EPISODE · May 17, 2026 · 1H 9M
#27: Ted Riskin - Befriending Anger, Moving the Cat, and the Healing Power of IFS Group Ketamine Retreats.
from Developing Meaning · host Dirk Winter
Send us Fan MailIn this episode, I sit down with Ted Riskin — social worker, IFS expert, and pioneer of group ketamine retreats — after spending a week at his beautiful home in Asheville, North Carolina participating in one of his experiences. From his unusual path as a computer programmer living in an Ashram to becoming one of the leading voices in ketamine-assisted IFS group therapy, we explore how to work with protectors, why anger deserves more respect than our culture gives it, and how group healing unlocks something individual therapy often can't reach. Plus: why meaning isn't something you find — it's something you create.In this episodeWhat exiles and protectors are and how they shape our inner worldWhy healing means becoming whole — and how IFS gets you thereFrom computer programming to debugging the psycheHow breathwork and non-ordinary states bypass the thinking brainAnger as a healthy boundary-setting force — and why suppressing it breeds judgmentThe three ways to work with a protector: push, invite, or pick up the catWhy ketamine works like holotropic breathwork — and why Ted combined it with groupsHow group healing reaches wounds that one-on-one therapy often missesOutcomes data: what actually changes after a group ketamine IFS retreatMeaning as something you generate — not something you findTimestamps3:42 - Meeting Ted And His Setting5:35 - Self Energy And Finding Balance8:20 - Exiles Protectors And Healing Wholeness14:00 - From Programmer To Therapist19:35 - Breathwork And Non Ordinary States27:43 - Core Energetics And Working With Anger36:18 - Discovering IFS Through Hypnosis42:26 - Ketamine As A Path Past Protectors47:15 - Building The Group Ketamine Model52:31 - Outcomes Data And What Changes Last53:49 - Meaning Connection And Modern Life57:00 - Creating Meaning From A Blank Slate59:52 - Rapid Fire Questions And Art1:03:58 - A Depolarizing Message And Where To Find Ted1:07:06 - What Comes Next On The PodcastSubscribe to the Developing Meaning Substack newsletter: https://developingmeaning.substack.com/subscribeDeveloping Meaning is NOT MEDICAL ADVICE and is NOT AFFILIATED WITH ANY INSTITUTIONS.Theme music by The Thrashing Skumz. Developing Meaning is produced by Consilient Mind LLC.
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Send us Fan Mail In this episode, I sit down with Ted Riskin — social worker, IFS expert, and pioneer of group ketamine retreats — after spending a week at his beautiful home in Asheville, North Carolina participating in one of his experiences. From his unusual path as a computer programmer living in an Ashram to becoming one of the leading voices in ketamine-assisted IFS group therapy, we explore how to work with protectors, why anger deserves more respect than our culture gives it, and how ...
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#27: Ted Riskin - Befriending Anger, Moving the Cat, and the Healing Power of IFS Group Ketamine Retreats.
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