3b March 20, 2026: Concrete interventions for Working with Couples

3b March 20, 2026: Concrete interventions for Working with Couples

Date: March 20, 2026  

Time: 1-4 pm 

Modality: in person 

Presenter: Michelle Salois, RN, LCSW 

This course will be in-person on the SLU Campus 

$45.00 SLU Alumni and pre-registered SLU practicum instructors 

$65.00 All others 

Title: Concrete interventions for Working with Couples: Doubling and ideas from Internal Family Systems 

Learning Objectives: 

  • Explore the fundamental concepts of the Internal Family Systems (IFS) model of psychotherapy applied to couples counseling  

  • Describe a simple but helpful model to understand how couples get stuck in problematic patterns. 

  • Identify a sequence of questions to help couples recognize their recursive communication patterns. 

  • Apply the skill of ‘doubling’ to help couples deepen their communication in emotionally connected ways. 

Course Description:
Internal Family Systems (IFS) is a non-pathologizing, evidence-based psychotherapy that uses a systems approach to exploring clients' internal worlds. This course builds upon previous introductory overviews of the IFS model and will specifically apply IFS to working with couples. This CE course will introduce two simple yet powerful processes for helping couples move out of recurring painful or conflictual patterns. Participants will learn an easy-to-use model that can be applied to enhance open. connected partners' conversations, deepen their emotional connection, and navigate relationship challenges more effectively.​ Distilled from the techniques of Dan Wile, “Collaborative Couples Therapy” and Toni Herbine-Blanc's “Intimacy from the Inside Out”, participants will gain knowledge and skill in doubling and IFS couples’ techniques. Case examples will demonstrate how IFS can be used to provide compassionate care for couples, promote understanding and empathy between partners, enhance their bond, and resolve conflicts with compassion.   

  

Bio: 
Michelle Salois, RN, LCSW, is a Saint Louis University School of Social Work Field Instructor and Clinical Fellow with the American Association of Marriage and Family Therapy.  She has worked with adults, couples, and families in her non-profit outpatient practice, Mercy Professional Services, for over 36 years. Over the past two decades, Michelle has prioritized training in experiential therapies such as ISTDP, Internal Family Systems (IFS), and AEDP. Michelle enjoys teaching, supervising, and supporting new clinicians in their master’s level internships and those seeking clinical social work licensure.  

Price:

$65.00