Hello and welcome back once again to the Therapy Spot. Two years ago, I decided it would be “the year of Self Compassion” — but one year just wasn’t enough! It turns out, I have so much to learn and to teach about this topic. We really can change our brains for the better when we include ourselves in our circle of care, compassion, and kindness. Let’s talk about how Self Compassion can help us heal from negative events and emotions.

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Welcome back to the Therapy Spot, everyone, and happy May! I’m excited as always  to bring you a new episode of the podcast. For this month’s episode, I want to talk about something we’ve touched on before… but in a different way.

Today, I want to talk about what I like to call the hater parts inside of you.

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Welcome back to the Therapy Spot, everyone! Spring has come to the northern hemisphere and I’m excited to bring you a new episode of my podcast. In the spirit of new beginnings, my guest this month is Tammy Sollenberger. Tammy has just launched her new podcast, titled “The One Inside: An Internal Family Systems Podcast for Anyone Looking to Find Balance and Harmony.” She has a background in cognitive and dialectical behavioral therapy (CBT and DBT), and is trained and certified in the IFS model. Today on the show, we’ll discuss her journey into IFS, and her podcast goals.

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Welcome back to the Therapy Spot, everyone! As we celebrate the beginning of spring in the northern hemisphere, I’d like to talk for a moment about beginnings. When we first start something new, such as a new job or enrolling in university, it can feel large and difficult. In fact, when I began this podcast 3 years ago, I felt discomfort and even some intimidation. I needed a little push from myself before I knew I could fly.

“Come to the edge,” he said.

“We can’t, we’re afraid!” they responded.

“Come to the edge,” he said.

“We can’t, We will fall!” they responded.

“Come to the edge,” he said.

And so they came.

And he pushed them.

And they flew.”

— Guillaume Apollinaire

Well, those beginning days are behind me now, but the purpose of this podcast has never changed. My goal from day 1 has been to bring you my knowledge and experience in this way of viewing ourselves known as Internal Family Systems or IFS.

Over the next few months, you can look forward to some fascinating interviews with IFS therapists about their specific interests:

• Stress and anxiety
• Sexuality
• The interactions between our parts and our nervous system
• And so much more!

So today, I want to give a brief overview of what IFS is and why it is so helpful to see yourself this way. I’ll also walk you through a question from a listener about IFS and Self compassion!

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Hello and welcome back to the Therapy Spot, everyone. As a bonus for the month of February, I am reissuing my interview with Martha Sweezy, Ph.D., from May 0f 2017. In addition to her therapy practice in Massachusetts, Martha works as an assistant professor at Harvard medical school. She teaches internationally as well, and has also co-authored multiple books on IFS. We spoke about managing internal and external critics, and the feelings of shame and blame in our lives.

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Hello, and welcome back once more to the Therapy Spot! My guest today is Kristy Arbon, the Founder and CEO of HeartWorks Training. Her work revolves around supporting people in their practice of self-compassion, mindfulness, somatic awareness, and shame resilience. Among her many other talents, she is an excellent mindful Self compassion coach and teacher. On today’s episode, she’ll introduce us to the concept of somatic Self compassion.

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Hello, everyone, and welcome to the December episode of the Therapy Spot! I’m excited to share with you today my conversation with Dr. Susan Reyland. Susan is a clinical and developmental psychologist with a practice here in Denver, as well as a fellow Internal Family Systems practitioner. She’s been a guest on my show several times, discussing topics such as attachment styles, resiliency, and childhood development.

On this episode, we talked about the autonomic nervous system. Your autonomic nervous system plays a huge role in how we physically and mentally react to threats. Don’t worry — this isn’t a vocabulary lesson, and you won’t have a quiz at the end! You will, however, learn a few things about yourself, such as how and why you react the way you do to certain situations.

As you read or listen along, I encourage you to use this chart for a reference point.

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Hello everyone, and welcome back to the Therapy Spot! I recently spoke about the IFS model of therapy at Google’s week of Inclusion and Diversity. While you may not think that has much to do with your daily life outside of work, the tools you use to relate with others are useful in all sorts of situations. So for this month’s episode of the Therapy Spot, I’d like to talk about how we can use IFS when we have differences with people. This can be family, friends, or a romantic partner — anyone you share an aspect of your life with.

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Hello and welcome back to the Therapy Spot! On this month’s episode, I want to talk about two things that go hand in hand: disappointment and acceptance. Disappointment can hit us hard and make us spin out — but for some reason, we tend to avoid talking about this difficult emotion. So today, I’d like to guide you towards a different perspective on disappointment. With this new perspective, you will have more choices, and a better understanding of yourself.

 

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