Heart Set Above

Celebrating an 11th wedding anniversary on Heart Set Above. Join Ellen Radcliff, LMFT, for a personal reflection on this special milestone.

Usually, we focus on therapeutic frameworks here, but today is different. As Ellen celebrates 11 years of marriage, shes stepping back to share a more intimate conversation about life, growth, and the journey of faith. This episode offers a glimpse into her own story, separate from our typical clinical breakdowns.

If you follow this Christian mental health podcast, you know how much we value the intersection of psychology and scripture. In this personal reflection, Ellen hopes to offer a transparent look at the seasons of life and what it means to keep your heart set above, even when the topics shift away from our usual structure.

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Connect with Ellen

https://heartsetabove.com/

https://linktr.ee/ellenradcliff

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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

In this episode of Heart Set Above Ellen Radcliff LMFT, and Co- Host Georgia unpack the core self, the "exiles" we carry from childhood wounds, and the protector parts that form around them.

Together they explore:

• Why IFS can feel "woo-woo" at first — and why it's worth pushing past that

• The eight "C" qualities of the core self, and what it means to be created for Eden

• How exiles and protector parts form, using real stories from both of their lives

• Why "the heart is deceitful" doesn't mean your heart is bad — just wounded

• How to practice this on your own, without a therapist, using time, curiosity, and prayer

Subscribe to Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@HeartSetAbove

#IFS #InternalFamilySystems #ChristianTherapy #FaithAndMentalHealth #HeartSetAbove

This episode of the Heart Set Above podcast concludes our series on Internal Family Systems. If you have been curious about how IFS therapy functions in daily life, this summary provides the essential framework for applying these concepts. We break down how to identify internal parts and why this approach is effective for personal growth.

Whether you are new to IFS parts work or looking for a refresher, this discussion offers practical insights into the therapeutic lens. We explore the core mechanisms that allow individuals to navigate their internal world with more intention. By the end of this episode, you will have a solid grasp of how to use these tools to better understand your own emotional landscape.

Subscribe for weekly mental health podcast breakdowns, and let us know in the comments if you want us to cover more therapeutic frameworks in future episodes.

📌 Episode 1: IFS Overview + The Three Types of Parts → https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F5X-0AYK9c8

📌 Episode 2: A Real-Life Example of Exiles & Protectors → https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wRX99Jk9F0c

📌 Episode 3: Understanding Your Protector Parts → https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pQMlVTrY65c&pp=0gcJCR0AztywvtLA

📌 Episode 4: How to Connect With & Validate Protector Parts → https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q1syPG0EAGU

📌 Episode 5: How to Heal Exiled Parts With God → https://youtu.be/EovRZ5ttCVg?si=O1hhqtHBQuV6HDmy

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Connect with Ellen

https://heartsetabove.com/

https://linktr.ee/ellenradcliff

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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

In this episode of the Heart Set Above Podcast, Ellen Radcliff, LMFT, takes the next step in the Internal Family Systems (IFS) journey: moving past protector parts and into the deeper, more tender places within us — the exiled parts. These are the younger, more vulnerable parts of us that carry pain, fear, and distorted beliefs formed in moments when we were hurting and didn't have the resources to process what happened.

But this episode goes far beyond therapy. Ellen shares how inviting God into those wounded spaces changes everything — and it's some of the most powerful content in this entire series.

In this episode, you'll learn:

• What exiled parts are and how they form in childhood

• Why protector parts guard exiles so fiercely — and what happens when they finally trust you enough to step aside

• Why Christians have a uniquely powerful option when they encounter their exiles — and what it looks like to invite God directly into a painful memory

Catch up on the series:

📌 Episode 1: IFS Overview + The Three Types of Parts → https://youtu.be/F5X-0AYK9c8?si=LYcwBVF1LH3vcxuJ

📌 Episode 2: A Real-Life Example of Exiles & Protectors → https://youtu.be/wRX99Jk9F0c?si=QoSx8VfCocaezPNz

📌 Episode 3: Understanding Your Protector Parts → https://youtu.be/pQMlVTrY65c?si=2UIwdbPNSDIz_S9s

📌 Episode 4: How to Connect With & Validate Protector Parts → https://youtu.be/Q1syPG0EAGU?si=2rZGKoOlH3aiGmhC

If you've ever felt like you're carrying pain you can't shake, or like part of you is still stuck in a moment from the past — this episode was made for you.

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Connect with Ellen

https://heartsetabove.com/

https://linktr.ee/ellenradcliff

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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

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.

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Connect with Ellen

https://heartsetabove.com/

https://linktr.ee/ellenradcliff

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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

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.

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Connect with Ellen

https://heartsetabove.com/

https://linktr.ee/ellenradcliff

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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

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.

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Connect with Ellen

https://heartsetabove.com/

https://linktr.ee/ellenradcliff

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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

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.

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Connect with Ellen

https://heartsetabove.com/

https://linktr.ee/ellenradcliff

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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

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.”

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Connect with Ellen

https://heartsetabove.com/

https://linktr.ee/ellenradcliff

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Listen to the Podcast:

Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast...

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/6Ra0vlh...

In this episode of the Heart Set Above Podcast, Ellen Radcliff, LMFT, is joined by Chelsea Novak for Autism Awareness Month. Join us for an unfiltered conversation between two moms navigating autism at very different stages.

One is newly diagnosed.

One is years into the journey.

Both are learning how to carry grief, fear, and deep love—at the same time.

Together, we talk about:

• The emotional impact of an autism diagnosis

• Grief, denial, fear—and what acceptance actually looks like

• The realities no one prepares you for (hypervigilance, burnout, safety concerns)

This episode is raw, vulnerable, and deeply human. Whether you're a parent, a caregiver, or someone who simply wants to understand autism better, this conversation offers a real glimpse into what life looks like behind the scenes.

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Connect with Ellen

https://heartsetabove.com/

https://linktr.ee/ellenradcliff

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Listen to the Podcast:

Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast...

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/6Ra0vlh...