Show Notes
Our guest today is Sarah Bergenfield, a Somatic Psychologist, and a Level 3-trained and Certified IFS practitioner, specializing in autism. Sarah holds a master’s degree in embodiment studies and wrote her thesis on autism as an embodied condition that impacts the brain, body, and mind. Sarah is a student in the Applied Neuroscience program at Kings College in London and begins her Ph.D. in Psychology in September at the California Institute of Integral Studies. She is a wife, mom to three children, and dog mom to Magnus, her assistance dog. Sarah is the co-author of the book, Embodying Autism – Navigating your Autistic Brain, Body, and Mind, written with Martha Sweezey and published next year by New Harbinger. She is an international speaker and educator on the topic of understanding autism as an embodied condition. We will be speaking with Sarah about the nature of autism (Episode Part 1) and (Episode Part 2) how IFS concepts and techniques can be understood through the lens of autism, how IFS therapy can be helpful for autistic clients, and some special considerations to keep in mind when working with autistic clients with IFS. Hope you enjoy the episode and find it useful.
More from IFS Talks
In this episode, we sit with Cece Sykes, LCSW, a leadi trainer at the IFS Institute with over forty years of clinical experience in trauma and addiction recovery, to explore one of the most distinctive and challenging aspects of the IFS model: how therapists actually help clients find their way to Self.
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In this special episode of IFS Talks, we welcome Richard C. Schwartz, Martha Sweezy, David Lovas, and Sunny Strasburg, authors of Psychedelic Medicine and Internal Family Systems Therapy: A Clinical Skills Manual. Together, we explore why IFS and psychedelic-assisted therapy can be naturally complementary, and why the medicine itself is only one part of the therapeutic process. Our guests discuss the importance of preparation, respect for protectors, internal consent, careful pacing, therapeutic presence, clinical safety, and ethical practice. The conversation examines how therapists can distinguish Self-energy from altered or dissociative states, decide when to intervene during challenging experiences, and respond to fear, overwhelm, shutdown, and protector backlash. We also consider sensitive questions concerning touch, boundaries, therapist readiness, personal experience with psychedelic medicines, and the assessment of clients for whom this work may not yet be safe. Finally, we turn to integration: how IFS can help people make sense of psychedelic experiences, reconnect with every part of their system, and translate insight into meaningful and sustainable change. We believe this is a thoughtful and clinically grounded conversation about the possibilities of bringing IFS and psychedelic medicine together, without losing sight of humility, consent, safety, and respect for the client’s inner healing intelligence. This episode is intended for educational purposes only and does not constitute medical advice or encourage the use of psychedelic substances outside appropriately qualified, ethical, and legal settings. We are excited to celebrate the launch of IFS Collected Wisdom: Conversations with Experienced Voices in Internal Family Systems a book that brings together voices, reflections, and lived experience from across the IFS community. This book was created from a desire to honor those voices, and to acknowledge that wisdom in IFS doesn’t live in one place or one person. It lives in relationship, in experience, and in the field as it evolves. Thank you for being a listener, for being part of this community, and for continuing to explore what becomes possible when Self leads. We hope that IFS Collected Wisdom can become a companion in your IFS journey. Here is a link to the IFS Collected Wisdom book contents.
We are excited to celebrate the launch of IFS Collected Wisdom: Conversations with Experienced Voices in Internal Family Systems a book that brings together voices, reflections, and lived experience from across the IFS community. This book was created from a desire to honor those voices, and to acknowledge that wisdom in IFS doesn’t live in one place or one person. It lives in relationship, in experience, and in the field as it evolves. Thank you for being a listener, for being part of this community, and for continuing to explore what becomes possible when Self leads. We hope that IFS Collected Wisdom can become a companion in your IFS journey. Here is a link to the IFS Collected Wisdom book contents.
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