Professional Education

We offer a variety of opportunities for professionals to learn and grow not only as helpers and healers, but as people.

Whether you are interested in individual support through clinical supervision, expanding your clinical skill set through our CEU classes, or finding ways to bring more balance to your life through our professional support groups and retreats– we’ve got you covered!

CEU Programs

CEU PROGRAMS

We offer a range of CEU classes on Grief and Loss, Physical Illness, End of Life, Internal Family Systems Model, and Professional Self-Care

Join Lara's Virtual Professional Consultation Group,

Self-Led Healing in a Broken-Hearted World:

Expanding IFS Competence

Do you work with clients struggling to make sense of loss, trauma or suffering? Are you learning IFS and longing to deepen your practice? Do want to be part of a vibrant healing community dedicated to professional and personal growth? If so, you are invited to join Lara's virtual Professional Consultation Group.

Together we will expand your understanding of IFS and Meaning Making models of care, explore challenging cases where you feel stuck or blended with critic parts, allow space for personal healing related to you work, and build a supportive community of like-minded healers!

Our work as healers is demanding and often isolating. No one can do this important work alone! HELP is near! Consultation groups are offer a safe space for you to share clinical questions, vulnerability, victories and growth. Your consultation group experience will help you be more Self-led, effective and confident in clinical work.

What: Virtual clinical consultation group combining the IFS, Meaning-Making, and Trauma-informed models of care.

When/Where: Mondays 8:45-10:00 AM on ZOOM

Dates: *There is a 6 session financial commitment required for each group.

Series 1: March 3, 2025, March 17, 2025, March 31, 2025, April 14, 2025, April 28th, 2025, and May 12, 2025 (6 session commitment required).

Series 2: June 9th, 2025, June 23, 2025, July 7th, 2025, July 21st 2025, August 4th, 2025, August 18th, 2025

Who: 6-14 Group Members. Open to licensed healers working with clients in a clinical capacity and wanting to learn/explore more about IFS and Meaning Making Models of clinical care.

Some prior knowledge and training in the IFS model is required for group participation.

Cost:

- $400 (NASW-PA member)

- $420 (NASW-PA non-member)

Scholarship opportunity available for 2 clinicians per group who are working with vulnerable populations.

CEU Credits: 7.5 CEU credits will be available to those who attend all 4 sessions.

CEU Cost: Participants will pay NASW-PA directly for CEU credit upon group completion.

- $15 (member of NASW-PA)

- $25 (not a member of NASW-PA)

Interested participants should contact Lara at 610-209-3111 or healingconceptsllc@gmail.com.

NASW-PA Chapter is a co-sponsor of this workshop. 7.5 CEs will be awarded for completion of this course depending on the section attended. NASW has been designated as a pre-approved provider of professional continuing education for social workers (Section 47.36), Marriage and Family Therapist (Section 48.36) and Professional Counselors (Section 49.36) by the PA State Board of Social Workers, Marriage & Family Therapists and Professional Counselors.

Click Here to Learn More

Foundations: Introduction to Internal Family Systems

Are you curious to learn more about all the excitement around the Internal Family Systems (IFS) Model? Do you long to use IFS with your clients but are not sure how to safely begin? Do you prefer to learn from an officially certified IFS consultant, therapist and MSW professor?

Join Lara Krawchuk, MSW, LCSW, MPH in this virtual, comprehensive and interactive two-part series where you will get the guidance to develop a solid foundational understanding of the healing power of IFS. Together we will discuss the nuances of this exciting, evidence-based model; including how and why Manager and Firefighter “parts” tend to dominate the internal systems of clients. We will explore parts’ roles and sometimes extreme efforts to manage away the pain of deeply vulnerable parts, called Exiles. We will explore the healing power of SELF energy and how to access its many benefits. Finally, we will carefully practice how to safely start working with clients from an IFS framework. This class will use discussion, Powerpoint slides, video, case studies, demos and experiential exercises to support a solid foundation for

beginning to use an IFS lens in your work. You will return to your work with clarity around how to safely use IFS with diverse clients in a range of practice settings.

Class Learning Objectives

1. Overview of IFS origins and evidence base.
2. Explore the relevance of multiplicity of mind in working with clients.
3. Understand and increase access to SELF energy in both our clients’ internal systems and our own.
4. Understand roles of Manager and Firefighter parts in clients’ internal family systems.
5. Recognize Blends, Burdens & Polarizations.
6. Understand how to assist clients’ parts in safely Unblending.

Class Details

When:

Friday May 16, 2025 and Saturday May 17, 2025 from 9am to 3pm

Where: Zoom Classroom

Who: Therapists, Social Workers, Educators, Certified Coaches, and Spiritual Leaders who are intrigued by the Internal Family Systems (IFS) Model and want to support client growth in diverse clinical and educational settings. Helping Professionals who have taken an Intro IFS course and wish to deepen or refresh their knowledge of the model.

Cost:
- $375 for non-NASW-PA members
- $325 for NASW-PA members; MSWs, MFTs, and LPCs who graduated in the past 2 years or who work in a not-for-profit agency full time; and/or previous participants of Lara’s CEU classes or consultation groups.

CEU Credits: 10 credits* available through NASW-PA

*CEU credit provided by our co-sponsor NASW-PA

CEU Cost: Participants will pay NASW-PA directly for CEU credit upon group completion.
- $15 (member of NASW-PA)
- $25 (not a member of NASW-PA)

NASW-PA Chapter is a co-sponsor of this workshop. 10 CEs will be awarded for completion of this course. NASW has been designated as a pre-approved provider of professional continuing education for social workers (Section 47.36), Marriage and Family Therapist (Section 48.36) and Professional Counselors (Section 49.36) by the PA State Board of Social Workers, Marriage & Family Therapists and Professional Counselors.

Interested participants should contact Lara at 610-209-3111 or healingconceptsllc@gmail.com.

Fundamentals of Internal Family Systems Practice

This hybrid course is a perfect opportunity to practice using IFS. It was created for those who have already learned the foundational concepts of IFS and would like to grow their confidence in using the IFS model with clients. This course will delve into the “how to” of IFS by giving participants the opportunity to hone their IFS skills and experience SELF-leadership under the tutelage of a certified IFS therapist and consultant, Lara Krawchuk MSW, LCSW, MPH.

Together we will explore how to help clients gain access to SELF energy. We will practice unblending and de-escalating polarizations in both our clients’ internal systems as well as our own. This course will give participants a supportive space to explore the roles of their own parts in working with IFS clients, and to provide the much needed SELF care to their own hardworking and weary parts.

Learning and IFS healing will be aided by demonstrations and practicing skills to support our unique parts in small groups.

Note: Previous IFS learning is required to attend. For example, the course content is appropriate for those who have participated in Lara’s Foundations of IFS course (see below), the IFS Online Circle, a Level 1 Training Program through the IFS Institute, or comparable classes.

Space is limited to 12 participants for this intimate, in-person class.

Class Learning Objectives
1. Understand how to increase access to SELF energy in both our clients’ internal systems and our own.
2. Increase ability to help client parts Unblend & De-escalate Polarizations.
3. Learn to assist clients’ parts in safely Unburdening.
4. Explore the roles of our own parts in working with IFS clients.

When and Where
TBA

Who: Mental Health Professionals who have taken an Intro IFS course and wish to further their knowledge of the model.

Cost:
- $450 for non-NASW-PA members
- $420 for NASW-PA members and/or previous participants of Lara’s CEU classes or consultation groups

Cost includes light snacks, water, lunch, course materials, and personalized instruction for the in person section of class.

Credits:
- 8 CEU credits available through NASW-PA.
- IFS certification credits available.

CEU Cost: Participants will pay NASW-PA directly for CEU credit upon group completion.
- $15 (member of NASW-PA)
- $25 (not a member of NASW-PA)

NASW-PA Chapter is a co-sponsor of this workshop. 8 CEs will be awarded for completion of this course. NASW has been designated as a pre-approved provider of professional continuing education for social workers (Section 47.36), Marriage and Family Therapist (Section 48.36) and Professional Counselors (Section 49.36) by the PA State Board of Social Workers, Marriage & Family Therapists and Professional Counselors.

Interested participants should contact Lara at 610-209-3111 or healingconceptsllc@gmail.com.

Contemporary Grief Theory and Creative

Intervention Strategies

We are living in extraordinary times. Worldwide, humans are experiencing a barrage of living losses that are frightening, confusing, and overwhelming. Too many are also facing the death of loved ones or friends; enormously complicated by the lack of proper goodbyes, disrupted access to grief rituals, and the inaccessibility of support groups. Helping professionals are being asked to hold incredible amounts of grief. Many do not feel confident in their skills in this critical area of clinical care.

Together we will learn key concepts from contemporary grief theory, explore how to effectively support clients facing diverse losses, experience the power of creative healing, and discuss the challenge of supporting clients as we wrestle with our own anxiety and losses.

Date: 2024 dates TBA.

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Time: 2023 dates TBA

Location: Virtually via Zoom

Workshop Registration Cost:
- $90 for one person (not a member of NASW-PA)
- $85 for one person (member of NASW-PA)
- OR $80 for two or more people joining together (regardless of NASW-PA membership)

CEU Cost: Participants will pay NASW-PA directly for CEU credit after the
program.
- $15 (member of NASW-PA)
- $25 (not a member of NASW-PA)

Several reduced fee workshop scholarships are available for MSW students or
new graduates. Contact Lara here for more information.

CEUs: 4 CEUs will be available for completion of this course.

Note: while all helping professionals are warmly welcome, currently CEUs are only available for PA MSW, MFT, and LPC.

NASW-PA Chapter is a co-sponsor of this workshop. 4 CEs will be awarded for completion of this course. NASW has been designated as a pre-approved provider of professional continuing education for social workers (Section 47.36), Marriage and Family Therapist (Section 48.36) and Professional Counselors (Section 49.36) by the PA State Board of Social Workers, Marriage & Family Therapists and Professional Counselors.

Grief Therapy Learning Retreat

Grief Therapy Learning Retreat featuring with Lara Krawchuk

Dates: 2025 dates TBA

Location: Bon Secours Retreat & Conference Center, Baltimore, MD

About: The Portland Institute for Loss and Transition is hosting an onsite five day, four night Grief Therapy Learning Retreat with Robert Neimeyer, PhD and world-class faculty, including Lara Krawchuk, MSW, LCSW, MPH.

See “Portland Institute” below to learn more about Lara’s “Self-led Healing in a Broken-hearted World Break-out Session”.

Credits: Retreat participants will have the opportunity to earn up to 21 APA approved CEU credits as well as credits for Orientation, Techniques, Case Studies and Practicum Modules toward certifications offered by the Portland Institute.

Registration: TBA

Circles of Care: The Gift of Facilitating End of Life Discussion

Facing the end of a life is full of losses. Professional care providers have a responsibility to guide families facing end of life, but often feel ill equipped for this intimate and demanding role. Together, we will explore how to utilize relevant grief-related concepts, such as anticipatory grief, chronic sorrow, nonfinite loss, the Dual Process Model and meaning making in a palliative care context, and how to support families undergoing such difficult transitions. We will follow a compelling case study to explore how to gently address the many challenges that families face and will practice our helping skills in breakout sessions. We will explore the power of creative intervention, such as the crafting of musical playlists, to assist families in navigating a loved one’s final days. Key to this work is building circles of care both between community-based experts, families and medical teams on the one hand, and within the family system on the other. Finally, we will consider the impact of this work on our own lives by discussing compassion fatigue, parallel process, and the gift of post traumatic growth.

Learning Objectives

● Discuss our professional responsibility to support end of life discussions.
● Summarize strategies for effective end of life discussions to be applied to an actual case study.
● Practice skills for supporting families at end of life.

● Describe the gift of working at the end of life on our own personal and professional lives.

Please contact us to express interest in future offerings of this course.

Nonfinite Losses: Challenges and Intervention Strategies

We are living in extraordinary times, full of ambiguous and nonfinite losses. Helping Professionals are being called upon to support the needs of clients facing a myriad of losses while simultaneously experiencing their own. Many have little training in supporting grief and loss. This can leave helpers overwhelmed by the intensity of client distress.

This virtual class is designed to help professionals update their grief intervention and assessment skills related to living losses. Together we will explore several contemporary models for understanding nonfinite losses, discuss challenges related to supporting these losses while navigating our own parallel process, and learn effective tools for supporting healing.

Date: TBA

Time: TBA

Cost:
- $90 for one person (not a member of NASW-PA)
- $85 for one person (member of NASW-PA)
- OR $80 for two or more people joining together (regardless of NASW-PA membership)

CEU Cost: Participants will pay NASW-PA directly for CEU credit after the program.
- $15 (member of NASW-PA)
- $25 (not a member of NASW-PA)

Several reduced fee workshop scholarships are available for MSW students or recent MSW graduates. Contact Lara here for more information.

CEUs: 4 CEUs will be available for completion of this course. Note: while all helping professionals are warmly welcome, currently CEUs are only available for PA MSW, MFT, and LPC.

What people are saying about our classes:

Monica, Medical Social Worker

I highly recommend participating in one of Lara Krawhcuk's classes. She is engaging, brings forth up to date grief and trauma theory, shares wonderful resources, and includes energizing activities and interventions. She is overall a wonderful presenter and teacher. You know you have a quality instructor when you leave with your brain buzzing and your energy lifted!

Jen, Veterans Social Worker

Lara's classroom is highly interactive. She utilizes a range of experiential learning techniques to deepen students understanding of the skills/concepts. The class environment is trauma informed and a safe space to ask questions and get curious about the topic.

Mindy, Social Worker

Thank you for being so wonderful

Clinical Supervision

Clinical Supervision with Lara Krawchuck

Lara is a warm, engaging, and creative teacher who helps professionals of all experience levels think creatively about their work and to grow to a new level of clinical expertise. Lara is uniquely qualified to provide supervision towards the LCSW due to her many years of experience teaching Clinical Social Work Practice at colleges in and around the Philadelphia area, combined with her extensive and varied clinical practice. Supervision with Lara will focus on clinical excellence, integrating theory and clinical practice, supporting bereavement, and living losses in diverse client populations, treating trauma, creative healing techniques, Narrative Therapy, and the Internal Family Systems Model of Care.

IFS Supervision

Whether you are passionate about IFS or intrigued and want to learn more, Lara is a fully IFS certified therapist who loves to help professionals grow in their IFS journey. Lara’s goal is to help professionals be the best IFS practitioners they can be and to support their growth as humans—one part at a time! Lara offers both individual and group IFS supervision. Please contact Lara here today to learn more!

Portland Institute

Portland Institute for Loss and Transition

Lara Krawchuk, MSW, LCSW, MPH is a proud member of the faculty for the Portland Institute for Loss and Transition, which was founded by Director Robert A. Neimeyer, PhD in May 2018. Offering both onsite and online training in grief therapy leading toward Certification in Meaning Reconstruction and Loss, the Portland Institute provides accessible and affordable professional, postgraduate training in grief therapy for students and practitioners in the mental health professions. The Portland Institute offers a wide variety of training programs, ranging from skill-building experiential workshops and practicum coaching sessions to mentoring and readings courses. As a member of the Portland Institute faculty, Lara provides onsite workshops, practicum coaching, session evaluation, and feedback on assignments of reading reflections.

For more information, please visit www.portlandinstitute.org

Current Portland Institute Trainings with Lara

This Training is being offered to participants attending the Portland Institute’s Grief Therapy Learning Retreat taking place in Baltimore, Maryland from July 11-15, 2024. See “Grief Therapy Learning Retreat” above for more information.

Our world is awash in grief. Helping professionals are routinely being asked to witness intense client pain while experiencing our own heartbreak. Many healers report feeling sad, exhausted, and overwhelmed.

Others do not feel effective in navigating professional parallel processes. In this didactic and experiential workshop, we will review the basic principles of both the Internal Family Systems and Meaning Making Models. We will explore creative ways to combine IFS and Meaning Making models to effectively support grieving clients. Finally we will make space for open-hearted, compassionate connection with our own struggling parts. You will return to your lives and practices with creative new ideas for supporting clients and tending to your own healing in a broken-hearted world.

Instructional Methods: Powerpoint guided lecture, small group, discussion, and experiential exercises.

Learning Objectives:
- Summarize a basic overview of the IFS and Meaning Making Models.
- Discuss how to use IFS and Meaning Making models to support grieving clients.
- Conceptualize parallel process in a Broken-Hearted World.
- Practice self-care for our own hurting parts.

Past Portland Institute trainings with Lara

Circles of Care: The Gift of Facilitating End of Life Discussions

Format: Webinar available as asynchronous learning opportunity

Cost: $99

Note: Attendance of the live training session confers credit of 1 Case Study leading to Certification in Grief Therapy as Meaning Reconstruction or Certification in Family-Focused Grief Therapy.

For more information and to register please visit https://www.portlandinstitute.org/gift-of-facilitating-eol-discussions

Facing the end of a life is full of losses. Professional care providers have a responsibility to guide families facing end of life, but often feel ill equipped for this intimate and demanding role. Together, we will explore how to utilize relevant grief-related concepts, such as anticipatory grief, chronic sorrow, nonfinite loss, the Dual Process Model and meaning making in a palliative care context, and how to support families undergoing such difficult transitions. We will follow a compelling case study to explore how to gently address the many challenges that families face and will practice our helping skills in breakout sessions. We will explore the power of creative intervention, such as the crafting of musical playlists, to assist families in navigating a loved one’s final days. Key to this work is building circles of care both between community-based experts, families, and medical teams on the one hand, and within the family system on the other. Finally, we will consider the impact of this work on our own lives by discussing compassion fatigue, parallel process, and the gift of post traumatic growth.

Learning Objectives

Discuss our professional responsibility to support end of life discussions.
Summarize strategies for effective end of life discussions to be applied to an actual case study.
Practice skills for supporting families at end of life.
Describe the gift of working at the end of life on our own personal and professional lives.

Professional Retreats

Grief Relief Retreat:

Meaningful Connection for Broken-Hearted Parts

A one time retreat presented in partnership with Souliology

This professionally facilitated, 5-day retreat is designed to help you connect with others who "get it"; while learning and healing together in a safe community.

Through dialogue, creativity, and reflective exercises we will support you in understanding what to expect while grieving a significant loss, gain insight into your unique grieving parts, identify challenges to the grief process, and practice creative, SELF-led healing strategies.

Details:

November 3-7, 2025

Location:
In-person at the lovely Guesthouse in Chester CT

Fee: see details at https://www.souliology.com/griefrelief-meaningfulconnectionforbroken-heartedparts

When Helping Hurts Series

Compassion Fatigue Support Group for

Helping Professionals

This is an online drop-in group using wisdom circles, creativity, internal family systems, and mindfulness principles to facilitate our healing as healing/helping professionals as we navigate helping others through this global pandemic. All helpers and healers welcome! We will offer a generous sliding fee scale for helpers on the front lines!

What: Drop-in group for helping/healing professionals feeling fatigued, distressed, sad, or overwhelmed

When: TBA

Cost: $25-- sliding fee available!

RSVP required and space is limited. Please complete our contact form to inquire today!

In Person Retreat

for Helping Professionals

Witnessing intense client pain, navigating stressful workplaces, and managing hectic personal lives places helping professionals at risk for compassion fatigue and burnout. Please join Lara Krawchuk, MSW, LCSW, MPH for a unique, healing retreat in beautiful Chester County. Together we will review the root causes of compassion fatigue and practice creative self-care techniques. We will end the day rejuvenated, refreshed, and ready to return to our lives. Skills practiced are applicable to use with a variety of clients. Give this gift of self-care today!

Self-Care practice opportunities include:

Journaling for Healing
Mindfulness Meditation
Guided Imagery
Healing Rituals
Self-Care Planning

Who: This retreat is open to all helping professionals with the desire to deeply explore issues of compassion fatigue and self-care.

When/where: TBA

Retreat Cost: TBA

CEU Cost: Participants will pay NASW-PA for CEUs directly after the event. Cost: $15 member, $25 non-member

CEUs: 5 CEUs will be available to those who attend. Note: while all helping professionals are warmly welcome, currently CEUs are only available for PA MSW, MFT, and LPC.