Legacy & Cultural Burdens

Ann Sinko and Dick Schwartz

Legacy and cultural burdens are ubiquitous; we all have legacy burdens that have been passed down the generational line and have absorbed burdens from the culture we grew up in. Understanding and having the tools and skill to work with the impact of unresolved generational trauma and protector driven systems (both internally and externally) is needed in therapy.

This program will help the IFS therapist understand the dynamics that create legacy burdens and the patterns that support the multigenerational transmission process. An IFS protocol will be taught for unburdening legacy and cultural burdens as well as honing the therapists’ legacy burden detector.

This learning program was held live in Fall 2023. You can now access a recorded version of the program and learn at any time, at your own pace. During each module, you’ll first watch a teaching video with Ann Sinko which includes experiential exercises. Then you’ll learn from IFS Founder Dick Schwartz, either by reviewing video demos of his work with clients or by watching as he provides case consultations. Finally, at the end of each module, you’ll watch a recording of Ann’s live event in which she answered learners’ questions.

An IFSI Certificate of Completion will be available upon completion of this program. Your completion status will be tracked automatically as you progress through the program modules. Once you have completed all program modules, and watched all videos in their entirety, you will receive a Certificate that acknowledges you have received 14 IFS Credits for completing this program. Professional continuing education credits are not currently available for this learning program.

Note: Materials and methods included in this course may include interventions or practices that are beyond your scope of practice. As a professional in your given field, you are responsible for reviewing the scope of practice, including activities that are defined by applicable law as beyond the boundaries of your practice, and applying your learning in compliance with your professional standards.

Meet Your Instructors

Ann Sinko

Ann L. Sinko, LMFT has over 30 years of clinical experience. She has been an adjunct professor in the marriage and family therapy program at Central Connecticut State University for 26 years. Ann has integrated IFS in all facets of her creative work with families, couples, individuals, and groups. She establishes a safe environment in which clients experience unconditional acceptance. Ann is passionate about teaching and believes that theory is best integrated though experiential learning. She brings has a down to earth, concrete style along with a sense of humor to her teaching. Ann is a seasoned world traveler, loves the outdoors, and is an avid gardener.

Dick Schwartz

Richard C. Schwartz, PhD, is the creator of Internal Family Systems, a highly effective, evidence-based therapeutic model that de-pathologizes the multi-part personality. His IFS Institute offers training for professionals and the general public. He is currently on the faculty of Harvard Medical School, and has published five books, including No Bad Parts: Healing Trauma and Restoring Wholeness with the Internal Family Systems Model. Dick lives with his wife Jeanne near Chicago, close to his three daughters and his growing number of grandchildren.