Fresh from the 2025 IFS Conference and in celebration of the podcast's 100th episode, I sit down with my friend and fellow IFS enthusiast, Tammy Sollenberger, for a lively and heartfelt debrief. In true synchronicity, we somehow kept signing up for the same seminars—without ever comparing notes beforehand. We talk about our parts, our paths, and maybe a touch of destiny.

Tammy opens up about what it’s like to be an “IFS celebrity” (yes, we said it!) and the part of her that found it difficult to fully surrender as a participant in sessions while being so publicly known in the community. I share about my socially anxious parts and how they showed up throughout the conference, and together we explore how our systems reacted to the intensity, the beauty, and the vulnerability of being surrounded by hundreds of other parts and protectors in one big IFS field.

I also share some clairvoyant messages that came through for both of us — intuitive nudges about healing, alignment, and the unexpected ways our friendship continues to unfold inside and outside the IFS community.

This episode is a blend of reflection, laughter, emotional honesty, and gentle self-discovery — just what you’d expect from two friends who speak IFS fluently and love exploring the edges between psychology and soul.

• How we kept accidentally attending all the same IFS conference seminars

• Tammy’s experience of being an “IFS celebrity” and the protector that kept her from full vulnerability as a participant

• My socially anxious parts and how they showed up in crowded conference spaces

• The parts of us that got activated during the conference — and how we worked with them

• Our individual experiences as presenters

• Tammy’s real-time vulnerability: sharing about her romantic breakup in her presentation and how her system responded

• Clairvoyant messages and intuitive insights that came through for both of us

• Takeaways, integration, and how the IFS model continues to deepen our friendships and inner awareness

Tammy Sollenberger is an author, podcaster, and psychotherapist. She’s a Certified IFS Therapist and Consultant who loves helping people new to IFS discover their Authentic Self. Tammy co-authored a chapter on the Enneagram and IFS with Joan Ryan in the book Altogether Us: Integrating the IFS Model with Key Modalities, Communities, and Trends. She’s also the author of The One Inside: Thirty Days to Your Authentic Self, and the host and producer of the popular weekly podcast, “The One Inside.”

Tammy has a part who always wishes she were reading on a sunny beach ☀️ Learn more about her work at tammysollenberger.com

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Want to work with Natalie? Contact her below

Website: https://www.ndwellnessservices.com/

Contact: https://www.ndwellnessservices.com/contact

Instagram: @nataliedeering

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Upgrade your business and let more people know about your amazing services or products by reaching hundreds to thousands of people by sponsoring an episode for only $100! Please email ndwellness.services@therapysecure.com for more information. Thank you for the support!

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In this episode, I sit down with one of my IFS mentors Chris Burris, LMFT, Senior Lead Trainer for the Internal Family Systems (IFS) Institute, to explore one of the most challenging and misunderstood aspects of our inner world: the inner critic.

Chris shares his personal journey with IFS and how the model offers a radical permission to approach ourselves—and our parts—with more love, kindness, and curiosity. Together, we discuss:

• Why people are more than the behavior of their parts

• The nature of inner critic parts and why pushing them away doesn’t work

• How cultural messages often teach us to fight or silence the inner critic, rather than befriend it

• Common “suck points” when working with critics in therapy

• The role of legacy burdens in shaping our inner critics

• What it means to carry the critical energy of others inside us

• The importance of following intuition in the healing process

• Practical exercises to begin befriending your inner critic on your own

This conversation is both grounding and liberating, offering a compassionate reframe for anyone who struggles with self-judgment or harsh inner voices.

Chris Burris, M.Ed., LCMHCS, LMFT (he/him), is a Senior Lead Trainer for the Internal Family Systems Institute, providing Level II and III trainings worldwide. He has been an IFS Therapist since 1999 and a practicing psychotherapist since 1987. With a background in marriage and family therapy and a mind-body approach, Chris has worked extensively with individuals, couples, families, and groups.

He is the author of Creating Healing Circles: Using the Internal Family Systems Model in Facilitating Groups, and has been leading experiential group trainings since 2003 on topics such as Self-leadership, men’s work, rites of passage, sacred activism, healthy relationships, and performance enhancement. Chris has also trained in nature-based models through the Animus Valley Institute, School of Lost Borders, The Foundation for Shamanic Studies, and The Center for Conscious Eldering.

• Internal Family Systems Institute: burriscounseling.com

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Want to work with Natalie? Contact her below

Website: https://www.ndwellnessservices.com/

Contact: https://www.ndwellnessservices.com/contact

Instagram: @nataliedeering

_____________________________

Donate to the podcast Here!

Interested in sponsoring an episode of the podcast?

Upgrade your business and let more people know about your amazing services or products by reaching hundreds to thousands of people by sponsoring an episode for only $100! Please email ndwellness.services@therapysecure.com for more information. Thank you for the support!

*Please support the podcast by following, rating, and leaving a review*

My guest today is Jenny Hayo (she/her)—teacher, guide, and practitioner of wisdom traditions for over 25 years—to explore the living, breathing experience of Self-energy and how it shapes our inner and outer worlds.

Together, we dive into:

• What it means to embody Self-energy instead of holding it as just an idea.

• The many ways people describe Self-energy, and how language can both help and limit us.

• A playful, unexpected moment when an otter appeared, bringing laughter into our conversation.

• What we are actually embodying when we talk about “being in Self.”

• The practice of interoception—tuning into the body’s signals and sensations.

• The difference between listening to the body and having an agenda for it.

• How Self can be both a deeply spiritual and beautifully ordinary experience.

• Ways to discover what your unique Self-energy feels like.

• The heart as a powerful portal into Self-energy.

• A simple practice Jenny shares for cultivating embodiment and accessing Self-energy in daily life.

Jenny Hayo has practiced and taught in the wisdom traditions for over 25 years. She synthesizes her decades of consciousness studies, meditation, and embodiment-centered practices to support students along the path of awakening. Her work is informed by Hindu philosophy, classical yoga, tantric Buddhism, and various somatic modalities. Jenny is certified in Hakomi, Internal Family Systems (IFS), and as a Yoga Therapist. Her understanding of the subtle body—and the importance of our relationship with it—lies at the heart of her work.

Jenny teaches public workshops, trainings, retreats, and offers individual coaching for students on the spiritual journey. She is deeply committed to creating a world of wakefulness and liberation for all.

Connect with Jenny Hayo: 📞 Phone: 206.931.8992 📧 Email: jenny@jennyhayo.com 🌐 Website: www.jennyhayo.com

Tune in and join us as we explore how to embody Self-energy—not as a concept, but as a lived, heart-centered experience!

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Want to work with Natalie? Contact her below

Website: https://www.ndwellnessservices.com/

Contact: https://www.ndwellnessservices.com/contact

Instagram: @nataliedeering

_____________________________

Donate to the podcast Here!

Interested in sponsoring an episode of the podcast? Upgrade your business and let more people know about your amazing services or products by reaching hundreds to thousands of people by sponsoring an episode for only $100! Please email ndwellness.services@therapysecure.com for more information. Thank you for the support!

*Please support the podcast by following, rating, and leaving a review*