Going Inside: Healing Trauma From the Inside Out
Featured episode:
Tune in on your favorite platform:
Live IFS Session with Deliane | Internal Family Systems Demo
In this vulnerable IFS demo, Deliane explores the emotional weight she carries in relationships and the protective parts behind her defensiveness and exhaustion. Together, John and Deliane uncover how sensitivity, longing for connection, and emotional protection become deeply intertwined - and how healing begins when protective parts finally feel seen.
Why Therapists Should Never Work Harder Than Clients
In this live Q&A episode, John Clarke answers listener questions about IFS therapy, shame, addiction, protectors, and self-energy. He explores why therapists often burn themselves out by working harder than their clients, why slowing down is essential for healing, and what it really means to trust the client’s system in the therapeutic process.
Why Therapists Struggle with IFS (And What Helps)
In this episode, I’m joined by Teddy Knebel, an IFS therapist and long-time Program Assistant for IFS trainings, to explore what it really looks like to grow into your voice as a therapist. We talk about the anxiety that shows up when learning IFS, how to relate to parts that want to “get it right,” and why trusting your own unique style is essential to effective therapy. If you’re new to IFS or looking to deepen your practice, this conversation will help you feel more grounded, confident, and connected in your work.
Stop Guessing: Real vs Fake Parts Work in IFS
In this live Q&A episode, John Clarke dives into one of the most common (and important) questions in Internal Family Systems (IFS): how to distinguish authentic parts communication from imagined responses. He explores what real connection feels like, why “waiting and listening” matters, and how to spot when a client is genuinely accessing parts versus performing or guessing.
John also unpacks key challenges therapists face in session, including working with analytical clients, navigating multiple parts without shutting them down, and responding to dissociation with more care and curiosity. This episode is packed with practical insights to help you deepen your IFS work and avoid common pitfalls.
IFS Therapy: Parts Work, Panic & Protectors
In this episode, John Clarke answers therapists’ questions about applying Internal Family Systems in real clinical situations. Topics include working with Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID), perfectionistic protector parts, and fear-based panic responses. John also shares a simple lens that can change how therapists understand client behavior.
When Kundalini Awakening Feels Like Trauma
What happens when a spiritual awakening feels more like a psychological breakdown?
In this powerful conversation, I sit down with Peter Legård Nielsen to explore spontaneous Kundalini awakenings through the lens of Internal Family Systems (IFS). Peter shares his own harrowing experience of a sudden awakening at age 18 that led to insomnia, terror, and years of destabilization — and how IFS ultimately helped him transform that trauma into integration, healing, and meaning.
We explore how to discern Kundalini energy from trauma responses or unattached burdens, how therapists can safely approach this territory, and why relationship — not suppression — may be the key to working with overwhelming spiritual energy.
IFS Protectors, ADHD & Work Addiction
In this live Q&A episode of Going Inside, I answer real-time questions from therapists about high-achieving clients, ADHD and over-functioning, shutdown responses during trauma work, and the deeper question: are memories actually parts?
We explore how protector parts drive work addiction, why some clients can’t stop checking email, what’s really happening when someone gets sleepy during parts work, and how polarized masculine protectors impact relationships. This episode dives into the subtle complexities of IFS while keeping it grounded and practical for therapists in the room.
If you’ve ever wondered whether you’re moving too fast in trauma work — or whether a client’s ambition is actually fear in disguise — this one’s for you.
Accessing Self Energy: A 6-Minute Reset for Therapists
What if you could access clarity, compassion, and grounded leadership in just a few minutes?
In this short guided meditation, John invites you to pause and take inventory of what you’re carrying — from your professional roles to your personal responsibilities — and reconnect with Self energy. This practice helps you shift from doing to being, from reacting to leading from the heart. Whether you’re between sessions or starting your day, this 6-minute reset is a simple way to return to your center.
IFS or SE First? The Grounding Debate Therapists Face
In this live Q&A episode of Going Inside, John Clarke dives deep into the intersection of Internal Family Systems (IFS) and Somatic Experiencing (SE). Therapists asked real questions about how to ground clients with complex trauma, whether SE can bypass protectors, and how to handle burnout, fear of messing up, and imposter syndrome. John offers raw, nuanced insights—from co-regulation to clinical contracting—that will resonate with any trauma-informed therapist striving to do deeper, more relational work.
AI, Exiles & Ethics in IFS: What Therapists Must Know
In this episode of Going Inside Live, John Clarke unpacks some of the most pressing questions therapists are facing today. From the ethical risks of moving too fast with exiles in IFS therapy, to how AI is already being used by clients and therapists alike, this episode offers grounded insight and practical advice. Whether you're navigating parts work or exploring how AI tools fit into your practice, John’s perspective will help you deepen your skill and awareness as a therapist.
How IFS Changes Everything for Therapists
In this solo episode, John Clarke explores how Internal Family Systems (IFS) therapy reshapes the way therapists understand their clients, their work, and themselves. He answers live questions from fellow practitioners about numbness, blending, unburdening fallout, and parts that resist the IFS model entirely. With raw honesty and grounded clinical insight, John also shares how grief, meaninglessness, and therapist rescuing energy show up in the room—and how to handle it all with curiosity and compassion.
If you're craving a deeper therapeutic experience—for your clients and yourself—this episode will guide you back to self-energy, presence, and purpose.
IFS + Somatic Tools: The Therapist's Guide to Real Healing
What does it really mean to integrate IFS and somatic work in a way that’s effective — not just for your clients, but for you as the therapist? In this live Q&A episode, John Clarke dives deep into the intersections of IFS, polyvagal theory, somatic therapy, and nervous system regulation. Whether you're navigating anxious clients, parts that over-intellectualize, or your own burnout, this episode offers grounded insights and powerful frameworks to help you heal and show up with more self-energy.
Transforming Shame with Parts Work: The Self-Love Triangle
What if your inner critic, your shame, and your perfectionism are all working together in secret? In this episode, John Clarke sits down with Jessica Fern and David Cooley, authors of Transforming the Shame Triangle: From Shame to Love Using Parts Work, to explore the unconscious internal system that keeps us stuck—and how to break free. Whether you're a therapist, coach, or someone doing deep inner work, this conversation introduces a powerful IFS-inspired framework for turning shame into compassion and healing from the inside out.
Can IFS Therapy Be Dangerous? What You Need to Know
In this episode of Going Inside Live, John Clarke tackles a wide range of real-time questions from therapists, including a provocative one: Can Internal Family Systems (IFS) therapy actually be harmful? John explores the nuances of working with protectors, polarization, dissociation, DID, and the ethical concerns therapists face when practicing powerful modalities like IFS.
Whether you're an IFS practitioner or just curious about parts work, this episode is filled with candid insights and clinical gems to deepen your therapeutic presence.
Why Insight Work Fails—and How to Go Deeper with IFS
When clients say “I don’t know” in session, it can feel like hitting a wall. In this live Q&A episode, John Clarke breaks down what’s really happening when insight work stalls—and how Internal Family Systems (IFS) offers a radically different way forward. From hypoarousal and hopelessness to therapist parts that want to fix everything, this episode gives practical strategies for going deeper, staying in self, and navigating the complexity of parts work. Whether you're doing IFS solo or with clients, you'll walk away with tools, insights, and a deeper respect for the process.

