Sugar Free IFS

Interested? Click below to schedule a quick call to get your questions answered & see if it’s the right fit!

Saturday, January 31 • 11-1 pm CT

9 -11 am PT • 10-12 pm MT • 12-2 pm ET • 5-7 pm UK • 6-8 pm Europe

2 hours on Zoom • Not Recorded • Limited to 5 people • $165 investment

In 2002, I started IFS therapy for a severe eating disorder. In only three months of 2x a week IFS sessions, I was cured of this decades-long, severe threat to my health!

Because my IFS journey started with eating issues, I understand how effective IFS can be for addressing the addictive processes that underlie troubled relationships with food.

After overcoming the disordered element of my relationship with food, I still struggled with a SEVERE sugar addiction, which was the underlying driver of my eating disorder. While I no longer binged, I routinely replaced breakfast, lunch or dinner with chocolate chip cookie cake, tres leches cake, ice cream with chocolate sauce, cupcakes, or all other manner of goodies.

As I committed to profound healing using IFS, I gradually unburdened the root cause of my addiction -- the painful beliefs and feelings I was carrying due to childhood trauma. The more I healed psychologically, the more I healed my sugar addiction.

Although it took a lot of work, I'm now on the other side of the addiction and have been processed sugar free for over a year.

Due to the severity of my addictive process, I also do not eat fruit (it can trigger binges for me), so while I don't advocate this for everyone, I support WHATEVER way of eating works to support a sugar-free lifestyle for those seeking it. I've been fruit-sugar free for close to a year as well.

My goal in these IFS groups is to help YOU overcome YOUR sugar addiction, slowly over time, with compassion and the holding of the group to move you towards your goals without judgement.

Self-energy CAN help you overcome even the toughest sugar addiction -- I know, because I am in the top 1% of sugar addicts, so severe I can't eat fruit, and yet I've been able to be completely free of the sweet taste for close to a year now.

This group is NOT a "get over sugar" quick scheme / promise group. It's a loving space to hold your process as you work gently, patiently, and holistically towards the vision of a sugar-free life.

If you are seeking a stronger container to commit completely to a sugar-free life, I recommend joining a specific quit-sugar addiction group with Mike Collins, Vera Tarman or another sugar addiction expert, while also attending this group to round out your support.

This group alone is not likely to be the perfect solution -- it's meant to be a once-a-month touchstone and inner work space that brings kind, caring Internal Family Systems energy into your system as you inquire into your sugar issues, whether you just want to work on them in this group a little at a time, or you want to attend this group while also going sugar-free with other support. I welcome all methods people use and all other supports you have in your life!

If you are looking for an intimate container with other people who are committed to doing deeper inner work, expertly led and companioned along the journey by a master IFS practitioner who has WALKED THIS PATH and knows it inside and out, this group is for you!

IFS Live Online Class

Click Here to Schedule a free chat to see if this group is for you

The DIY classes are currently running à la carte—you can try one and see how you like it without committing to a monthly class series. (If you prefer a smaller, closed group, the more intimate three-person group may be right for you).

Each class has a similar structure; the only difference is the technique or topic we focus on. In this way, it functions as BOTH a learning / teaching class and an ongoing experiential practice group. You can take it once to learn a technique or focus on a topic, then continue to drop in to future groups to continue practicing.

In the group, we will:

-Go inside to connect with our parts
-Share what feels comfortable
-20 minute demonstration of an IFS session
-Share how the demonstration inspired or resonated with us
-We share from the heart, not the head — no judgement or analysis, just authentic responses
-Take 10-15 minutes to practice our own work / journal
-Share our inner work in whatever way feels comfortable
-Close out our time with a word or phrase we are taking away from the experience

Because of the HIGHLY experiential, personal nature of the group, it will not be recorded.

This class is the best fit for:

-Open-hearted people who want to use IFS to heal!
-People who want to learn how to work more deeply with their parts
-IFS lovers who want to learn how to get unblended more easily ON THEIR OWN
-People who want to learn and practice classic IFS externalization techniques like mind mapping, parts sketching, and using finger puppets to personify parts.

We are a very small, intimate group of five who create a supportive, connected community over the sessions of the class.

If you are looking for a place to:

-do deeper work
-with emotionally mature, IFS-savvy folks
-in a safe container
-of mutual support and encouragement

I invite you to consider this group!

If you want to learn more about it, sign up for a free Zoom call with me. I do a Zoom with everyone who takes a class, so you have a sense of safety with me coming in to the class, to find out if it's the right fit, and to have your questions answered!

https://calendly.com/melissas/complimentary-consultation-with-melissa

Testimonial:

“Melissa’s Deeper Intimacy with Your Self (DIY) IFS courses gave me a quantum leap in my inner work practice. Before, although I had a daily journaling practice, I was pretty reliant on life coaching for doing deep work. Now, thanks to the DIY IFS beginner and advanced course, I have the skills to be my own therapist. My own practice and my relationship with myself are so much deeper, more trusting, and more productive. The courses epitomize Melissa’s motto, “Work smarter, not harder,” making inner work more fun and more efficient. Every part of me recommends them with great enthusiasm. They have totally changed my life!”
— Liv Love

Click Here to Schedule a free chat to see if this group is for you

Let Go of Sugar Using IFS!

Saturday, January 31, 2026

11-1 pm CT

2 hours on Zoom • Not Recorded • Limited to 5 people • $165 investment

Our Group Structure:

Introductions

Going inside/ Journaling
We will begin as all IFS gatherings do, by going inside to connect to ourselves and center. Feel free to journal.

Sharing
A spacious check-in

Demo
A twenty-minute IFS demonstration about issues related to sugar addiction -- all parts welcome in this process!

Heartfelt feedback about the demo
How we were inspired or resonate with the work

Practice
Time to do do your own practice getting to know your parts in whatever ways work for you (journaling, sketching, etc)

Sharing
Time to share any insights you want to share

Closing
After that, we’ll close with a word or phrase we’re taking with us

One of the ways people learn IFS best is through IFS demonstrations.

I have witnessed over 100 in-person IFS demonstrations by the founder of IFS, Richard Schwartz, during the 15 years I dedicated to learning IFS (including taking 13 level 3 trainings with him).

I truly believe simply watching IFS sessions is a very powerful way to get it IN YOUR BONES and to begin to live and breathe the IFS approach. Make it come alive in you! Watch it IN ACTION!

I also believe our mirror neurons benefit from the entrainment of watching other people’s parts receive and respond to Self-energy. It gives them permission and hope that they, too, can do it.

In the spirit of dynamic, experiential learning, this group features a demonstration and time to do your own practice.

Does any of this sound familiar?

"I enjoy parts work with my practitioner / coach / therapist, but then I don’t tend to check in with them between sessions.”

"I want to be able to connect more deeply with my parts but my protectors won’t let me.”

“I just don’t feel like journaling.”

“I want to learn from someone who has experience working directly with their parts on their own. I don’t want to just read about the IFS steps from a book.”

“I’d like to connect with other like-minded people who also see IFS as a way of life, not merely something theoretical they’re learning to use with clients.”

If you resonate with any of these statements, then this course is ideal for you!

Imagine having a 23-year expert in IFS support you in developing your OWN relationship to your parts, using techniques to unblend BY YOURSELF! You’ll learn how to:

• Develop your OWN personal IFS practice that works for YOU, not some step-by-step idea out of a book

• Address common pitfalls in working by yourself, on yourself.

• Get questions answered right when they arise, before they begin blocking your work

• Bring compassion to your DIY IFS process

• Provide Self-energy to enhance yours, to create more access to deeper parts

• Help you make IFS a way of life, not just something you do one hour a week in therapy

• Build a supportive community: Connect with other IFS folks and also to other IFS resources

Details

In the IFS for Quitting Sugar group, you’ll use a common coaching technique to address your problem: FOCUS. We are gathering together once a week to focus on one thing: our relationship to sugar!

This is a tough area for most parts, and it can’t be forced: managers can’t white knuckle it when firefighters want to go to Sweet Mandy B's (one of my sugar emporiums of choice here in Chicago).

We need to address it HOLISTICALLY from a systems perspective, working compassionately with ALL THE PARTS involved to shift things slowly, with PERMISSION from your system to make SMALL CHANGES, that over time, lead to BIG RESULTS.

By focusing SPECIFICALLY on sugar and sweets addiction issues with fellow IFS folks, you’ll be able get targeted insight into what is holding you back in making the choices your soul is longing to make.

You’ll also receive immediate feedback from Melissa and be inspired by your fellow IFS lovers— you’re not alone in this journey of Self-discovery!

By the end of this course, you will have:

More clarity about basic IFS skills
More all-around insight into the dynamics of your firefighters and managers around sugar
At least one action step to move you forward in your journey to a better relationship with this area of your life!

About Melissa

Learn from a 23-year IFS Expert:

Melissa Sandfort has been an IFS Certified Practitioner since 2010.

From 2002-2017, Melissa dedicated herself to learning IFS from the inside out, taking 20 IFS trainings with the Institute for Self-Leadership. Specifically:

• 2 Level 1 IFS trainings

• 5 Level 2 IFS trainings, including all 3 levels of Intimacy from the Inside Out

• 13 Level 3 IFS trainings with Richard Schwartz

With over 1,000 hours of in-person training with the founder of IFS, Richard Schwartz, and over 2,350 hours of IFS training including dozens of retreats and workshops, she has a depth of IFS training few can match!

However, what truly sets her apart is her profound personal commitment to the practice of IFS in her own life.

Building on a very solid foundation of IFS training, she has slowly increased her capacity to do IFS by herself, on herself, and now has a daily self-IFS practice of 2-3 hours of intensive IFS work on herself every day.

She has currently done over 8,000 hours of her own, personal IFS work. And that number increases by 730+ hours a year!

To get a sense of this work, you can listen to a free podcast of one of her personal IFS sessions.

As a passionate advocate of the power of IFS to transform lives, unravel trauma, and help us all come home to our Self, Melissa is dedicated to sharing her IFS expertise in the most creative and loving ways possible!

To that end, she offers her own work as a model for how to achieve Deeper Intimacy with Yourself (DIY) with IFS! She has two Substacks where she shares this work:

Radical IFS - https://radicalifs.substack.com/about

Radical IFS podcast - https://radicalifs.substack.com/podcast

This class is your chance to learn from a Master IFS practitioner about how to work with your own parts, based on decades of radically intense IFS practice.

FAQ

What is the refund policy?

There are no refunds. You can transfer your registration to another class at any time in the future if an emergency comes up and you need to reschedule.

I have done everything I can to provide an affordable class full of value.

I put my heart into all my classes. It actually breaks my heart when people want a refund, and I can’t put so much love and care into my classes and then be heartbroken when people ask for refunds. Therefore, I have a no-refund policy for all my classes!

This keeps my heart and my parts safe, so that I can be vulnerable and excited about offering what I offer.

If a refund policy is important to you, I am the wrong teacher for you! I give everything I can, and in return I ask that you honor me by thinking before buying a course so that it is the right match for you.

Thanks for understanding!

Class Safety Agreement

Clarity about our purpose:

To deepen our capacity to do IFS and to develop our Self-leadership as human beings.

Choice:
You are free to censor what you disclose. No is a complete sentence. Choose to share ONLY what you feel comfortable with.

Confidentiality:
All material everyone shares should not be shared with people who are not members of this group, even if you don’t use their name. You’d be surprised how far stories can travel. To read more, visit https://www.athousandpaths.com/safety-story.

Speak up for Safety:
If you are having difficulty with something that’s triggered you, PLEASE speak for your parts, either directly in the group or as soon as you can afterwards. Please LISTEN to your parts when they tell you what they need in order to feel safe. Safety is our number one value. When you speak for your safety needs, you speak for the safety needs of the whole group.

Speaking for parts, not from parts:
To the extent that you can, speaking for parts, not from them, will help us maintain safety when sharing in the group.

Embodying parts:
During coaching demos, in distinction to other times during the group, feel free to speak FROM parts and to experiment with embodying them. The difference between blending and embodying is: when you are blended, you are in a part and you don’t know you are in a part. When you embody a part, you are in a part and YOU and the part BOTH know you are ‘being’ the part.

No Coercion:
"Thank you, for letting me, be myself!” In this group, there is “no crosstalk.” This means when one person shares, no one judges, gives advice, or reacts against what they shared.

Feedback: Share how you are inspired or how you resonate with others. DO NOT share judgement, advice, or criticism. If you criticize others in the class, I reserve the right to determine that you may not be the right fit for my classes. Thank you for understanding.

https://radicalifs.substack.com offers endless examples of how parts crosstalk and then repair, if you’re interested in a deeper dive.

Timeliness:
We commit to start and end on time. We start on time; this increases safety and strengthens the container.

Support and responsibility:
Ultimately, the only person who can keep you fully safe in a group is you. I want to do everything I can to make this group a safe space to learn, to go inside, and to share, in whatever ways feel right for you — but you are responsible for listening to the sometimes difficult-to-hear voices who tell you what they REALLY need to be safe.

You are not crazy if you get triggered, it’s ULTRA NORMAL in IFS work. So take care of yourself, and possibly give yourself extra support on days when you do IFS!

Thank you for your commitment to this safety agreement!

In Internal Family Systems parts work, so many of our issues turn out to be more complex than we at first expect. If only it were as easy as saying, “I want to stop snacking at night” and then doing it. Yeah, right!

For many of us, inner conflicts make it hard to change our habits to healthier ones. Firefighters stay up at night eating cookies. I know I've said, "I'll just take one more spoonful of honey" out of the jar, and turned into Winnie the Pooh. Pretty soon, all the honey is gone! And that’s just the beginning!

Pretty soon managers are criticizing, which pushes the firefighters to eat more, and we're off to the races. It's a daily battle. And it's not about white knuckling it because although we can do that for a few days, I know for me when the weekends came around or I had a few days off, it was just too much...too much empty space...things came up...and I needed sweets to keep them down.

So it’s not about the next commitment to stop. It’s not about knowing what we should do. It’s about our parts and the deeper conflicts they’re working out / taking out on our sweet tooth, our bodies, and our health.

It’s about taking time to really HEAR our parts and begin to come into relationship with them, so we can PARTNER WITH THEM to address the deeper issues that are coming out sideways in our sugar eating habits.

Which is why I am committed to creating a safe, supportive space for you to spend some time with your parts around these issues of sugar addiction. It's not the easiest work, but in the long run, addressing the ROOT CAUSES of the addiction with supportive approaches like IFS is better than endlessly cycling through trying / failing to quit over and over.

More Class Safety Information Here

Melissa’s Deeper Intimacy with Your Self courses gave me a quantum leap in my inner work practice.

Before, although I had a daily journaling practice, I was pretty reliant on life coaching for doing deep work.

Now, thanks to the DIY IFS beginner and advanced course, I have the skills to be my own therapist.

My own practice and my relationship with myself are so much deeper, more trusting, and more productive.

The courses epitomize Melissa’s motto, “Work smarter, not harder,” making inner work more fun and more efficient.
Every part of me recommends them with great enthusiasm. They have totally changed my life!

— Liv Love

Receive inner work tips and news about workshops

Subscribe to the Tuesday newsletter