The One Inside: An Internal Family Systems (IFS) podcast

My guest on today's episode is Achara Tarfa. She is a certified IFS practitioner, co-founder of the Global Trauma Institute, and director of the PATH program. We talk about finding IFS, what trauma coaching offers that therapy often doesn't, and why she and her co-founders built GTI to create the spaces they needed but couldn't find. Takeaways IFS gave Achara language for her own anger for the first time When the people you turn to for help fail you, the harm compounds. Achara experienced this firsthand and it shaped everything she built Trauma coaching isn't replacing therapy. It's reaching people the system has missed Healing isn't just individual. It's about dismantling the systems, cultural, institutional, hierarchical, that created the harm PATH meetings use IFS to address addiction and its underlying trauma together AA teaches you how to survive; PATH teaches you how to live. If you're in protection mode, there's no room to feel. That's not a flaw, it's survival Catch my extended interview with Achara and our Audio Guides meditations over on Substack. About Achara Achara Tarfa is a certified IFS practitioner, co-founder of the Global Trauma Institute, and director of the PATH program. Connect with her on Substack and Instagram. Episode Sponsor This episode is sponsored by Souliology. Souliology offers retreats and immersive learning experiences for IFS professionals, many led by IFS Senior Lead Trainers and eligible for continuing education credits. Their programs support deep professional and personal growth, offering space to step away from the demands of daily life so you can return to your practice more present and resourced for the clients you serve. Souliology: Where growth meets depth. Learn more at souliology.com About The One Inside I started this podcast to help spread IFS out into the world and make the model more accessible to everyone. Seven years later, that's still at the heart of all we do. Join The One Inside Substack community for bonus conversations, extended interviews, meditations, and more. Find Self-Led merch at The One Inside store. Listen to episodes and watch clips on YouTube. Follow me on Instagram @ifstammy or on Facebook at The One Inside with Tammy Sollenberger. I co-create The One Inside with Jeff Schrum, a Level 2 IFS practitioner and coach. Resources New to IFS? My book, The One Inside: Thirty Days to Your Authentic Self, is a great place to start. Want a free meditation? Sign up for my email list and get "Get to Know a Should Part" right away. Sponsorship Want to sponsor an episode of The One Inside? Email Tammy.

On today's episode I welcome Jessica Tomich Sorci to the podcast. She's a therapist, perinatal mental health specialist, and creator of the Mom Parts Method. She's spent 15 years working with moms and noticed the same parts showing up, so she began naming them, then created a methodology and a new book. Her Mom Parts Method is a five-step IFS-based process specifically for mothers. It starts with a meditation to connect with a triggering experience, then moves through naming which parts showed up, speaking truths on their behalf, noticing underlying shame or grief, and identifying what those parts actually need. She identified 29 mom parts that kept appearing across 15 years of practice--things like anger, resentment, anxiety, destroyer, blame--and named them so moms could recognize themselves without feeling alone in it. Her Mom Parts cards are a physical tool to support the process. Takeaways The parts that make us such attuned mothers are the same parts that make it hard to let go as kids grow Grief is a through line in motherhood, from the 12-month clothes replacing the 6-month ones all the way to high school graduation. We don't talk about it enough. The good mom/bad mom flip is parts thinking, not Self. It's black and white, and it's exhausting. Motherhood is as much your developmental journey as your child's. You have every right to grow, struggle, fail, and try again too Twenty percent of moms are diagnosed with a perinatal mood or anxiety disorder. Jessica's take: that's a cultural failure rate "I've never heard anyone say they're screwed up because their mom took such good care of herself" Team Kid and Team What About Mom are both in your system. Both are trying to help. Catch my extended interview with Jessica over on Substack. And while you're there, be sure to try one of our new Audio Guides meditations. About Jessica Jessica Tomich Sorci, LMFT is a Level 3 Certified Internal Family Systems Therapist, Certified Perinatal Mental Health Professional, and creator of the groundbreaking Mothercentered approach. She developed the innovative Mom Parts Method—a revolutionary application of IFS to motherhood that helps moms transform guilt, anxiety, and anger into self-compassion and confidence. Jessica's book When Good Moms Feel Bad: An Empowering Guide for Transforming Guilt, Anxiety and Anger into Compassion, Confidence and Connectedness presents her paradigm-shifting vision that reframes maternal mental health struggles not as disorders, but as natural responses to the profound transformation of matrescence, in a world that provides insufficient support. Through her training programs, she empowers therapists to understand mothers through a non-pathologizing lens that normalizes the full spectrum of maternal experience while accessing every mom's own Inner Mom wisdom. Connect with Jessica at momparts.com She is also a singer-songwriter, and you can listen to her music here. Episode Sponsor This episode is sponsored by Souliology. Souliology offers retreats and immersive learning experiences for IFS professionals, many led by IFS Senior Lead Trainers and eligible for continuing education credits. Their programs support deep professional and personal growth, offering space to step away from the demands of daily life so you can return to your practice more present and resourced for the clients you serve. Souliology: Where growth meets depth. Learn more at souliology.com About The One Inside I started this podcast to help spread IFS out into the world and make the model more accessible to everyone. Seven years later, that's still at the heart of all we do. Join The One Inside Substack community for bonus conversations, extended interviews, meditations, and more. Find Self-Led merch at The One Inside store. Listen to episodes and watch clips on YouTube. Follow me on Instagram @ifstammy or on Facebook at The One Inside with Tammy Sollenberger. I co-create The One Inside with Jeff Schrum, a Level 2 IFS practitioner and coach. Resources New to IFS? My book, The One Inside: Thirty Days to Your Authentic Self, is a great place to start. Want a free meditation? Sign up for my email list and get "Get to Know a Should Part" right away. Sponsorship Want to sponsor an episode of The One Inside? Email Tammy.

I'm excited to welcome Jenna Riemersma back on the podcast for the third time to talk about her new book. She's a certified IFS therapist, bestselling author, and someone committed to making IFS accessible to everyone. Her new book, Move Toward: A Simplified IFS Therapy Tool to Welcome All Parts of You, gives you a simple way to work with parts in the real world, in real time. In This Episode The three-step Move Toward tool: Notice, Know, Need How Self Energy can transform a room of people What Self-led action looks like when you're in a toxic relationship or a power-down position Parts-led activism vs. Self-led activism Why moving against our own parts, and other people's parts, makes suffering worse IFS and addiction: why fighting parts never works long term "Every burdened part I take care of inside of me is no longer creating impact in the world around me." -- Jenna Riemersma Takeaways Move Toward is not the same as anything goes. Unblending changes your energy even when nothing on the outside changes. People feel it Self-led action includes courage, clarity, and the ability to see danger clearly, not just softness and compassion Parts-led activism burns you out and widens division. Self-led activism keeps your humanity intact People in marginalized or power-down positions need safe spaces to fully express their parts before deciding how to engage The Book Move Toward by Jenna Riemersma | jennariemersma.com About Jenna Jenna Riemersma is a Certified IFS therapist and IFS Clinical Consultant who specializes in making parts work accessible. She's the best-selling author of several IFS books including Altogether You, IFS Integration, and her newly-released book, Move Toward. Free resources, worksheets, and guided meditations available on her website and Insight Timer Episode Sponsor This episode is sponsored by Souliology. Souliology offers retreats and immersive learning experiences for IFS professionals, many led by IFS Senior Lead Trainers and eligible for continuing education credits. Their programs support deep professional and personal growth, offering space to step away from the demands of daily life so you can return to your practice more present and resourced for the clients you serve. Souliology: Where growth meets depth. Learn more at souliology.com About The One Inside I started this podcast to help spread IFS out into the world and make the model more accessible to everyone. Seven years later, that's still at the heart of all we do. Join The One Inside Substack community for bonus conversations, extended interviews, meditations, and more. Find Self-Led merch at The One Inside store. Listen to episodes and watch clips on YouTube. Follow me on Instagram @ifstammy or on Facebook at The One Inside with Tammy Sollenberger. I co-create The One Inside with Jeff Schrum, a Level 2 IFS practitioner and coach. Resources New to IFS? My book, The One Inside: Thirty Days to Your Authentic Self, is a great place to start. Want a free meditation? Sign up for my email list and get "Get to Know a Should Part" right away. Sponsorship Want to sponsor an episode of The One Inside? Email Tammy.

Today I welcome Irina Diyankova back to the podcast. Her last episode, Is It Trauma or Neurodivergence? was one of our most popular. This time we explore what happens when "going inside" during an IFS session becomes hard for clients. She finds this is especially true with neurodivergent and C-PTSD clients. Irina shares why externalization can be so helpful in these cases. Instead of relying only on what's happening internally, bringing things outside, like mapping, speaking out loud, connecting visually or relationally, really help. We also talk about how IFS isn't a cookie-cutter model. We all respond differently, and part of the work is noticing what helps you stay engaged and attuned to a particular client's system. One of my favorite segments was hearing her talk about building community inside with part-to-part relationships. This is where we help parts notice each other, listen, and begin to relate differently. These part-to-part connections are just as important in the healing process as Self-to-part. We also talk about slowing things down in session, and how that's a small-but-critical opportunity for healing. Saying, "what you just said is important," or "tell me more about that." For many people, that kind of attention wasn't there growing up. It can feel unfamiliar, and also really supportive. Later in the conversation, Irina shares about her experience with cancer, being in remission, and what it's been like to be with her system in the process. She talks about holding different parts at the same time, and relating to cancer not as something to fight, but something to understand. Don't miss my short extended interview with Irina over on Substack, where she shares what's giving her hope lately. Takeaways from this episode: • Externalizing can make parts work more accessible when staying inside feels hard • IFS isn't one-size-fits-all; adjust based on what you need • Slowing down and naming something as important can help people feel seen • "Community inside" means parts noticing and relating to each other • When Self isn't available, part-to-part connection still helps • Orienting parts to the present can reduce overwhelm • What helps you stay engaged when going inside feels hard? Links: Medium article: Dancing With Cancer Using IFS with Complex Trauma Clients workshop About Irina Diyankova Irina Diyankova, Ph.D., is a licensed psychologist, certified IFS therapist, Approved IFS Clinical Consultant, and a Co-Lead Trainer. She has private practice in Knoxville, TN, USA where she specializes in working with complex trauma in adults and adolescents and intersection of trauma and neurodifferences. Irina also maintains consultation practice where she offers individual and group consultation to the IFS therapists and those who are in the process of learning IFS. Being born and raised in Russia, Irina has a special interest in applying IFS across cultures, as well as working with cultural dynamics and burdens. Irina has completed all three levels of IFS training. SHe has also conducted multiple IFS workshops and consultation groups in the US and Russia. She is very passionate and excited about IFS Model and loves sharing it with other therapists and human services professionals. In her leisure time she loves practicing yoga, hiking, traveling, reading and writing. You can learn more about her work at dr-irina.com Episode Sponsor This episode is sponsored by Therapy Training Boston. Therapy Training Boston offers live, in-person, and online workshops, plus consultation for therapists and other helping professionals, designed to support you as a whole person while satisfying your CE requirements. All of their offerings are taught with an eye toward context, power, and relational justice, and draw on the family systems theories and best practices that shaped the IFS model. They also offer an Intensive Certificate Program in Couples and Family Therapy to help you build confidence and capacity in community. About The One Inside I started this podcast to help spread IFS out into the world and make the model more accessible to everyone. Seven years later, that's still at the heart of all we do. Join The One Inside Substack community for bonus conversations, extended interviews, meditations, and more. Find Self-Led merch at The One Inside store. Listen to episodes and watch clips on YouTube. Follow me on Instagram @ifstammy or on Facebook at The One Inside with Tammy Sollenberger. I co-create The One Inside with Jeff Schrum, a Level 2 IFS practitioner and coach. Resources New to IFS? My book, The One Inside: Thirty Days to Your Authentic Self, is a great place to start. Want a free meditation? Sign up for my email list and get "Get to Know a Should Part" right away. Sponsorship Want to sponsor an episode of The One Inside? Email Tammy.

On today's episode I welcome Nitsan Joy Gordon, a dance movement therapist, IFS practitioner, and peacebuilder who lives in Israel. Nitsan shares about growing up in Israel, living near the border, and what it's like to live in a place where war and trauma have been part of daily life for generations. She also tells the story of how Internal Family Systems changed her own life. A powerful experience at Esalen with Dick Schwartz inspired her to use IFS in her work back home. Nitsan leads Together Beyond Words, an organization bringing Israelis and Palestinians together to transform pain through deep listening and connection. Her work is guided by the belief that pain that is not transformed is transmitted. After the attacks of October 7 and the immense grief and trauma that followed, Nitsan realized the need for healing had grown beyond what her organization had been doing. Today nearly 80 volunteers are offering ongoing support, and dozens of groups have been created where Israelis and Palestinians can process trauma, grief, and fear together. As you listen, I invite you to notice your own parts. What comes up for you as you hear these stories? What do you feel in your body? For me, this conversation was a reminder of the power of curiosity, one-on-one connection, and the courage it takes to stay present and open in our divided world. In This Episode We Talk About: • What it's like living in Israel today. • Nitsan's organization Together Beyond Words, which brings Israelis and Palestinians together to transform pain through shared healing. • The idea that "pain that is not transformed is transmitted." • A powerful IFS session she had with Dick Schwartz. • How the events of October 7 changed her work. • Why people need separate spaces to grieve before they can reunite. • When she realized the level of trauma requires an "army of healers." • How the Healing for Peace initiative grew from a handful of volunteers to nearly 80. • Why facilitators working in conflict zones are learning IFS tools like unblending and working with polarizations. About Nitsan Joy Gordon Nitsan Joy Gordon is a Dance/Movement Therapist, IFS therapist, and peacebuilder who has been working in Israel/Palestine for over three decades. Her work lives at the meeting point of movement, deep listening, and compassionate presence, creating spaces where pain shaped by conflict can be felt, witnessed, and transformed. She is the author of Together Beyond Words: Women on a Quest for Peace in the Middle East and the initiator of Army of Healers, an offering of safe spaces to feel and heal across deep divides. Learn more at: Together Beyond Words. About The One Inside I started this podcast to help spread IFS out into the world and make the model more accessible to everyone. Seven years later, that's still at the heart of all we do. Join The One Inside Substack community for bonus conversations, extended interviews, meditations, and more. Find Self-Led merch at The One Inside store. Listen to episodes and watch clips on YouTube. Follow me on Instagram @ifstammy or on Facebook at The One Inside with Tammy Sollenberger. I co-create The One Inside with Jeff Schrum, a Level 2 IFS practitioner and coach. Resources New to IFS? My book, The One Inside: Thirty Days to Your Authentic Self, is a great place to start. Want a free meditation? Sign up for my email list and get "Get to Know a Should Part" right away. Sponsorship Want to sponsor an episode of The One Inside? Email Tammy.

In today's episode, I welcome my friend Marcella Cox back to the podcast. Marcella is a certified IFS therapist, approved consultant, and somatic IFS assistant trainer. She's also a certified Safe and Sound Protocol (SSP) and Rest and Restore provider, and the lead author of the new guidelines for integrating IFS with these listening therapies. We talk about: The basics of polyvagal theory How our nervous system states impact our parts Why co-regulation is central to healing The difference between SSP (connection to others) and Rest and Restore (connection to Self) How listening therapies can support safety in the body and allow more Self Energy to emerge I also share my own experience trying SSP with Marcella. I experienced some surprising physical shifts and insights that came up after a few short listening sessions. If you're curious about nervous system regulation and how it can deepen your IFS work, I think you'll really appreciate this conversation. About Marcella Cox Marcella Cox, LMFT, is a therapist, author, and presenter devoted to exploring the intersection of embodiment, trauma healing, and eating disorder recovery. She is a Level 3 Certified IFS Therapist, an Approved IFS Clinical Consultant, and an Assistant Trainer for Somatic IFS, the model developed by Susan McConnell. She provides consultation and leads workshops, trainings, and retreats for professionals on IFS for disordered eating, Somatic IFS, and integrating IFS with the Safe & Sound Protocol and is the lead author of the IFS and Listening Therapies (Safe and Sound Protocol and Rest and Restore Protocol) Combined Delivery Guidelines, published through Unyte in January 2026. Marcella is the founder and executive director of Kindful Body, which provides online therapy and nutrition counseling for eating and body concerns in California. She is also the co-founder of the IFS Consultation Collective, offering weekly consultation with IFS lead trainers. To learn more about combining IFS and Unyte's listening therapies: https://integratedlistening.com/resources/ifs-and-listening-therapies/ Marcella's SSP & IFS groups: https://www.kindfulbody.com/somatic-ifs-and-ssp-group/ Sign up for Marcella's newsletter to find out about upcoming offerings Kindful Body on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/kindfulbody/ Episode Sponsor This episode is sponsored by Therapy Training Boston. Therapy Training Boston offers live, in-person, and online workshops, plus consultation for therapists and other helping professionals, designed to support you as a whole person while satisfying your CE requirements. All of their offerings are taught with an eye toward context, power, and relational justice, and draw on the family systems theories and best practices that shaped the IFS model. They also offer an Intensive Certificate Program in Couples and Family Therapy to help you build confidence and capacity in community. About The One Inside I started this podcast to help spread IFS out into the world and make the model more accessible to everyone. Seven years later, that's still at the heart of all we do. Join The One Inside Substack community for bonus conversations, extended interviews, meditations, and more. Find Self-Led merch at The One Inside store. Listen to episodes and watch clips on YouTube. Follow me on Instagram @ifstammy or on Facebook at The One Inside with Tammy Sollenberger. I co-create The One Inside with Jeff Schrum, a Level 2 IFS practitioner and coach. Resources New to IFS? My book, The One Inside: Thirty Days to Your Authentic Self, is a great place to start. Want a free meditation? Sign up for my email list and get "Get to Know a Should Part" right away. Sponsorship Want to sponsor an episode of The One Inside? Email Tammy.

On today's episode I welcome my friend David Stern to the podcast. This conversation feels so perfect right now. It's full of the kind of hope we all need. David has this beautiful way of seeing the spiritual dimension in everything we do. David calls us to remember our "Pure Soul"—the part of us that is already peaceful and cannot be destroyed. He talks about parts as "angels in disguise," the ones inside that have taken on difficult roles to protect that inner light. If you're looking for a way to stay connected to yourself in a chaotic world, this episode is a sacred reminder that your essence is always already okay. We Explore: Why David looks for the unbridled aliveness in every person he meets. Reimagining our parts as refractions of a primal, divine intelligence. How to hold the "horrors" of the world while still choosing to love our people and stay present. Practicing "remembrance" to help shift out of the noise and back into your heart. About David David Stern, Psy.D. is a licensed psycholgoist, certified IFS consultant, dedicated teacher, and the creator of the Thinking Heart IFS Intensive. He also co-founded IFS Healers, an online Community of Practice designed to foster connection, deepen learning, and build community among IFS practitioners. David has trained hundreds of students worldwide and has presented at the IFS International Conference and consults with practitioners globally. About The One Inside I started this podcast to help spread IFS out into the world and make the model more accessible to everyone. Seven years later, that's still at the heart of all we do. Join The One Inside Substack community for bonus conversations, extended interviews, meditations, and more. Find Self-Led merch at The One Inside store. Listen to episodes and watch clips on YouTube. Follow me on Instagram @ifstammy or on Facebook at The One Inside with Tammy Sollenberger. I co-create The One Inside with Jeff Schrum, a Level 2 IFS practitioner and coach. Resources New to IFS? My book, The One Inside: Thirty Days to Your Authentic Self, is a great place to start. Want a free meditation? Sign up for my email list and get "Get to Know a Should Part" right away. Sponsorship Want to sponsor an episode of The One Inside? Email Tammy.

Today I welcome David Polidi, Bruce Hersey, and Joanne Twombly on the podcast to talk about their new book, IFS-Informed EMDR: Creative and Collaborative Appraoches. We talk about why this book is needed, what it took to bring together more than 20 contributors, and why integrating these models can create more options, more flexibility, and more hope for clients. We talk about: Bringing together 21 contributors and creating a true community project Why integration can help when clients get stuck in one modality The idea that there is a natural, underlying healing process beyond any single model Coping skills, resourcing, and the diverging views on when and how to use them Joanne's "fire drill" and using IFS to work with therapist countertransference Why strong foundational training in both IFS and EMDR matters before integrating them The belief that there is no "perfect model," and that relationship and Self Energy matter most There's a lot of heart here, a lot of theory, and a lot of love for clients, the field, and each other. I'm excited for you to listen, and be sure to catch my extended interview with them over on Substack. About the Guests Bruce Hersey, LCSW is widely recognized for his work integrating EMDR and IFS. Together with Michelle Richardson, he created the Syzygy Institute, which offers training and certification in IIE. Bruce is an Approved Consultant in EMDR and an IFS Approved Clinical Consultant, providing individual and group IFS and IIE consultation. He has led numerous IFS workshops and presented at the IFS International Conference, as well as EMDRIA and international EMDR conferences. www.syzygyinstitute.com, www.brucehersey.com, and www.emdrifs.com. David Polidi, LICSW, M.Ed. is a Licensed Independent Clinical Social Worker and a Certified EMDR Consultant in Training, and has also been trained in IFS. He has worked with children and families since 2000 and has been in private practice for the past five years. David developed and facilitates the online couples workshop Deepen the Conversation, and hosts the podcast Empowered Through Compassion, where he speaks with innovators in psychology about integrating EMDR, IFS, and other trauma-healing approaches. www.empoweredthroughcompassion.com. Joanne H. Twombly, LICSW is a Licensed Independent Clinical Social Worker with over thirty years of experience working with Complex PTSD and Dissociative Disorders. She is a Certified EMDR Consultant and an IFS Certified Therapist. Joanne is a Trauma and Recovery Humanitarian Assistance Program Facilitator and a Clinical Hypnosis Consultant. She is the past president of the New England Society for the Study of Trauma and Dissociation and has received a Distinguished Achievement Award from the International Society for the Study of Trauma and Dissociation, where she is also an ISSTD Fellow. Joanne recently published Trauma and Dissociation Informed Internal Family Systems: How to Successfully Treat Complex PTSD and Dissociative Disorders. www.joannetwombly.net. About The One Inside I started this podcast to help spread IFS out into the world and make the model more accessible to everyone. Seven years later, that's still at the heart of all we do. Join The One Inside Substack community for bonus conversations, extended interviews, meditations, and more. Find Self-Led merch at The One Inside store. Listen to episodes and watch clips on YouTube. Follow me on Instagram @ifstammy or on Facebook at The One Inside with Tammy Sollenberger. I co-create The One Inside with Jeff Schrum, a Level 2 IFS practitioner and coach. Resources New to IFS? My book, The One Inside: Thirty Days to Your Authentic Self, is a great place to start. Want a free meditation? Sign up for my email list and get "Get to Know a Should Part" right away. Sponsorship Want to sponsor an episode of The One Inside? Email Tammy.

We all feel numb sometimes. Our numbing parts protect us from stress, pain, and overwhelm. But what happens when numbness lingers? As we kick off The One Inside's seventh season, Jeff and I share what we've learned about working with numbing parts. We led a workshop at the recent 2025 IFS Annual Conference called Why Check In When You Can Check Out: A Self-Led Approach to Numbing Parts. In this episode we walk you through the highlights of our workshop and share a few of the insights we brought home from the conference. We discuss: What I discovered about numbness, embodiment, and grief this past year Numb parts are "invisible protectors" and why simply naming the numb matters The compounding opportunity costs of numbing and what we miss when we spend too much time checked out The grief of emerging from numbness How numbness shows up across generations and cultures The NUMB framework we created for reconnecting with Self I keep returning to this slide from our deck: Our protectors think they're saving our lives, but sometimes they're quietly stealing our vitality. I share a lot about my numb season, and how naming the "nothing" became a game-changer. I hope as you listen you'll notice your own ways of checking in and checking out and name the places where numbness shows up for you. Episode Sponsors This week's episode is sponsored by: Pisgah Coaching Institute: Founded by IFS-trained master coach Brian Jaudon, a pioneer in the integration of IFS and coaching for more than two decades. Brian and his faculty teach a blended methodology for clarifying and living into a vision of any kind. pisgahcoaching.com Pause With Laura: Restore Your Self Retreat for IFS Therapists & Practitioners at Kripalu, October 19-22, 2025. Download FREE IFS Resources from Laura (PDF & guided meditations). Join our Pause with Laura community for monthly Parts Reflections and deals on upcoming offerings. About The One Inside I started this podcast to help spread IFS out into the world and make the model more accessible to everyone. Seven years later, that's still at the heart of all we do. Join The One Inside Substack community for bonus conversations, live events, meditations, and extended interviews. Find merch at The One Inside store. Listen to episodes and watch select clips on YouTube. Follow me on Instagram @ifstammy or on Facebook at The One Inside with Tammy Sollenberger. I create The One Inside with Jeff Schrum, a Level 2 IFS coach who helps practitioners create with confidence and clarity. Resources New to IFS? My book, The One Inside: Thirty Days to Your Authentic Self, is a great place to start. Want a free meditation? Sign up for my email list and get "Get to Know a Should Part" right away. Sponsorship Want to sponsor an episode of The One Inside? Email Tammy.

In this episode I talk with Anna Christine "AC" Seiple about slowing down, embodiment, and what it means to listen to our bodies and our parts. AC is a licensed counselor and the author of The Sacred Art of Slowing Down. She lives in St. Andrews, Scotland, where she's working on her PhD exploring the intersection of ancient contemplative practices and modern mindfulness. She shares why she felt called to write her book, how slowing down was not something she chose at first but something life required of her, and how chronic pain, illness, and unexpected disruptions shaped her relationship with her body. She talks honestly about what it's like to move from living primarily in the head, to slowly rebuilding trust with the body. Takeaways from this episode: • why slowing down often happens through life events rather than choice • how disconnection from the body can begin as a survival strategy • the role of self compassion and curiosity when parts resist slowing down • how faith, culture, and early messages can shape our relationship with our bodies • the importance of establishing safety before forcing embodiment • how slowing down and embodiment support parts that have been neglected • what it means to build new "muscle memory" with our nervous systems and parts • how seasons, light, and cycles mirror internal emotional rhythms I loved how she normalized how hard this work can be, and how she reminded us that slowing down does not mean changing who we are or stopping our lives. This conversation felt especially timely as the year winds down, a time when slowing down can feel counterintuitive. We continue part of this conversation in an extended interview for our paid community over on Substack, where we talk more about hope, seasons, and what it looks like to live with greater acceptance of where we are. About Anna Christine Seiple Anna Christine ("AC") is a licensed counselor, retreat leader, and researcher. She loves cultivating healing spaces that honor the entirety of our embodied beings. She holds two master's degrees, one in clinical mental health counseling and a second in ancient languages and is currently working on a PhD at the University of St Andrews in Scotland, exploring conversations between ancient contemplative practices and mindfulness interventions. Her writing, along with free integrative resources, can be found on her website. About The One Inside I started this podcast to help spread IFS out into the world and make the model more accessible to everyone. Seven years later, that's still at the heart of all we do. Join The One Inside Substack community for bonus conversations, extended interviews, meditations, and more. Find Self-Led merch at The One Inside store. Listen to episodes and watch clips on YouTube. Follow me on Instagram @ifstammy or on Facebook at The One Inside with Tammy Sollenberger. I co-create The One Inside with Jeff Schrum, a Level 2 IFS practitioner and coach. Resources New to IFS? My book, The One Inside: Thirty Days to Your Authentic Self, is a great place to start. Want a free meditation? Sign up for my email list and get "Get to Know a Should Part" right away. Sponsorship Want to sponsor an episode of The One Inside? Email Tammy.

In this episode I talk with Ronda Bonfanti, an IFS client, memoirist, and self-described "IFS cheerleader," who reached out to me earlier this year to share her beautiful memoir, Talk to the Trees: From CPTSD to Loving Me. Ronda has been on a healing journey for more than 25 years. She's done "all the therapies," read over 250 self-help books, and spent years trying to understand why she felt so broken inside, even though her life looked beautiful on the outside. When she found IFS, something finally clicked. We explore: Her early years in therapy and why CBT helped a little but never stuck How discovering IFS gave her a whole new relationship with her inner world Writing her memoir with the support of Frank Anderson and Lissa Rankin The healing power of humor and why she sees it as medicine Journaling as a doorway into parts work What it means to write a letter to shame Loneliness on the healing path, and her longing to build IFS-aligned community Her dream to combine IFS and pickleball She also reads one of my favorite chapters from her memoir — a hilarious, moving piece about her early days in therapy, banana splits, and her first meeting with Dr. Frank Anderson. Ronda is one of those guests who reminds me why we do this work. Her story is tender, courageous, and full of hope. It's a perfect episode for a holiday week. Learn more about Ronda here. About The One Inside I started this podcast to help spread IFS out into the world and make the model more accessible to everyone. Seven years later, that's still at the heart of all we do. Join The One Inside Substack community for bonus conversations, extended interviews, meditations, and more. Find Self-Led merch at The One Inside store. Listen to episodes and watch clips on YouTube. Follow me on Instagram @ifstammy or on Facebook at The One Inside with Tammy Sollenberger. I co-create The One Inside with Jeff Schrum, a Level 2 IFS practitioner and coach. Resources New to IFS? My book, The One Inside: Thirty Days to Your Authentic Self, is a great place to start. Want a free meditation? Sign up for my email list and get "Get to Know a Should Part" right away. Sponsorship Want to sponsor an episode of The One Inside? Email Tammy.

In this episode, I talk with Dr. Angele Close, a clinical psychologist, motherhood coach, and certified mindfulness meditation teacher. Her work weaves together Internal Family Systems, mindfulness, and matrescence to help mothers reconnect with themselves and embrace the process of becoming. She opens up about her own season of disconnection in early motherhood and how discovering IFS helped her find language, clarity, and compassion for the parts within. Her upcoming book, Unburdening Motherhood: A Guide to Breaking Cycles, Healing Trauma, and Becoming a Self-Led Mom, offers that same roadmap to others. Together, we explore the parts that push us to be the "good mom," the ones that try to do it all, and how IFS can help us lead ourselves and our families with more Self Energy. In this conversation, we explore: Matrescence is the process of becoming a mom, and why naming it matters The "good mom" parts that push us to do it all How IFS helps mothers understand the parts activated by parenting The tension between control, exhaustion, and letting go What happens when protectors soften and play, pleasure, and community return Whether you're a parent, therapist, or simply curious about how our systems respond to change, this conversation is a gentle invitation to lead with more Self energy in every season of life. About Dr. Angele Close Angele Close is a clinical psychologist, motherhood coach, and certified mindfulness meditation teacher. For more than a decade, she's helped women move beyond fear, perfectionism, and people-pleasing to find confidence and ease in motherhood and beyond. Her work is deeply guided by Internal Family Systems, which she describes as "a roadmap for understanding ourselves, addressing our pain, and finding a pathway to healing." Her new book, Unburdening Motherhood: A Guide to Breaking Cycles, Healing Trauma, and Becoming a Self-Led Mom , is available for pre-order and will be out in January 2026. Episode Sponsor This episode is sponsored by the Unblend web application. You know those moments between sessions when something comes up and you need a gentle nudge to pause, slow down and go inside? The Unblend app helps you do just that. It's IFS informed, HIPAA compliant, and guides you through checking in with your parts to calm your nervous system. Learn more and try it for free at Unblend.me About The One Inside I started this podcast to help spread IFS out into the world and make the model more accessible to everyone. Seven years later, that's still at the heart of all we do. Join The One Inside Substack community for bonus conversations, extended interviews, meditations, and more. Find Self-Led merch at The One Inside store. Listen to episodes and watch clips on YouTube. Follow me on Instagram @ifstammy or on Facebook at The One Inside with Tammy Sollenberger. I co-create The One Inside with Jeff Schrum, a Level 2 IFS practitioner and coach. Resources New to IFS? My book, The One Inside: Thirty Days to Your Authentic Self, is a great place to start. Want a free meditation? Sign up for my email list and get "Get to Know a Should Part" right away. Sponsorship Want to sponsor an episode of The One Inside? Email Tammy.

How can Internal Family Systems help us prepare for, experience, and integrate psychedelic journeys in a truly Self-led way? And what if Self itself can be the journey, without medicine at all? In this episode, I talk with Nick Brüss, an IFS practitioner and licensed marriage and family therapist who specializes in psychedelic-assisted therapy. What I loved about this conversation is how grounded and humble Nick is about the work. He reminds us that psychedelics can open the door, but Self is what does the healing. Why listen: Many people are curious about how psychedelics and IFS intersect. This conversation goes deeper into integration, humility, and what it really means to let Self lead before, during, and after expanded states. In this conversation, we explore: How IFS can guide and ground psychedelic experiences through Self Energy Why integration, not the journey itself, is where true healing happens How to meet expanded states with curiosity, consent, and care for all parts How to partner with the medicine to turn toward what needs our attention, bringing the same kind of compassion and curiosity we bring to our parts The nervous system and trauma dynamics that often surface after psychedelic experiences How Self can open the same sense of connection and wonder that psychedelics reveal The risks of spiritual bypass and how to stay Self-led What an ethical, Self-led approach to psychedelic healing looks like Favorite Quotes: "The real question is, are we partnering with the medicine, or are we giving it all the power?" — Nick Brüss "Psychedelics don't heal anyone. They open a window. What heals is the relationship with Self." — Nick Brüss Connect with Nick at www.apracticeoffreedom.com Episode Sponsor Pisgah Coaching Institute: Founded by IFS-trained master coach Brian Jaudon, a pioneer in the integration of IFS and coaching for more than two decades. Brian and his faculty teach a blended methodology for clarifying and living into a vision of any kind. pisgahcoaching.com About The One Inside I started this podcast to help spread IFS out into the world and make the model more accessible to everyone. Seven years later, that's still at the heart of all we do. Join The One Inside Substack community for bonus conversations, live events, meditations, and extended interviews. Find merch at The One Inside store. Listen to episodes and watch select clips on YouTube. Follow me on Instagram @ifstammy or on Facebook at The One Inside with Tammy Sollenberger. I create The One Inside with my friend, Jeff Schrum, a Level 2 IFS practitioner who loves helping clients create with confidence and clarity. Resources New to IFS? My book, The One Inside: Thirty Days to Your Authentic Self, is a great place to start. Want a free meditation? Sign up for my email list and get "Get to Know a Should Part" right away. Sponsorship Want to sponsor an episode of The One Inside? Email Tammy.