Curiosity, Humility & Discernment: Working With Trauma, Parts & Spirit Beings in PAP

Robert Falconer is an Internal Family Systems (IFS) author, teacher, and consultant whose work explores advanced IFS applications, including unattached burdens, guides, and entities. He co-authored Many Minds, One Self with IFS founder Richard Schwartz and published The Others Within Us in 2023. With more than a decade of practicing IFS, Robert has extensive experience in trauma-oriented psychotherapy.

In this episode… Some experiences do not fit neatly into the categories modern therapy often relies on. In psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy, clients may encounter voices, beings, ancestral material, or spiritual phenomena that can be meaningful, destabilizing, or difficult to name. How can practitioners stay grounded, curious, and helpful when a client's inner world stretches beyond conventional Western frameworks?

According to IFS practitioner Robert Falconer, it starts with maintaining humility. Rather than pathologizing unusual experiences, he encourages clinicians to normalize them, learn the client's language, and support discernment around whether an inner presence feels helpful, harmful, or connected to the self. Robert also emphasizes the importance of preparation, integration, and asking permission from protective parts before psychedelic work, reminding practitioners that healing is often strengthened by curiosity, compassion, and a willingness not to know.

In this episode of Living Medicine, Dr. Sandy Newes sits down with Robert Falconer, IFS author, teacher, and consultant, to discuss spiritual experiences in psychedelic therapy. Robert explains how to distinguish parts from other presences, why humility matters, and how therapists can create safer containers. He also touches on legacy burdens, trauma, and integration.