Going Inside: Healing Trauma from the Inside Out

In this episode, John Clarke answers therapists’ questions about applying Internal Family Systems in real clinical situations. Topics include working with Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID), perfectionistic protector parts, and fear-based panic responses. John also shares a simple lens that can change how therapists understand client behavior. 
3 Key Takeaways
A simple framework that can change how you interpret what clients say in session.
Why therapy stalls and how slowing down with protector parts changes the work.
The question that helps high-functioning clients reconnect with their true Self.
Resources & Offerings:
➡️ Free IFS Training for Therapists: From Burnout to Balance: https://go.johnclarketherapy.com/ifs-webinar-podcast
➡️ 1-Month Grace Period with Jane – Use code JOHN or visit: https://meet.jane.app/john-clarke-ambassador
➡️ 10% Off at Grounding Well – Use code GWJOHNCLARKE or visit: https://www.groundingwell.com/GWJOHNCLARKE
➡️ 10% Off at Dharma Dr. – Use code JOHN or visit: https://dharmadr.com/JOHN
Connect with me:
https://www.johnclarketherapy.com/
https://www.instagram.com/johnclarketherapy/
https://www.tiktok.com/@johnclarketherapy
https://www.youtube.com/@johnclarketherapy

Grab Your Seat for the Free IFS Webinar Here: https://go.johnclarketherapy.com/ifs-webinar-podcast
➡️ Free Training - Learn how to integrate the principles of IFS into your therapy practice: https://go.johnclarketherapy.com/ifs-webinar-podcast

What happens when a spiritual awakening feels more like a psychological breakdown?
In this powerful conversation, I sit down with Peter Legård Nielsen to explore spontaneous Kundalini awakenings through the lens of IFS. Peter shares his own harrowing experience of a sudden awakening at age 18 that led to insomnia, terror, and years of destabilization, and how IFS ultimately helped him transform that trauma into integration, healing, and meaning.
We explore how to discern Kundalini energy from trauma responses or unattached burdens, how therapists can safely approach this territory, and why relationship — not suppression — may be the key to working with overwhelming spiritual energy.
3 Key Takeaways
When awakening feels like trauma. 
What if the key to integration isn’t shutting the energy down… but building a relationship with it?
How to distinguish between benevolent spiritual energy and destructive forces — and why intention matters.
Our Guest
Peter Legård Nielsen is a writer of fiction and non-fiction, a certified IFS therapist and organizer of the official IFS trainings in the Nordic countries, as well as a certified advanced Rolfer. 
📘 Book:
Spontaneous Kundalini Awakenings: Healing the Damage Through IFS
https://www.amazon.com/Spontaneous-Kundalini-Awakenings-Healing-Through/dp/8785223042
🌐 Author Website:
www.peterlegaardnielsen.dk
📧 Email:
[email protected]
📘 Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/peter.nielsen.3950178
https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100063352442892

Resources & Offerings:
➡️ Free IFS Training for Therapists: From Burnout to Balance: https://go.johnclarketherapy.com/ifs-webinar-podcast

➡️ 1-Month Grace Period with Jane – Use code JOHN or visit: https://meet.jane.app/john-clarke-ambassador

➡️ 10% Off at Grounding Well – Use code GWJOHNCLARKE or visit: https://www.groundingwell.com/GWJOHNCLARKE

➡️ 10% Off at Dharma Dr. – Use code JOHN or visit: https://dharmadr.com/JOHN
Connect with me:
https://www.johnclarketherapy.com/
https://www.instagram.com/johnclarketherapy/
https://www.tiktok.com/@johnclarketherapy
https://www.youtube.com/@johnclarketherapy
Grab Your Seat for the Free IFS Webinar Here: https://go.johnclarketherapy.com/ifs-webinar-podcast
➡️ Free Training - Learn how to integrate the principles of IFS into your therapy practice: https://go.johnclarketherapy.com/ifs-webinar-podcast

➡️ Free IFS Training for Therapists: From Burnout to Balance: https://go.johnclarketherapy.com/ifs-webinar-podcast 
In this live Q&A episode of Going Inside, I answer real-time questions from therapists about high-achieving clients, ADHD and over-functioning, shutdown responses during trauma work, and the deeper question: are memories actually parts?
We explore how protector parts drive work addiction, why some clients can’t stop checking email, what’s really happening when someone gets sleepy during parts work, and how polarized masculine protectors impact relationships. This episode dives into the subtle complexities of IFS while keeping it grounded and practical for therapists in the room.
If you’ve ever wondered whether you’re moving too fast in trauma work — or whether a client’s ambition is actually fear in disguise — this one’s for you.
Key Takeaways
How high achievement can actually be a trauma strategy.
Sleepiness in session is rarely random.
Are memories actually parts?
Resources & Offerings: 
➡️ Free IFS Training for Therapists: From Burnout to Balance: https://go.johnclarketherapy.com/ifs-webinar-podcast
➡️ 1-Month Grace Period with Jane – Use code JOHN or visit: https://meet.jane.app/john-clarke-ambassador
➡️ 10% Off at Grounding Well – Use code GWJOHNCLARKE or visit: https://www.groundingwell.com/GWJOHNCLARKE
➡️ 10% Off at Dharma Dr. – Use code JOHN or visit: https://dharmadr.com/JOHN
Connect with me: 
https://www.johnclarketherapy.com/
https://www.instagram.com/johnclarketherapy/
https://www.tiktok.com/@johnclarketherapy
https://www.youtube.com/@johnclarketherapy 
Grab Your Seat for the Free IFS Webinar Here: https://go.johnclarketherapy.com/ifs-webinar-podcast
➡️ Free Training - Learn how to integrate the principles of IFS into your therapy practice: https://go.johnclarketherapy.com/ifs-webinar-podcast

What if you could access clarity, compassion, and grounded leadership in just a few minutes?
In this short guided meditation, John invites you to pause and take inventory of what you’re carrying — from your professional roles to your personal responsibilities — and reconnect with Self energy. This practice helps you shift from doing to being, from reacting to leading from the heart. Whether you’re between sessions or starting your day, this 6-minute reset is a simple way to return to your center.
3 Key Takeaways
Discover what you are carrying right now that isn’t even yours
Identify what would change if you led from your heart today
Reveal where your Self Energy comes from
Resources & Offerings:
➡️ Free IFS Training for Therapists: From Burnout to Balance: https://go.johnclarketherapy.com/ifs-webinar-podcast
➡️ 1-Month Grace Period with Jane – Use code JOHN or visit: https://meet.jane.app/john-clarke-ambassador
➡️ 10% Off at Grounding Well – Use code GWJOHNCLARKE or visit: https://www.groundingwell.com/GWJOHNCLARKE
➡️ 10% Off at Dharma Dr. – Use code JOHN or visit: https://dharmadr.com/JOHN
Connect with me:
https://www.johnclarketherapy.com/
https://www.instagram.com/johnclarketherapy/
https://www.tiktok.com/@johnclarketherapy
https://www.youtube.com/@johnclarketherapy
➡️ Free Training - Learn how to integrate the principles of IFS into your therapy practice: https://go.johnclarketherapy.com/ifs-webinar-podcast

In this live Q&A episode of Going Inside, John Clarke dives deep into the intersection of Internal Family Systems (IFS) and Somatic Experiencing (SE). Therapists asked real questions about how to ground clients with complex trauma, whether SE can bypass protectors, and how to handle burnout, fear of messing up, and imposter syndrome. John offers raw, nuanced insights—from co-regulation to clinical contracting—that will resonate with any trauma-informed therapist striving to do deeper, more relational work.
🔑 3 Key Takeaways
Is SE bypassing your client’s protectors? Learn how to spot subtle protector bypassing even with gentle somatic work—and how IFS can help re-establish choice and agency.
Why grounding may be overemphasized: John challenges the assumption that therapists must ground first, proposing self-energy and relational presence as grounding in itself.
Burnout starts with belief systems: Discover how internal polarizations and unexamined fears silently drive overworking—and how IFS can unwind the deeper exile dynamics.
Resources & Offerings:
➡️ Free IFS Training for Therapists: From Burnout to Balance: https://go.johnclarketherapy.com/ifs-webinar-podcast
➡️ 1-Month Grace Period with Jane – Use code JOHN or visit: https://meet.jane.app/john-clarke-ambassador

➡️ 10% Off at Grounding Well – Use code GWJOHNCLARKE or visit: https://www.groundingwell.com/GWJOHNCLARKE

➡️ 10% Off at Dharma Dr. – Use code JOHN or visit: https://dharmadr.com/JOHN
Grab Your Seat for the Free IFS Webinar Here: https://go.johnclarketherapy.com/ifs-webinar-podcast
➡️ Free Training - Learn how to integrate the principles of IFS into your therapy practice: https://go.johnclarketherapy.com/ifs-webinar-podcast