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

Today I welcome David Politi, 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.

Today's episode is a little different, in a really wonderful way.
I sit down with Dick Schwartz and Jeanne Catanzaro, President and Vice President of the IFS Institute, and partners in both leadership and life. This isn't a traditional interview; it's more like listening in on friends and colleagues talking about the things they care about, the serious, the personal, and the very human.
I've been feeling curious about what's happening inside IFS leadership right now. The model keeps growing, reaching more people, and carrying more responsibility with it. I wanted to hear directly from Dick and Jeanne about what that growth and momentum have been like for them, not just in terms of roles and plans, but personally and as partners.
In this candid conversation, we explore questions many of you have been holding. What happens as the Institute grows? Is Dick going to retire? What does transition even look like? We talk about all of that, but in a funny, sometimes ridiculous, and very real way.
What I hope you hear is the care, thoughtfulness, and humanity behind the scenes of both the IFS Institute and the IFS model.
We talk about:
Jeanne stepping into leadership and visibility over time

What it means to steward a model that's bigger than any one person

Succession, responsibility, and caring for the future of IFS

Collaboration and "sharing the stage"
Knowing when to take a break from "parts talk"

Bringing IFS beyond the therapy room and into the wider world

Holding research, spirituality, and accessibility at the same time

Finding balance between work, partnership, family, and rest

Favorite shows, hobbies, and Firefighter behaviors
There's a lot of warmth here, some laughter, a little potty talk, and plenty of insight.
Links:
IFS Institute
Jeanne Catanzaro
Dick Schwartz
Word of the Year on Substack
Episode Sponsor
This episode is sponsored by the Unblend.me web app. 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.

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 chat with Joe Bielling, a Level 3 IFS practitioner, licensed therapist, and co-author of From Broken to Badass. We talk about what happens when coping, adapting, and belonging slowly pull us away from ourselves, and how to find your way back.
Joe shares parts of his personal story, including a period he describes as a mental breakdown and spiritual awakening, and how IFS helped him slow down, notice his parts, and reconnect with his body, heart, and Self Energy.
We discuss:
Self-forgetting, people-pleasing, and the "chameleon" strategies of belonging

How Enneagram dynamics show up in relationships and identity

Unblending as both a psychological process and a spiritual experience

Why "the resistance is actually part of the path"

How IFS and non-duality can point to more than either-or thinking

Why staying "broken" can feel safer to some parts of us

Gratitude for coping strategies before trying to change them

The question underneath it all: Who is the one behind my eyes?

Extended Substack Conversation
In the extended interview over on Substack, Joe and I talk about hope, embodiment, trauma, and the Enneagram centers. Joe shares what helps him stay embodied now and where he's finding hope.
About Joe Bielling
Joe Bielling is a licensed therapist and Level 3 IFS practitioner. He is the co-author with Kate West of From Broken to Badass, a practical IFS based book that helps people break free from high level coping strategies, and old outdated survival patterns, into empowered living. Their work brings together Internal Family Systems, nervous system science, and to help people find real freedom through embodied presence. Joe is also the founder of Unify Yourself — a national collaboration platform exploring the intersection of spirituality, psychology, and community.
Episode Sponsor
This episode is sponsored by the Unblend.me web app. 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.

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.