending her creative skills to the Foundation.
Casita Negron Wild will be supporting the work of the Senior Coordinators and Executive Advisor Toufic Hakim, PhD, in the areas of strategic communication and development, research coordination, and general operational and online activities. Casita received a BS in Psychology from the University of Massachusetts, as well as a MA in Higher Education Administration from Lesley University. In 2010 she joined the National Board of Certification for Medical Interpreters, which successfully launched a credentialing certification program, which resulted in legislation in four states. She implemented an online proctoring system to allow international and rural candidates the opportunity take exams remotely. Prior to the National Board she worked at Harvard University’s School of Engineering and Applied Sciences as the Department Administrator. She looks forward to supporting the efforts of the Foundation and contributing to its success.
Did you know that you can make regular contributions to the Foundation through your daily activities without feeling a pinch? Smile.Amazon.com will contribute 0.5% of all of your eligible purchases to our Foundation when you make purchases through Smile.Amazon.com. It’s as simple as selecting the Foundation as beneficiary, a one-time task, and going through Smile.Amazon.com (exact same look and products) each time you purchase. That small percentage adds up with each community members purchases throughout the year. We have received $160 already this year.
OUTLOOK is an occasional bulletin that the Foundation for Self Leadership will publish to share news relevant to IFS, the IFS community, and developments relating to the Foundation. It is not intended to appear solely and passively in the conventional print mode; rather, it is designed to interface with the Foundation’s social media and online platforms. Nor is it a venue for sending information out; it is envisioned more so as an attempt to generate discussions within the community around issues and ideas of general interest and great impact.
The ultimate purpose of OUTLOOK is to support the Foundation’s mission of promoting the notion and agency of Self leadership. By naming it OUTLOOK, we hope it stands as a reminder that IFS is at once an external as much as an internal peace-seeking model, while holding a far-reaching view of the future.
The Foundation is grateful to Volunteer Michelle Glass and Advisor Toufic Hakim, who play key roles in its production, Sylvia Miller for layout and graphic design, and Karen Locke and Laura Taylor for proofreading.
Please share with us such developments or happenings within one of these categories: IFS research, IFS within psychotherapy or programming, and IFS applications beyond psychotherapy. Please complete the form on our website or send general information in a short email to Michelle Glass at outlook@foundationifs.org.
We will reach out to you for additional details or specific guidelines. Thank you for your submissions and helping keep our community apprised of IFS-related endeavors.
Editors of OUTLOOK reserve the right to make final decisions regarding content of OUTLOOK.
Founded in the early 1980’s by family therapist and author Richard Schwartz, PhD, Internal Family Systems (IFS) Therapy suggests that the “inner self” is not a single persona but rather a complex system of distinct parts (thoughts, feelings, and beliefs), each with its own viewpoints, desires and agendas. The main agenda of these parts is to protect us from inner pain generated through developmental and life traumas. The model rejects psychopathology and posits that there is an undamaged Self with healing attributes that is at the core of each individual, even in the presence of extreme behavior.
The model continues to generate growing interest among psychotherapists and practitioners outside the realm of psychotherapy, where it promises a myriad of applications simply as a thought process. Thousands of practitioners have been trained in IFS through a rigorous training program, administered by the Center for Self Leadership; and tens of thousands of therapy clients and workshop attendees have experienced personal transformations through the IFS paradigm. Read more about IFS at FoundationIFS.org.
The Foundation for Self Leadership is an independent, not-for-profit 501(c)(3) organization registered in Illinois, U.S.A. Its mission is to advance IFS research, promote the IFS model far and wide within and beyond psychotherapy, and increase access to IFS trainings through scholarships, especially among groups with limited financial ability.
Board of Directors:
The Board and Foundation are supported by Toufic Hakim, PhD, who serves as Executive Advisor; Mary Mitrovich, providing financial management support; Ashley Curley, who has provided event-planning assistance; and a team of dedicated volunteers.