Gentle Steps to Connect With Your Protector Parts

Gentle Steps to Connect With Your Protector Parts

In this episode of Heart Set Above we explore gentle, faith-filled ways to care for our hearts and walk in deeper wholeness with the Lord. In today’s episode of our Internal Family Systems (IFS) series, we’re taking the next tender step together—learning how to truly connect with our parts, validate them, and begin building trust so they can relax into God’s care and ours. We start with the beautiful foundational truth that all parts are good. Every pattern of thinking, feeling, or behaving comes from a good intention, even when the methods feel painful or exhausting. You’ll hear practical guidance on: • Creating a safe “meeting place” in your imagination to gently invite and get to know your parts • How to notice what your protector parts look like, where you feel them in your body, and how to approach them with curiosity instead of judgment • The power of validation—summarizing, offering compassion, and expressing gratitude to the parts that have been working so hard to protect you Whether you're exploring Internal Family Systems therapy, Christian counseling, or just trying to understand your own reactions and inner conflict — this episode will give you language and compassion for what's happening inside you. -- Connect with Ellen https://heartsetabove.com/ https://linktr.ee/ellenradcliff -- Listen to the Podcast: Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast... Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/6Ra0vlh... #christianpodcast #internalfamilysystems #ifs #christiantherapy #mentalhealth #FaithAndHealing #traumahealing #christianmentalhealth #HeartSetAbove

Why Do I Self-Sabotage? The Truth About Protector Parts

What if the part of you that you hate the most — the inner critic, the wall-builder, the people-pleaser — is actually trying to protect you? In this episode of the Heart Set Above Podcast, Ellen Radcliff, LMFT, dives deeper into Internal Family Systems (IFS) by exploring protector parts: what they are, why they form, and how to engage them with curiosity instead of frustration or shame. You'll learn why almost all IFS work begins with protector parts — and why fighting, ignoring, or shaming these parts never leads to lasting change. In this episode, you'll learn: * Why protector parts often look like "bad parts" but are actually misguided good parts * The "8 C's" of your core self — calm, curiosity, compassion, clarity, confidence, courage, creativity, connectedness * How to recognize when another protector part has "entered the room" * How inviting God into this process changes everything Catch up on the series: 📌 Episode 1: https://youtu.be/F5X-0AYK9c8?si=G1kXhMVxog1zo9jF 📌 Episode 2: https://youtu.be/wRX99Jk9F0c?si=kWKMvzB8bfUujLBu Whether you're exploring Internal Family Systems therapy, Christian counseling, or just trying to understand your own reactions and inner conflict — this episode will give you language and compassion for what's happening inside you. -- Connect with Ellen https://heartsetabove.com/ https://linktr.ee/ellenradcliff -- Listen to the Podcast: Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast... Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/6Ra0vlh... #christianpodcast #internalfamilysystems #ifs #christiantherapy #mentalhealth #FaithAndHealing #traumahealing #christianmentalhealth #HeartSetAbove

Why Do We Build Walls? Understanding IFS Protector Parts Through a Faith Lens

What does a childhood memory about spicy food have to do with healing your inner wounds? More than you'd think. In this episode of the Heart Set Above Podcast, Ellen Radcliff, LMFT, gets personal — sharing a real-life example of how Internal Family Systems (IFS) actually works from the inside out. If the IFS framework has felt abstract or hard to grasp, this episode is for you. You'll hear how a small, seemingly insignificant moment in childhood can form a core belief — and how our inner system builds protector parts around that wound to keep us safe. Ellen walks through her own experience with a protector part rooted in the belief "no one will protect you, so don't need anyone" — and how God entered that story in a deeply personal, healing way. This episode is part of our ongoing IFS series. -- Connect with Ellen https://heartsetabove.com/ https://linktr.ee/ellenradcliff -- Listen to the Podcast: Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast... Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/6Ra0vlh... #christianpodcast #internalfamilysystems #ifs #christiantherapy #mentalhealth #FaithAndHealing #traumahealing #christianmentalhealth #HeartSetAbove

Understanding Your Inner World: Internal Family Systems & Faith

In this episode of the Heart Set Above podcast, Ellen Radcliffe, LMFT, introduces Internal Family Systems (IFS) — a therapeutic framework that helps people understand the different “parts” of themselves with greater compassion, clarity, and honesty. But this isn’t IFS disconnected from faith. Ellen explores the model through a deeply biblical lens, discussing how protector parts, wounded parts, and the “core self” relate to the Christian understanding of living in a fallen world — far from Eden, yet still created in the image of God. In this episode, we cover: • What Internal Family Systems (IFS) actually is • The difference between “parts” and your true self • How trauma and unmet needs shape our inner world This episode begins a brand-new series unpacking IFS in practical, theologically grounded ways to help Christians better understand themselves, navigate emotional healing, and grow closer to God. -- Connect with Ellen https://heartsetabove.com/ https://linktr.ee/ellenradcliff -- Listen to the Podcast: Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast... Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/6Ra0vlh... #christianpodcast #internalfamilysystems #ifs #christiantherapy #mentalhealth #FaithAndHealing #traumahealing #christianmentalhealth #HeartSetAbove

How Autism Changed Our Faith (The Hard Truth) | Ep. 2

In this episode of the Heart Set Above Podcast, Ellen Radcliff, LMFT, is joined by Chelsea Novak for part 2 of our Autism Awareness Month episodes. How does your faith hold up when life doesn’t go the way you planned? We move beyond diagnosis and daily life—and into the deeper, more personal question: Where is God in all of this? As autism moms walking very different journeys, we share how raising children on the spectrum has challenged, stretched, and ultimately reshaped our faith. In this episode, we talk about: * Wrestling with God in seasons of grief and uncertainty * How suffering has refined our understanding of faith * Trusting God when the future feels unpredictable * Letting go of control and embracing reality This is not a polished or perfect conversation—it’s honest, vulnerable, and rooted in real-life experience. 💬 “This journey has forced me to see everything through new eyes.” 💬 “Grief doesn’t disappear—it changes, and so does your faith.” -- Connect with Ellen https://heartsetabove.com/ https://linktr.ee/ellenradcliff -- Listen to the Podcast: Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast... Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/6Ra0vlh...