Queering Internal Family Systems (IFS)

About Queering Internal Family Systems (IFS)

A new podcast by two Internal Family Systems (IFS) psychotherapists, Alessio Rizzo (he/they) and Jude Carn (she/they) uses the lenses of queering, neuroqueering, queerness and neurodiversity to make IFS more accessible to these marginalised identities and to support therapists in being better allies, supporters and advocates for their diverse clients.

Publisher

Jude Carn, Alessio Rizzo

Category

health & fitness

Language

en

Explicit

No

First episode

16 Feb 2025

Latest episode

29 Sept 2026

Latest episodes

22 episodes in the feed.

1. 

   29 Sept 2026

   Episode 20 - Queering Internal Family Systems (IFS) - Queering Menstrual Cycle Awareness in Therapy

   Queering Menstrual Cycle Awareness in Therapy, with Dr Charlie Ingham and Nancy Bancroft What happens when you bring the cyclical body into the therapy room, without the binaries, the "divine feminine", or the blue liquid? In this episode, Jude and Alessio are joined by clinical psychologists and IFS therapists Dr Charlie Ingham (she/they) and Dr Nancy Bancroft (she/her), who are about to run a training on menstrual cycle awareness for therapists. Together they explore how knowing your cycle can bring more Self-energy, more clarity and more compassion to your inner system, and how to talk about it in a way that includes everyone for whom it's relevant: women, trans and non-binary people with periods, intersex people, and anyone curious about the cycles moving through their body. In this episode: Hormonal literacy, not gender: moving menstrual cycle awareness away from gender essentialism and patronising, feminised language Why therapists might hesitate, and the history of female bodies being dismissed as "hormonal" and left out of research A biology lesson: circadian and infradian rhythms, oestrogen and progesterone, and why we are all cyclical beings Multiplicity of cycles and multiplicity of parts: what menstrual cycle awareness and IFS have in common Premenstrual pain, anger and exhaustion as communication, and as trailheads to what still needs healing Neurodivergence, PMDD and misdiagnosis Capitalism, patriarchy and colonialism in the models therapists were trained in Ancient wisdom that has been lost, not newly discovered How to invite clients into cycle tracking without invalidating their experience A starting point from Charlie: before you begin tracking, drop in and notice which parts show up when you think about this. Guests Dr Charlie Ingham (she/they): Instagram @drcharlieingham Dr Nancy Bancroft (she/her): Instagram @thebodyinmind Website and booking: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/menstrual-cycle-awareness-in-therapy-integrating-science-cyclical-wisdom-tickets-1994237943372 (https://www.eventbrite.com/e/menstrual-cycle-awareness-in-therapy-integrating-science-cyclical-wisdom-tickets-1994237943372) Resources mentioned Her Blood Is Gold by Dr Lara Owen Wild Power by Alexandra Pope and Sjanie Hugo Wurlitzer Red School and The Menstruality Podcast If you enjoyed this episode, have a listen to our back catalogue, and like, subscribe and share with a friend. Disclaimer This podcast is hosted by qualified therapists who share personal reflections and professional insights into therapy and mental health. The views expressed are those of the individual speakers or guests and are personal to them. While we talk about therapy, this podcast is not therapy. It's for information, reflection, and conversation only, and should never be considered a substitute for professional mental health support, diagnosis, or treatment. Listening to this podcast does not create a therapist-client relationship. Some episodes may touch on sensitive topics, so please take care while listening. If you're struggling, we encourage you to reach out to a qualified therapist or mental health professional in your area. Guest opinions are their own and don't necessarily reflect those of the hosts. Contacts Alessio Rizzo (He/They) is a Certified IFS psychotherapist, IFS Trainer with the IFS Institute, and Approved Clinical Consultant (ACC): www.therapywithalessio.com (http://www.therapywithalessio.com/) Jude Carn (She/They) is a Certified IFS psychotherapist and Approved Clinical Consultant (ACC): www.anchoredinself.co.uk (http://www.anchoredinself.co.uk/) | Instagram @anchored_in_self Sound editing by Forbes Coleman

2. 

   5 Aug 2026

   Episode 19 - Queering Internal Family Systems (IFS) - Transitional Justice and Global Voices

   IFS and Transitional Justice in Syria This episode is unlike any other in the Queering IFS series. Jude and Alessio are joined by Hane Alrustm, a Syrian-Lebanese psychoanalyst, theatre practitioner, and founder of Healing on the Move, currently living in Belgium as a refugee. Hane speaks from profound personal experience: the kidnapping of his father by the Syrian government in 2010, the disappearance and death of 10 to 15 family members over the years that followed, and his own exile through Lebanon to Belgium, a country chosen for him by the United Nations. The conversation centres on transitional justice: what it means for a society emerging from large-scale human rights violations to acknowledge what happened, hold perpetrators accountable, and find a path forward. Hane draws direct parallels with IFS, asking what the model can offer at a collective level when individual therapy is simply not available to 25 million people. The language of IFS, exiles, managers, firefighters, parts and self, maps with striking clarity onto the dynamics of a nation trying to transition without first doing the witnessing. They explore the particular grief of ambiguous loss, families unable to mourn without a body, legal systems that leave the missing suspended in limbo, and the question of how to hold perpetrators humanly without excusing what they did. Hane also names the urgency of inclusion: queer people, women, and those on the margins being left out of Syria's current transition is not just an injustice, it is a structural failure in the healing process itself. 00:00 Introductions 07:00 Hane's personal history and encounter with injustice 14:00 The Syrian Revolution and its global impact 30:00 What is transitional justice? 33:00 IFS language and collective exile 37:00 Ambiguous loss and the families of the disappeared 44:00 Accountability without demonising 47:00 Including all voices in the transition 50:00 The Tadamun massacre and layers of hurt 54:00 What IFS can offer at a collective level Healing on the Move Hane's network of mental health professionals offering companionship to people on the move: healingonthemove.com (https://www.healingonthemove.com/) / Instagram: @healingonthemove Disclaimer This podcast is hosted by qualified therapists who share personal reflections and professional insights into therapy and mental health. The views expressed are those of the individual speakers or guests and are personal to them. While we talk about therapy, this podcast is not therapy. It's for information, reflection, and conversation only, and should never be considered a substitute for professional mental health support, diagnosis, or treatment. Listening to this podcast does not create a therapist-client relationship. Some episodes may touch on sensitive topics, so please take care while listening. If you're struggling, we encourage you to reach out to a qualified therapist or mental health professional in your area. Guest opinions are their own and don't necessarily reflect those of the hosts. Contacts Alessio Rizzo (He/They) is a Certified IFS psychotherapist, IFS Trainer with the IFS Institute, and Approved Clinical Consultant (ACC) — www.therapywithalessio.com (https://www.therapywithalessio.com/) Jude Carn (She/They) is a Certified IFS psychotherapist and Approved Clinical Consultant (ACC) — www.anchoredinself.co.uk (https://www.anchoredinself.co.uk/) Sound editing by Forbes Coleman

3. 

   8 Jul 2026

   Episode 18 - Queering Internal Family Systems (IFS) - Adapting IFS for NeuroQueer Clients

   Adapting IFS for Neuroqueer Clients In this episode, Jude and Alessio open up a conversation they've been circling for a while: what does it actually mean to adapt IFS for neurodivergent and queer clients? Not as a checklist of tweaks, but as something more fundamental. They talk about the difference between changing a slide background colour and genuinely redesigning how the model is taught and held. Alessio shares his experience collaborating on the first neurodivergent-friendly Level 1 IFS training, and reflects on how access fatigue can creep in when a model built for neurotypical brains is simply handed over unchanged. From there the conversation moves into the clinical room: what happens when a therapist mistakes verbal processing for a storytelling part, or cognitive processing time for intellectualising? How do two systems, therapist and client, both trying to do IFS "right," end up getting in each other's way? And what does it mean to stay genuinely curious rather than reaching for a protocol? Jude also names something she feels strongly about: IFS is not a linear march toward exile work. Protectors are not obstacles. All parts matter, and working with them is as valuable as anything else the model offers. This is the first of what will likely be several episodes on this theme. Time Stamps 00:00 Introduction and today's topic 02:30 Why adaptations aren't just add-ons 05:50 Neurodivergent-friendly IFS training 08:00 Mistaking self-expression for parts 11:00 Access fatigue and trying to do IFS right 14:00 The therapeutic relationship as container 17:00 Learning the model before adapting it 21:00 Being self-led in how you meet other systems 23:00 All parts are valid, protectors included 26:00 Grace, practice, and to be continued Disclaimer This podcast is hosted by qualified therapists who share personal reflections and professional insights into therapy and mental health. The views expressed are those of the individual speakers or guests and are personal to them. While we talk about therapy, this podcast is not therapy. It's for information, reflection, and conversation only, and should never be considered a substitute for professional mental health support, diagnosis, or treatment. Listening to this podcast does not create a therapist-client relationship. Some episodes may touch on sensitive topics, so please take care while listening. If you're struggling, we encourage you to reach out to a qualified therapist or mental health professional in your area. Guest opinions are their own and don't necessarily reflect those of the hosts. Contacts Alessio Rizzo (He/They) is a Certified IFS psychotherapist, IFS Trainer with the IFS Institute, and Approved Clinical Consultant (ACC) — www.therapywithalessio.com (www.therapywithalessio.com) Jude Carn (She/They) is a Certified IFS psychotherapist and Approved Clinical Consultant (ACC) — www.anchoredinself.co.uk (www.anchoredinself.co.uk) Sound editing by Forbes Coleman

Reach and audience

Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.

Apple Podcasts (US)

4.0 / 5

3 ratings

Spotify

5.0 / 5

12 ratings

Podcast Authority Score: 32 / 100

A composite of feed quality, social presence, YouTube performance and engagement. Read the methodology.

Quality

52

Social presence

0

YouTube

0

Engagement

32

Contact Queering Internal Family Systems (IFS)

Guest appearances

Books guests

Based on episode analysis; this does not confirm that the show is currently accepting guests.

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