Dr. Richard Schwartz, creator of the Internal Family Systems (IFS) model, shares his insights on how psychedelics like ketamine and MDMA can unlock our compassionate core, known as 'Self energy.' He discusses their role in healing trauma by relaxing protective parts of our psyche, allowing access to repressed emotions. Schwartz reveals his own experiences with psychedelic-assisted therapy, transforms the narrative around 'bad trips,' and emphasizes respectful engagement with our internal parts for profound healing and personal growth.
01:06:00
forum Ask episode
web_stories AI Snips
view_agenda Chapters
menu_book Books
auto_awesome Transcript
info_circle Episode notes
insights INSIGHT
Psychedelics Unlock Self Energy
Psychedelics like ketamine and MDMA naturally relax protective parts of the psyche.
This relaxation allows quick access to the Self energy, facilitating profound healing.
insights INSIGHT
Internal Family Systems Model Explained
The psyche naturally consists of many parts, all valuable and protective.
The Self is a compassionate leader within that can heal and guide these parts.
volunteer_activism ADVICE
Respect Protectors Before Psychedelic Healing
Always seek permission from protective parts before engaging deeply with exiles during psychedelic sessions.
Address protector fears ahead through preparation to reduce backlash and support healing.
Get the Snipd Podcast app to discover more snips from this episode
In this episode of The Psychedelic Podcast, Paul F. Austin welcomes Dr. Richard Schwartz, creator of the Internal Family Systems (IFS) model of psychotherapy. Dick shares how he discovered that psychedelics naturally facilitate access to what IFS calls "Self energy" - the compassionate core within everyone that can heal wounded parts. He explains how medicines like ketamine and MDMA help relax protective parts of our psyche, revealing both Self energy and exiled parts that need healing. Dick reveals his personal journey with psychedelics, including his work with ketamine-assisted IFS therapy, and discusses the relationship between psychedelic experiences and spiritual guides. He emphasizes how reframing "bad trips" as opportunities for exiled parts to be witnessed can transform challenging experiences into profound healing moments.
Dick Schwartz began his career as a family therapist and academic at the University of Illinois at Chicago. There he discovered that family therapy alone did not achieve full symptom relief. His patients became his teachers as they described their inner "parts," which formed networks resembling the families he had been working with. He found that when patients separated from these parts, they shifted into a state of curiosity, calm, confidence, and compassion—what he called the Self. From these explorations, the Internal Family Systems (IFS) model was born in the early 1980s. Now evidence-based, IFS has become widely used, particularly for trauma work, offering non-pathologizing techniques for individuals, couples, families, corporations, and classrooms. Dick lives with his wife Jeanne near Chicago. Highlights:
The natural synergy between psychedelics and IFS therapy
How psychedelics temporarily quiet protective "manager" parts
Understanding how there are “no bad parts” of the psyche
The difference between Self and parts in IFS
Reconceptualizing "bad trips" as healing opportunities
IFS and shadow work
How psychedelics accelerate access to exiled parts
Moving IFS beyond therapy into leadership and systemic change
The Psychedelic Podcast 
