Ilyse Kennedy is known as the IFS girl for a reason. In this solo episode, she shares why Internal Family Systems therapy and parts work have been so transformative, both in her own healing as a trauma survivor and AuDHD human and in her work as a therapist. The idea that we aren’t black and white, but made up of many parts that all have good intentions, opened something up for her long before she ever trained in it. With a little help from Inside Out and Dwight Schrute, Ilyse breaks down: • What parts work is and where IFS came from, including its roots in Indigenous and shamanic traditions • Managers, exiles, and firefighters, plus the firefighter-shame cycle • Why IFS approaches exiles more slowly than inner child work • Self-energy, unburdening, and legacy burdens • Bonnie Badenoch’s inner community model, and the piece it adds for folks with complex trauma • Her own IFS therapy, including meeting her reaching parts after her divorce She also guides listeners through a short meditation to get to know a protective part. (If you’re driving, skip that section.) A heads up: IFS language can feel culty or triggering for anyone who has been in high-control groups or intense religions, so take what fits and shift the language as needed. This episode also touches on disordered eating, substance use, and grief.

Find Ilyse on Instagram @ilysekennedy

Check out her website HERE

Find out more about her therapy practice HERE

Buy her book HERE

Read her substack essays HERE