The One Inside: An Internal Family Systems (IFS) podcast

Self as Medicine: IFS and Psychedelics with Nick Brüss

Oct 14, 2025

In this insightful conversation, Nick Brüss, a licensed therapist specializing in psychedelic-assisted therapy, shares his expertise on integrating Internal Family Systems (IFS) with psychedelics. He discusses how IFS can facilitate grounding during psychedelic experiences and emphasizes that true healing comes from post-journey integration. Nick warns against spiritual bypassing, urging a compassionate approach to self-exploration. He also highlights how Self can evoke the same connection and wonder that psychedelics often reveal, reminding us that authentic healing begins within.

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ANECDOTE

How One Workshop Changed His Path

Nick describes watching a MAPS MDMA clip where a veteran spontaneously related to inner parts, which sparked his interest in psychedelics.
That moment led him to join MAPS research and work with MDMA-assisted therapy clinically.

INSIGHT

Legal Status Shapes Access

Ketamine is the only psychedelic widely available in U.S. clinical settings because it's Schedule III and prescribable.
MDMA, psilocybin, and LSD remain Schedule I despite promising therapeutic results.

INSIGHT

Medicine Opens The Window, Self Heals

Psychedelics can amplify connection to Self energy but don't do the healing by themselves.
Healing comes from the relationship with Self and how we integrate what the medicine reveals.

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How can Internal Family Systems help us prepare for, experience, and integrate psychedelic journeys in a truly Self-led way? And what if Self itself can be the journey, without medicine at all?

In this episode, I talk with Nick Brüss, an IFS practitioner and licensed marriage and family therapist who specializes in psychedelic-assisted therapy. What I loved about this conversation is how grounded and humble Nick is about the work. He reminds us that psychedelics can open the door, but Self is what does the healing.

Why listen: Many people are curious about how psychedelics and IFS intersect. This conversation goes deeper into integration, humility, and what it really means to let Self lead before, during, and after expanded states.

In this conversation, we explore:

How IFS can guide and ground psychedelic experiences through Self Energy
Why integration, not the journey itself, is where true healing happens
How to meet expanded states with curiosity, consent, and care for all parts
How to partner with the medicine to turn toward what needs our attention, bringing the same kind of compassion and curiosity we bring to our parts
The nervous system and trauma dynamics that often surface after psychedelic experiences
How Self can open the same sense of connection and wonder that psychedelics reveal
The risks of spiritual bypass and how to stay Self-led
What an ethical, Self-led approach to psychedelic healing looks like

Favorite Quotes:

“The real question is, are we partnering with the medicine, or are we giving it all the power?” — Nick Brüss

“Psychedelics don’t heal anyone. They open a window. What heals is the relationship with Self.” — Nick Brüss

Connect with Nick at www.apracticeoffreedom.com

Episode Sponsor

Pisgah Coaching Institute: Founded by IFS-trained master coach Brian Jaudon, a pioneer in the integration of IFS and coaching for more than two decades. Brian and his faculty teach a blended methodology for clarifying and living into a vision of any kind. pisgahcoaching.com

About The One Inside

I started this podcast to help spread IFS out into the world and make the model more accessible to everyone. Seven years later, that’s still at the heart of all we do.

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I create The One Inside with my friend, Jeff Schrum, a Level 2 IFS practitioner who loves helping clients create with confidence and clarity.

Resources

New to IFS? My book, The One Inside: Thirty Days to Your Authentic Self, is a great place to start.
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Sponsorship

Want to sponsor an episode of The One Inside? Email Tammy.