The Stories We Tell Ourselves with Jodie Benveniste
The One Inside: An Internal Family Systems (IFS) podcast
Release Date: 03/01/2025
Where Parts Meet Belief with Bob Falconer, Chelsea Odhner, and Jonathan Rose
The One Inside: An Internal Family Systems (IFS) podcast
On this week's episode, I welcome Bob Falconer, Chelsea Odhner, and Jonathan Rose, the co-authors of the new book, Opening the Inner World. We dive into what it means to be both spiritual and plural. If you've ever found yourself wondering how inner work and spiritual seeking overlap, this episode is for you. We explore: What happens when we bring the language of parts into our spiritual lives? Can the concept of "Self Energy" connect with notions of divine presence? How does the idea of God resonate differently for various people and their inner parts? How can IFS be a deeply...
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IFS and Manifesting with Michael and Leela Hunter
The One Inside: An Internal Family Systems (IFS) podcast
In today's episode, I talk with Michael and Leela Hunter, the creators of — a year-long program and community that combines IFS, manifestation, and neurofeedback. We explore what manifestation really means through an IFS lens, how subconscious parts shape our experience, and why “feeling good” is a nervous system state we can track and train. Our conversation explores how IFS intersects with manifestation, nervous system states, and the beliefs our parts hold about what’s possible. Key takeaways: How parts influence what we manifest Self Energy as a measurable frequency Why some...
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Bringing Your Whole Self to Prayer with Julie Honeycutt
The One Inside: An Internal Family Systems (IFS) podcast
In this week’s episode, I sit down with my friend Julie Honeycutt, a licensed professional counselor, certified IFS therapist, and approved clinical consultant. Julie has been integrating faith and counseling for over 20 years, and in this conversation, we explore how our attachment styles, parts, Enneagram, and developmental stages all shape our prayer life and spiritual connection. Julie shares that our attachment patterns and spiritual experiences are deeply linked, and how IFS offers a pathway to spirituality and how our different parts, even those with doubts We explore the idea that...
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Mastering Direct Access in IFS with Dave Adamusko
The One Inside: An Internal Family Systems (IFS) podcast
On this week's episode I'm thrilled to have my friend and colleague, Dave Adamusko, join me to demystify "direct access"—a powerful technique that allows IFS practitioners to speak directly to a client's parts. Dave and I dive deep into why direct access is so essential, especially for clients with trauma histories or deeply blended parts who might struggle with more traditional "insight" methods. Dave leads me in a brief session to demonstrate explicit direct access, engaging with a part of me that was feeling annoyed and ignored, and we trace its origins back to a childhood experience. It...
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Parenting, Parts, and Repair with Anna Purpero
The One Inside: An Internal Family Systems (IFS) podcast
What if the magic in parenting doesn’t happen in the moment you get it right, but in the moment you come back and repair? This week, I talk with educator, children’s book author, and Self-led parent Anna Purpero, and I just loved this conversation so much. Anna has two little boys and a big heart, and she shares so honestly about what happens when our protectors take over in parenting and how IFS helped her find a new way forward. We talk about: What happens in our bodies when our kids fight (and why we feel like we're in danger) Why repair — not perfection — is the real magic The...
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Align Your Mind with Britt Frank
The One Inside: An Internal Family Systems (IFS) podcast
Britt Frank escaped a cult, rebuilt her life after addiction, and is one of the most grounded, funny, and inspiring IFS speakers and educators around. In this week’s episode, we talk about her new book , and how parts work helped her move from chaos to clarity. We get into all of it...motivation, procrastination, inner critics, cults, menopause, and what alignment looks like beyond the buzzwords. Britt shares how she uses parts language in her own life, how she reframes procrastination as protection, and why your most extreme parts might actually be your best coaches. She also opens up about...
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Honoring Teen Parts with Ann-Katrin Bockmann, Kasra Mirzaie, and Robin Barre
The One Inside: An Internal Family Systems (IFS) podcast
In this week's episode I welcome three guests--Robin Barre, Ann-Katrin Bockmann, and Kasra Mirzaie--to talk about IFS and working with teenagers. We explore how IFS often skips over this phase of life, both in how we work with clients and how we relate to our own inner adolescent parts. We tend to romanticize childhood or focus on early wounding, yet there’s a lot of cringing and avoiding when it comes to the teenage years. Adolescence is where so much transformation happens. It’s where meaning gets made. It’s when parts start to emerge with passion, intensity, and voice. My guests are...
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We're All Multiples: Bridging IFS and the Plural Community with Dick Schwartz and Tiffany "Ocean" Morgan
The One Inside: An Internal Family Systems (IFS) podcast
I’m so thrilled to welcome Dick Schwartz, the founder of Internal Family Systems (IFS), back to the podcast, as well as my friend Ocean, who brings her voice and lived experience to this important conversation. Today, we explore the intersection between IFS and the plural community--those living with DID (Dissociative Identity Disorder) and OSDD (Other Specified Dissociative Disorders). What’s the difference between DI parts and the IFS parts many of us talk about? How can we bridge misunderstandings between the IFS community and those living with more distinct parts? This...
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Which Part Is Parenting with Susan Stiffelman
The One Inside: An Internal Family Systems (IFS) podcast
On today's episode I chat with Susan Stiffelman, a licensed marriage and family therapist, author, parenting coach, and host of the Parenting Without Power Struggles podcast. We talk about parts, of course. Parenting parts. Spiritual seeker parts. Inner children who hide behind locked doors. And how she gently helps people return to center. Susan shares stories from her work and from her own life, including how she stayed connected to herself (and her child) during a divorce, and why she believes parenting is one of life's most profound trailheads. Key takeaways from this episode: ...
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Silence, Stories, and Self: My intuitive path to parts work with Jessica Laurel Kane
The One Inside: An Internal Family Systems (IFS) podcast
On today’s episode I meet Jessica Laurel Kane, a writer, illustrator, and storyteller whose new book, , captures the spirit of Internal Family Systems in such an authentic and creative way. Jessica isn’t formally trained in IFS, but she lives it and teaches it through her stories, illusrations, and books. She discovered IFS organically during a slient retreat and got to know her inner world by interviewing her parts--like characters in a story. Her work shows how imagination can be a healing tool. She makes “being with your parts” feel accessible, visual, and real. This...
info_outlineOn today's episode I chat with Jodie Benveniste, an IFS-trained psychologist and author. Through her personal healing journey using IFS she discovered how fiction writing and storytelling can be a powerful path to self-understanding and emotional healing.
Jodie and I talk about her debut novel, Never, Not Ever, a YA romance that integrates IFS therapy into the story. We explore how fiction can serve as a safe space for transformation, why romance novels tap into Self Energy, and how the creative process mirrors the IFS journey. This conversation is all about the power of stories—both the ones we tell ourselves and the ones we read. I think you’re going to love it!
Key Takeaways:
- “Parts all have stories, don’t they?” Jodie shares how working with her parts allowed her to embrace fiction writing and how characters in a novel are not so different from the inner characters we meet in IFS.
- How does storytelling create a safe container for healing?
- Story is a powerful adjunct to IFS therapy
- “I had a teen part who made me watch a rom-com 20 times!” -- How reconnecting with her younger parts helped shape her writing process.
- Teen fiction can support adult mental health, too!
- Why romance is the world’s most popular genre—and how it invites readers to expand their hearts and tap into Self Energy.
- What can we learn from the stories our parts tell us? Jodie and I reflect on how parts hold onto old narratives and how fiction can help us imagine new possibilities.
- How fiction can invite teens to learn about and explore mental health topics, destigmatizing therapy and showing how healing happens.
Favorite Quote:
"So, to me, the healing process is story-based, and it is imaginative. At the core of healing is a reimagining. And that’s what we can do with story." – Jodie Benveniste
About Jodie: Jodie Benveniste is an author and psychologist who writes heart-expanding young adult contemporary romance. She writes about love and friendships, family relationships, wellbeing, and mental health healing, introducing readers to their amazing inner world and its incredible depths. She’s been a psychologist in private practice, trusted parenting expert, organizational consultant, academic researcher, and Chair of the Board of an Independent School. But, at heart, she’s always been a writer. She now writes entertaining, unputdownable and heart-expanding fiction that has healing at its heart.
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Jeff Schrum co-produces The One Inside Podcast. He is a writer, counselor, and IFS Level 2 practitioner.
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Tammy is grateful for Jack Reardon who created music for the podcast. Jack is a graduate of Derek Scott’s IFS Stepping Stones Program.
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