A Live Online Continuity Program with Lissa Rankin, MD
LOVE SCHOOL
Relationship As Medicine
2 Hour Live Subscription Program Bi-Monthly on Mondays at Noon Pacific Time
1:00 - 3:00 PM Mountain Time | 2:00 - 4:00 PM Central TIme | 3:00-5:00 PM Eastern Time | 20:00 GMT
Watch the video below to find out what LOVE SCHOOL is all about
Watch the video below to find out what LOVE SCHOOL is all about
Your relationship patterns hold both the wound and the remedy. Together, we'll explore the science of connection, the wisdom of the heart, and the profound healing that happens when we dare to relate differently.
Relationships need room to be both a place of refuge and also a crucible of growth. Some get distressed anytime their relationships don't feel like a calm, zen sanctuary. Others glorify or even spiritualize the painful challenges of intimacy, even if they never get to relax and enjoy each other. Healing relationships make room for both- sometimes a safe, pleasurable, fun refuge, sometimes a transformational crucible full of catalytic growth.
Relationships need room to be both a place of refuge and also a crucible of growth. Some get distressed anytime their relationships don't feel like a calm, zen sanctuary. Others glorify or even spiritualize the painful challenges of intimacy, even if they never get to relax and enjoy each other. Healing relationships make room for both- sometimes a safe, pleasurable, fun refuge, sometimes a transformational crucible full of catalytic growth.
- In ongoing, twice monthly two-hour mini workshops, Lissa Rankin, MD facilitates group healing, creative process, writing, meditation, spiritual practice, and breakout groups.
- NO EXPERIENCE REQUIRED! ALL LEVELS WELCOME! Come as you are, ready to take your relationships to the next level. This applies not only to romantic relationships, but to any intimate relationships- with your besties, your parents and siblings, your kids, or even your fur babies. We're San Francisco folks, so all variations of heterosexual, LGBTQIA+, monogamy, ethical non-monogamy, or friend/ family/ chosen family relationships are welcome here. Love is love.
- Join a safe, loving community of people who’ve got your back and will celebrate your creativity, healing process, vulnerability and strength through uncertain times.
Are you interested in healing your relationship patterns, with or without a healing partner? Are you committed to navigating your personal and spiritual growth, not as a rugged individualist, but as a committed intimate partnership devoted to a greater Us?
Are you dating or hoping to date but you’re trying to find someone to help you balance the growth opportunities of intimate relationships with the desire for pleasure, fun, relaxation, and ease?
Maybe you’ve taken on the challenge of loving someone who resists intimacy with every fiber of their being, and you’re needing a community of practice. Or maybe you’re that severe trauma survivor who sabotages every chance you get to love someone healthy, because intimacy terrifies you.
Maybe you take on intimate relationships as a rescuer and only get the hots for damsels or dudes in distress that need you to be their hero or heroine. Or maybe you’re that damsel or dude who indulges rescue fantasies because you can’t quite handle “adulting.”
Maybe you struggle in relationships because you feel like you’re the healthier one and your partner isn’t as committed to growth as you are? Or maybe you feel like you can’t keep up with the pace of your partner’s growth, you’ll never measure up, and you’re tempted to just throw in the towel because no amount of effort ever seems to satisfy your partner.
Maybe you’ve taken on the challenge of loving someone who resists intimacy with every fiber of their being, and you’re needing a community of practice. Or maybe you’re that severe trauma survivor who sabotages every chance you get to love someone healthy, because intimacy terrifies you.
Maybe you take on intimate relationships as a rescuer and only get the hots for damsels or dudes in distress that need you to be their hero or heroine. Or maybe you’re that damsel or dude who indulges rescue fantasies because you can’t quite handle “adulting.”
Maybe you struggle in relationships because you feel like you’re the healthier one and your partner isn’t as committed to growth as you are? Or maybe you feel like you can’t keep up with the pace of your partner’s growth, you’ll never measure up, and you’re tempted to just throw in the towel because no amount of effort ever seems to satisfy your partner.
“The way forward is with a broken heart.” -Alice Walker
In the past, spiritual life often meant withdrawing from intimate relationships. If you wanted to walk the spiritual path, you became a nun or a monk or a priest. You left your family and moved into an ashram to go follow a Guru and devote your life to God. Human relationships were seen as an obstacle to the spiritual path. But times they are a-changing. The pandemic blew up many spiritual communities and revealed the dark underbelly beneath, leaving more and more of us to explore what spirituality means beyond the conflict avoidance of and unhealthy tolerance of spiritual bypassing.
Many of us seekers are asking “Now what?” and finding ourselves called to walk the path of intimacy with a beloved other or as part of an intimate community as an intentional, alchemical growth path. Instead of being an obstacle to spiritual and psychological development, our relationships can actually be the portal to a deepening connection with Love- love for our own “parts” and also love for others. Internal Family Systems (IFS) offers us a seeker’s path that is intimately relational- not just with other people, but with our own hurt or protective “parts” inside.
If you’re committed to the ascetic or individualistic path, that’s great. Everyone is entitled to their own journey.
But if you sense that your journey is meant to deepen through your experience in relationship with others, to allow your intimate relationships to be both the sanctuary of refuge your wounded parts need for healing- and also the sand in the oyster polishing the pearl, RELATIONSHIPS AS MEDICINE is designed to help you facilitate both.
"Healing relational trauma isn’t about erasing the scars but learning to love the tenderness they reveal. Each crack in your heart is a doorway to deeper intimacy with yourself and others." Lissa Rankin, MD
Love SChool is for you if ...
- You’re in recovery from spiritual bypassing tendencies- and now you’re realizing where the rubber meets the road in your close relationships;
- Instead of running away from conflict, you’re feeling healed enough to finally lean in and glean all the gold that healthy rupture and repair can help you unearth;
- Instead of tolerating brutality in your relationship in the name of “I’m growing now,” you’re ready to receive more pleasure, more gentleness, more generosity, more safety, more cherishing, more nurturing;
- You’re committed to kindness and compassion, but you’re not willing to “people please” or to be influenced by what “everybody” thinks anymore
- You’re dealing with a health issue and interested in the positive and negative impact relationships can have on your health
- You care about the medicinal properties of healing the broken heart, for the purposes of addressing medical or psychiatric conditions
- You’re ready to get your groove on, in an embodied, experiential way, in a community of open-hearted creatively-inclined individuals who understand that you can only heal so much with your intellect;
- You’re ready to explore the “how” of healing the broken heart using the first steps in the Internal Family Systems (IFS) process;
- You can feel the pain of the unhealed betrayal in your heart, and you’re ready to begin to blossom rather than scar up around the pain;
- You’re excited to gather together with others committed to relational intimacy as a spiritual path
If this sounds like you, this live interactive Zoom workshop may be just what the doctor ordered. Learning to grow and heal through intimate relationships can be a beautiful healing path with deep, long-lasting rewards.
"In the sacred dance of love, you are both the melody and the silence, learning to listen to each other's rhythm without losing your own."
–Lissa Rankin, MD
"In the sacred dance of love, you are both the melody and the silence, learning to listen to each other's rhythm without losing your own."
–Lissa Rankin, MD
EACH SESSION INCLUDES
PSYCHOEDUCATION
A brief lesson from Lissa Rankin, or a guest facilitator to help you understand Internal Family Systems (IFS), relational trauma, spiritual bypassing recovery, attachment theory, healthy boundaries, dissociation, narcissism and codependence, cult recovery, polyvagal theory, the art of authentic apology, non-bypassing forgiveness, healthy rupture and repair, how to fight right, and other psycho-education that might help you better understand what’s happening in your relationships
PSYCHOEDUCATION
A brief lesson from Lissa Rankin, or a guest facilitator to help you understand Internal Family Systems (IFS), relational trauma, spiritual bypassing recovery, attachment theory, healthy boundaries, dissociation, narcissism and codependence, cult recovery, polyvagal theory, the art of authentic apology, non-bypassing forgiveness, healthy rupture and repair, how to fight right, and other psycho-education that might help you better understand what’s happening in your relationships
IFS GUIDED PRACTICE
A guided IFS practice to help you go inside and find out how your parts are feeling about your relationships and what your parts need from you and from the community of practice to show up more authentically in your relationships and in life
IFS GUIDED PRACTICE
A guided IFS practice to help you go inside and find out how your parts are feeling about your relationships and what your parts need from you and from the community of practice to show up more authentically in your relationships and in life
WRITING & ART
Each session, you’ll be offered at least one creative prompt to help you write, make art, compose a song or otherwise creatively express yourself regarding whatever arises in your relational healing journey
WRITING & ART
Each session, you’ll be offered at least one creative prompt to help you write, make art, compose a song or otherwise creatively express yourself regarding whatever arises in your relational healing journey
WITNESSING, MIRRORING & VALIDATING
Trauma survivors and those who love them often suffer from a paucity of positive validation, active listening, and supportive feedback. LOVE SCHOOL will give you the opportunity to participate in group shares to help you normalize (and depersonalize, since so much of what’s hard isn’t about you) what you’re going through.
WITNESSING, MIRRORING & VALIDATING
Trauma survivors and those who love them often suffer from a paucity of positive validation, active listening, and supportive feedback. LOVE SCHOOL will give you the opportunity to participate in group shares to help you normalize (and depersonalize, since so much of what’s hard isn’t about you) what you’re going through.
GET YOUR QUESTIONS ANSWERED
Each session has a Q&A and spot coaching section. Questions will be often answered in the following sessions or in our Facebook group.
GET YOUR QUESTIONS ANSWERED
Each session has a Q&A and spot coaching section. Questions will be often answered in the following sessions or in our Facebook group.
COMMUNITY CONNECTION
Join breakout groups with your peers to share what’s coming up for you. Breakout groups follow a safe protocol that celebrates your presence and contribution. Breakout groups are always optional.
COMMUNITY CONNECTION
Join breakout groups with your peers to share what’s coming up for you. Breakout groups follow a safe protocol that celebrates your presence and contribution. Breakout groups are always optional.
MOVE, BABY!
Song, dance, meditation, readings or movement practice to help the community create a unified field of heart and brain coherence that activates the healing journey;
MOVE, BABY!
Song, dance, meditation, readings or movement practice to help the community create a unified field of heart and brain coherence that activates the healing journey;
"It feels like a hug every time I am on the calls as everyone is so supportive, kind, and open. Lissa is a great group leader whose kind open heart and spirit support everyone in getting the most out of the community. –Juliet Marchioni
your Love School Membership Includes
- Private member access to our 2-hour live Zoom calls with Dr. Lissa Rankin, twice a month on a Monday;
- Never miss a beat: All calls are recorded and available to you within 24 hours;
- Access to all past recordings and material;
- All activities are optional. You don’t have to attend live to enjoy the practices, teachings, creative prompts, community benefits, and recordings of live sessions;
- IFS practices to guide you to the sanctuary within your own heart, one you can return to whenever you need refuge;
- Embodied practices to move the broken-hearted energy through your body so you can dare to risk opening your heart again;
- Private Love School Confidential Facebook Group where you can meet likeminded students.
“The unruined heart is something that we all carry. You can feel like you’re completely wrecked… But there are essential things—the soul and the heart—that cannot be harmed or killed or ruined.” –Clarissa Pinkola Estes
Your Host
TESTIMONIALS
So inspiring to see everyone sharing their thoughts so beautifully and vulnerably.
What brought me here was a desire to live fully...wounds and all. I love the support of your community, Lissa. What better place to learn, love, and grow. — Donna
For someone who has led a relatively cloistered life, the act of presenting, rather than hiding, what he has created, is liberating. Hearing what others have done, while giving and receiving feedback, has been nourishing.
Thank you for the time, info and energy you put into the workshop; I am taking much with me. — Lynn W.
Thank you for holding this sacred space with such grace. It has been a wonderful experience with deep tenderness and profound learnings. Deep bows of gratitude to you all and your team.
Image Credit Monique Feil Photography
Is THis Program right for me?
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"Do I need to have prior knowledge of Internal Family Systems (IFS) therapy?"
We have included a tutorial video that teaches you basic Internal Family Systems principles and terminology to get the most from this program. -
"I'm not currently in a "relationship" - is this program still suitable for me?"
Absolutely. In fact this program is a wonderful preparation for an intimate relationship but also applies to any other kind of relationship you wish to improve. -
"Is this program a substitute for individual therapy?"
No. This program does not replace professional therapy and depending on your individual situation this program might not be ideal for you. If you are in a crisis this program is not for you. If you have doubts, please message us before you join at support@lissarankin.com -
"How much time should I dedicate to this program?"
If you spend the 2 hours every other week that will be sufficient. There is of course more content available for those who want to go deeper at their own pace. -
Should my partner join?
Of course. We have a special reduced partner price just for you. -
"Do I need to attend every session to benefit from the program?"
No. You can skip sessions or watch the recording. In fact about half the participants watch the recording and do not come to the live program. -
"Will I need to share personal information in the group sessions?"
No. You can remain fully anonymous and may choose how much you want to share if at all. You do not have to turn your camera on. -
"I'm a therapist/counselor - is this program suitable for professional development?"
We have many therapists join us to continue their education and for their own personal development. You are welcome here. -
"What if I'm triggered during a session?"
We will provide several resources but our advice is to take a break and take care of yourself the best way you know how.
Bonuses
BONUS 1: The Boundaries Handbook
An unpublished manuscript about IFS-informed boundaries written by Lissa Rankin, MD
How to negotiate what's okay & not okay in your relationships, why so many of us are confused about love, romance, intimacy, sex, and what it takes to be compatible as partners, friends, or even business colleagues
BONUS 2: Love Bigger
An Exploration Of Spirituality Without Spiritual Bypassing
An unpublished manuscript about spiritual bypassing recovery and IFS, written by Lissa Rankin, MD. Spiritual bypassing can happen not only in New Age communities, fundamentalist religions, and utopian cults; it can also happen in romantic relationships, family systems, and political parties.
BONUS 3: Private Facebook Group
BONUS 4: The Basics of Internal Family Systems video class
Led by Lissa Rankin, MD
For those new to Internal Family Systems (IFS), this online class about The Basics of Internal Family Systems (IFS) outlines the IFS model and teaches the difference between protector parts (managers and firefighters,) wounded exiles, and the wise, mature Self that heals all parts. It also describes the 6F's of "Getting To Know Your Protectors" and teaches the steps of "Unburdening The Exiles." It also offers a lens on trauma-informed medicine and how IFS might be used to help treat difficult medical and psychiatric conditions that conventional medicine might struggle to cure.
BONUS 5: Write To Heal workbook
This workbook about how to use IFS as a self-help practice through writing to and from your “parts” explains some of the basics of IFS and how to work with the Write To Heal method Lissa co-developed with IFS lead trainer and Harvard-trained psychiatrist Frank Anderson, MD. Because you might feel starved for intimacy with your partner, you’ll need extra attention and caring intimacy from the wise, loving Self we all have inside. The more you can give yourself what your parts need from your partner, the less dependent you’ll be on someone who struggles to meet your intimacy needs.
BONUS 7: Resource Library
Advance your LOVE SCHOOL education with a thorough reading list, podcast recommendations, and other educational resources we recommend
BONUS 8: Peer To Peer IFS Parts Processing
If you choose to do peer to peer parts processing having another LOVE SCHOOL peer to share your personal parts work with can help ease some of the loneliness people who partner with those who fear intimacy tend to experience. Maybe you already have friends or family who serve this purpose in your life and fill your cup with safe, rewarding, nourishing intimacy. But if you lack that additional support, it can be very hard to keep supporting someone who leans out when you lean in.
If the cost of this workshop presents a financial hardship, we hope you will contact us for tuition adjustment options. Please write to support@lissarankin.com
Please Review Our Terms HERE
Dr. Lissa Rankin
Lissa became a devoted student of many forms of trauma therapy, including Richard Schwartz, Ph.D.’s Internal Family Systems (IFS), Peter Levine’s Somatic Experiencing, Lawrence Heller’s NeuroAffective Relational Model (NARM), and Asha Clinton, Ph.D.’s Advanced Integrative Therapy (AIT.) She also teaches about spiritual bypassing recovery for those who have used spirituality as a way to avoid healing their trauma.
In addition to her public health advocacy and health care reform activism, Lissa leads workshops- online, at US retreat centers like Esalen, 1440, Omega, and Kripalu, and internationally. During the pandemic, Lissa played a public role in debunking “Conspirituality,” the Covid denialism, anti-vaccination propaganda, and conspiracy theories promoted by many wellness, yoga, mind-body medicine, alternative medicine, and spirituality influencers who got “red-pilled” during 2020. This shakeout anchored her as a physician influencer to trust who is grounded in science, open to the mystical, spiritually aware, and trauma-informed. Lissa is currently co-writing her eighth book with Harvard psychiatrist Jeffrey Rediger, MD, MDiv about the link between relational trauma and medical illness and how healthy boundaries and Internal Family Systems (IFS) therapy can help reverse diseases related to nervous system dysregulation caused by relational trauma. Lissa lives with her partner Jeff Rediger and her housemate April Sweazy in the Bay Area, now that her daughter has flown the nest. She thrives on daily hikes in nature, dancing with her Bay Area dance community, singing, writing, DJ'ing music whenever she can, and healthy gourmet cooking.
Guest Faculty
Dr. Jeff Rediger
He has been nominated for the National Bravewell Leadership Award and has received many awards for leadership and patient care. His best-selling book, Cured: Strengthen Your Immune System and Heal Your Life, has been published in 22 languages so far and is available at both local bookstores and online.
Jeff is excited to participate in this class because the topic is very near and dear to his heart on a personal level. Having just survived a devastating series of traumas during the pandemic that caused him to rethink how he'd been living his life and the priorities he'd been putting first, he just took a leap of faith, stepped down as medical director at Harvard's Mclean SE into the uncertainty of his next creative career choices, sold his home in Boston, moved to California after decades on the East Coast, started aggressive trauma treatment, signed a book deal so he can write about what happened to him and make good use of everything he's learning in his trauma recovery, and is actively reviewing his life in order to reorient his future. He's motivated to co-teach this class in order to help people who might be stuck and in denial about how their lives are going so far live more authentically and do what's within your power to accomplish your dreams.
Our 2025 Schedule
MONDAYS AT
12:00 - 2:00 PM Pacific Time | 1:00 - 2:00 PM Mountain Time | 2:00 - 4:00 PM Central TIme | 3:00-5:00 PM Eastern Time | 20:00 GMT
- February 10, 2025
- February 24, 2025
- March 10, 2025
- March 24, 2025
- April 14, 2025
- April 28, 2025
- May 12, 2025
- May 19, 2025
- June 9, 2025
- June 23, 2025
- July 14, 2025
- July 28, 2025
- August 11, 2025
- August 25, 2025
- September 15, 2025
- September 29, 2025
- October 13, 2025 (Columbus Day)
- October 27, 2025
- November 10, 2025
- November 24, 2025
- December 8, 2025
- December 22, 2025
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
How do I contact customer service?
Please contact us by sending an email to support@lissarankin.com
What kind of technology will I need in order to participate?
All you’ll need is a computer, tablett or a smartphone and internet access in order to participate. All live calls will be on Zoom. You will receive your login information when you sign up and in reminder emails.
What if I can't attend a session when it takes place ?
All sessions are recorded so if you can't attend the live session you'll be able to soak up the juicy teachings, healing intentions, and spiritual energy of this course at any time it’s convenient for you.
Can I cancel my subscription?
Any time before your monthly charge has been processed. Simply write to support@lissarankin.com
How long are the sessions?
Each session is approximately 2 hours. You can join any time during the live session.
"How long do I have access to the recorded sessions?
There is no limitation to the availability of recorded sessions and course-related content.