On today’s podcast, I chat with Ruth Culver, a Level 3 trained and certified IFS practitioner. We look at Ruth’s Survive and Thrive Spiral, a visual map that connects the nervous system and IFS in a way that just makes sense. We also talk about her work with IFS Constellations, a group process that brings parts work into a shared, somatic experience, and Drawing into Self, a creative way to explore and externalize parts through colors, lines, and shapes.

• “Parts all have stories, don’t they?” Ruth explains how mapping parts onto her Survive and Thrive Spiral can help people unblend and understand their nervous system responses.

• How can we recognize if we’re in Flop, Fix, or Flow? Ruth introduces these simple but powerful words to track nervous system states and move toward Self Energy.

• We can be in multiple nervous system states at the same time.

• Ruth describes how different parts may be in fixing mode, collapsing mode, or Self Energy mode—all at once.

• How does IFS Constellations allow for deeper healing? Ruth shares how this group process creates profound moments of witnessing, connection, and transformation.

• What happens when we let parts express themselves through drawing? Ruth walks us through Drawing into Self, a process that invites parts to communicate beyond words.

"So, to me, the healing process is story-based, and it is imaginative. At the core of healing is a reimagining. And that’s what we can do with story." – Ruth Culver

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Jeff Schrum co-produces The One Inside Podcast. He is a writer, counselor, and IFS Level 2 practitioner.

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Tammy is grateful for Jack Reardon who created music for the podcast. Jack is a graduate of Derek Scott’s IFS Stepping Stones Program.

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