About Our Group Leaders
Each of our group leaders has completed the Institute’s year-long Group Leader Training, co-facilitated a group with Jay Earley, and received individualized supervision under his guidance
Brandon Rennels
Brandon is a dedicated father, professional facilitator, and an experienced group leader. He has led Teacher Training for a global mindfulness & emotional intelligence organization, personally mentoring hundreds of aspiring teachers over the years. As an ordained student of the late Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh, Brandon learned early on that embodying compassionate curious presence brings out the best in oneself and others.
Interactive IFS Groups were foundational to his own healing journey through anxiety and depression, and he considers it an honor to hold this space for others. Brandon’s experience with Internal Family Systems includes trainings through the IFS Institute, ongoing supervision with experienced IFS trainers, and several years of personal parts work with IFS therapists, practitioners, and groups.
Brandon also serves as the Executive Director of the Interactive Group Institute.
Learn more at https://www.linkedin.com/in/
Steph Stern
Ayesha Iftikhar
Ayesha is a counselling psychologist and IFSCA registered therapist who runs groups, trainings and workshops for clients and counselling students in her under-served community, through her platform, Ascension Academy.
Her approach weaves in humour, an existential focus and a strong awareness of the transpersonal. She is particularly drawn to helping individuals re-build their lives and identities after significant life transitions.
Ayesha is a strong believer in the collective healing power of groups, and how they present a unique container for relational repair, challenge and growth in unprecedented ways, making this an area of focus in her research. Each new group is a unique organism of its own, and she is honored to accompany all group members on the exciting and often surprising unfolding that awaits them in these spaces.
Mariana Harling
Mariana is an Internal Family Systems (IFS) practitioner and group leader devoted to understanding the human psyche and how transformation unfolds within groups. She approaches groups as living systems and relational fields where vulnerability and authenticity open the door to inner healing, and where the capacities of Self support connection and belonging.
Grounded in the Interactive IFS Group model, Mariana supports participants in noticing how parts naturally arise in the moment within the group. These moments become opportunities to practice new relational skills, including staying present with complexity, navigating rupture and repair, and cultivating Self-led connection with both inner experience and others. Her facilitation is guided by clarity, curiosity, and compassion, helping familiar patterns soften and new possibilities emerge.
Mariana’s work is informed by extensive training in Internal Family Systems, Interactive IFS Group Leader Training, and ongoing study in somatic, polyvagal, and self-compassion–based approaches. She has also served as a Program Assistant for multiple IFS Level 1 cohorts with the IFS Institute.
Thomas Mikusz
Thomas brings authenticity, intuition, compassion, and mindfulness to his Interactive IFS groups. He believes in the transformational power of group-based IFS to turn inner healing into a practical, lived, and relational experience.
Originally from Vienna, Austria, and now based in Los Angeles, Thomas’s path began with mentoring underserved youth and deepened through immersive mindfulness practice in an ashram in India. He later worked closely with spiritual teacher and writer Shakti Gawain, which shaped his integration of consciousness work, Voice Dialogue, and 5Rhythms movement practice. For over two decades, Thomas has facilitated workshops and groups internationally and served as a chaplain at Unity Church in Miami.
Following a profound personal transition in 2019, Thomas committed fully to IFS work and completed Jay Earley’s Group Leader Training. He leads groups with reverence, curiosity, and trust in the wisdom of the inner system.
Terrill Thompson
Terrill Thompson is a facilitator, leadership coach, and co-founder of Banyan Coaching and Consulting. In these roles they partner with clients to cultivate healthy, vibrant and sustainable people, teams and organizations. Grounded in equity values, Terrill is skilled at supporting people in all stages of their healing and learning journeys.
Terrill spends a good deal of time with their hands in dirt and applies permaculture values and practices to their work with individuals and organizations. They are passionate about understanding each interactive group’s unique ecosystem in order to build a rich soil of trust that supports growth and healing.
Terrill holds a Master’s degree in Organization Development from American University, a coaching certification from the Teleos Leadership Institute, and a level four IFS certification from Leadership that Works.
For more about Terrill, visit www.banyan-consulting.com
Susie Snyder
Susie Snyder LCSW is Professor Emeritus at PSU SSW where she taught advanced clinical practice for over two decades while also sustaining her private practice as a therapist, supervisor and trainer.
Susie discovered IFS 20+ years ago and has pursued extensive training from a range of resources including the IFS Institute. She is well versed in experiential and strength-based models, but IFS has become her favorite because it offers a clear understanding of the human condition and a decisive, powerful healing process. Susie is known for her dynamic and engaging approach to leading training groups that integrate IFS with other models.
Susie has found Interactive IFS groups to be especially impactful in accessing the healing power of relationships. Her own IFS therapy and group work support her personal flourishing as a partner, mother, social activist, and fully alive person.
