Empowered through Compassion

05/15/2026

In this special livestream episode of Empowered Through Compassion, David and Heather are joined by an extraordinary panel of contributors from the book IFS-Informed EMDR: Creative and Collaborative Approaches for an amazing conversation exploring foundational frameworks that shape trauma healing. T...

05/06/2026

I’ve been thinking a lot lately about how we understand what we’re seeing in the therapy room.

Is it parts in conflict? (IFS)
Memory networks shaped by the past? (EMDR)
A nervous system responding to threat? Polyvagal Theory)
Or something happening in the space between us?

Each of these clinicians brings a different way of making sense of that question.

What I’ve been appreciating more and more is that these frameworks don’t have to compete with one another. Instead, they can deepen our understanding when we hold them together.

This upcoming livestream will be a space to explore these perspectives in real time.

If this kind of conversation resonates with you, I’d love for you to join us.

May 12th
12:00–1:00 PM EST

Link in bio.

05/04/2026

Love is slowing down.
Love is being present.

But what happens when fear is what we’re actually feeling?

Just released a new episode with Bryan Post.

We explore a powerful idea:
that all behavior arises from stress, and underneath that stress is either fear or love.

We spoke about how healing is love, because fear and love cannot be felt together.

If you’re interested in trauma, healing, and how we show up with others, this episode will really resonate with you!

Link in bio.

05/03/2026

In this episode, I sit down with Bryan Post to explore a simple yet powerful idea: that all behavior arises from a state of stress, and beneath that stress is either fear or love. What stood out to me in this conversation is how Bryan’s work and model aligns with IFS, Motivational Interviewing and...

04/27/2026

In this episode of Empowered Through Compassion, I sit down with Sarah Cameron to explore the heart of Motivational Interviewing (MI) and how it comes alive not just as a technique, but as a way of being. Our conversation moves beyond skills and into something deeper, "the spirit", and how it parall...

04/09/2026

This special episode was recorded in front of a live audience. Heather and David Polidi host an incredible group of contributors to IFS Informed EMDR: Creative and Collaborative Approaches. We explored the foundational sections of the book. In this gathering we expressed our thoughts on healing, and...

04/07/2026

Tomorrow, Tuesday, at 12:00 EST, we’ll be gathering for a live conversation on IFS-informed EMDR.

Some of the questions I hear most often are:

How do we combine IFS and EMDR?
When do we use each model?
Is there a systematic way to integrate the two?

When we bring these approaches together intentionally, something begins to shift.

We move from using strategies
to creating an experience

This can change the pace, increase safety within both models, and open new pathways for healing.

This livestream will be a space to explore these ideas together, with contributors from the opening chapters of IFS Informed EMDR: Creative and Collaborative Approaches.

If this resonates with you, I would really love to have you there.

Register here: https://www.empoweredthroughcompassion.com/livestream

04/05/2026

I had a really meaningful conversation recently with Soulla Demetriou that has stayed with me.

We spoke about self-compassion, parts work, and something that so many of us carry quietly… the question of whether we are actually enough.

I really appreciated how Soulla’s work deeply connects the body, our inner world, and the ways we learn to relate to ourselves. There was a strong alignment with how I understand healing, not as "fixing" ourselves, but as building a different kind of relationship with the parts of us that have felt unseen or alone.

Her upcoming book, "You Have Always Been Enough," shares her journey to recognizing her worth and value. It was so inspiring to speak with her, and I am happy to welcome you into this conversation!

In this deeply moving and expansive conversation, David sits down with Soulla Demetriou, author, coach, and founder of Soulshine Retreats, to explore the heart of self-compassion and what it means to truly feel “enough.” Soulla shares how her work integrates Internal Family Systems (IFS), somati...

04/02/2026

There is a shift that happens in EMDR when we bring in IFS.

We are no longer trying to work with the whole system at once. We begin to ask a different question:

"Which part are we working with right now?"

When we slow down enough to notice this
The process becomes more collaborative, more attuned. We are no longer pushing toward processing. We are building relationship with the part that is holding the experience. And something begins to change.

A part that once felt alone, begins to feel seen.

This upcoming livestream is a space to explore this more deeply and to connect around the work in IFS Informed EMDR: Creative and Collaborative Approaches

We are less than a week away, and I would love to have you there!

https://www.empoweredthroughcompassion.com/livestream

03/27/2026

We often think of pain as something we feel.
But in my experience, something much deeper happens.
When connection breaks, our systems reorganize.
Parts of us step in, trying to protect and make sense of what happened. They want to get us back to safety in whatever way they can. Over time, we can begin to live inside the stories those parts carry.
And sometimes, without even realizing it, we can start to feel trapped inside them.
These stories begin to define our reality. Who we are and how we see others. It even defines what we believe is possible.
What I have come to believe is that healing is not about forcing those stories to change.
It is about creating enough safety, internally and relationally, so that those stories can begin to soften and come alive. As they do, there is more space, more movement, and the possibility of reconnecting with ourselves and with others.
So that we can begin to feel like ourselves again.
This is something I’ve been exploring deeply in my clinical work, and in the integration of IFS and EMDR.
We’ll be continuing this conversation in an upcoming livestream with several contributors to IFS Informed EMDR: Creative and Collaborative Approaches.
If this resonates, I’d love for you to join us.
Sign up here: empoweredthroughcompassion.com/livestream