Empowered through Compassion

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

03/22/2026

We often say that the relationship is what heals in therapy. And I believe that is true.

And also, the quality of that relationship matters deeply!

For me, what matters most is that the relationship is grounded in compassion. A space where every aspect of a person, every part, can be welcomed without judgment or shame.

(Not every behavior, but every part of the internal system.)

Trauma often involves a loss of agency. A feeling of not having control, voice, or choice.

So a healing relationship, I believe, also needs to be aware of power.

Not power over, but power with.

A space where there is respect, shared presence, and a sense that nothing inside of us is too much.

And this kind of healing doesn’t only happen between people. It can begin to happen in the way we relate to ourselves as well.

This is something I’ve been exploring more deeply in my clinical work and in my book IFS Informed EMDR.

I’m really looking forward to continuing this conversation in an upcoming livestream with several of the contributors.

If this resonates, I’d love for you to join us.

03/22/2026

This reminds us that release is not a failure, it is a rite of passage. In shamanic understanding, endings are thresholds that open space for new guidance, new allies, and new forms of nourishment. When we honor what is complete, we make room for what is truly aligned to arrive with clarity and grace.

🍃 Shamanic Journey Invitation:
“What spirit or inner guide meets me at the threshold of release, and what new path do they reveal as I step away from what is complete?

This journey invites you to meet the ally who stands at the doorway of endings, helping you understand what is ready to fall away and what new direction is quietly waiting to emerge.

Text on Image: “Your life begins to shift when you stop treating release as a loss and start honoring it as a sacred turning. Letting go becomes an initiation, a doorway into the next landscape of your becoming, a chance to walk away from what no longer feeds your spirit and toward what is calling your deeper self.”

© DailyShaman/CM 2026

“DailyShaman” reflects a way of living, not a title claimed; walking between worlds to offer an inclusive, modern spiritual experience.

03/22/2026

What actually creates healing in therapy? I don't believe it is the models, or the techniques.

It is deeper, it is the relationship between people. Its in the moments when someone feels safe enough to slow down, and felt heard. A shift happens when we feel someone really understands us.

That’s the space we are expanding, and living in as we integrate IFS and EMDR into our trauma work.

On April 7th, come join me and some very special guests who are all leaders in this field of IFS-informed EMDR.

This is going to be a compassionate conversation about what actually feels alive in the work we are doing.

If this kind of space resonates with you, I’d love to have you there.

You can register here:
https://www.empoweredthroughcompassion.com/livestream

03/17/2026

03/16/2026

In this conversation, David Polidi speaks with author and cultural critic Soraya Chemaly about the cultural mythology of resilience and what it means to truly heal after hardship. In much of Western culture, resilience is framed as an individual trait. We are encouraged to bounce back quickly, retur...

03/08/2026

A pastor reflects on witnessing violence as a child.

In my recent conversation with Pastor Michael Neely, he shared a story from his childhood that stayed with him and continues to shape his work today.

He speaks about the complicated and conflicting messages many families receive around violence. On the one hand we say we do not condone abuse. Yet at times we hit our children or tell abused partners to remain in marriages because it is believed to be God’s will.

In his important book Black Eyes and Sweet Talk, Pastor Neely challenges these messages directly. He shares a clear and compassionate perspective: God does not want people to be abused, and faith communities have a responsibility to protect survivors.

This was a powerful conversation about truth, safety, and the possibility of healing.

Listen to the newly released episode of The Empowered Through Compassion Podcast.

03/08/2026

In this episode of the Empowered Through Compassion podcast, David Polidi speaks with Pastor Michael Neely about domestic abuse, faith, and the responsibility of religious communities to protect those who are suffering. Pastor Neely is the author of Black Eyes and Sweet Talk: A Biblical Perspective....