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An episode where KP Kaszubowski talks with IFS and art therapist Chelsea Owens about blending and unblending - and we do an activity around the “You”-Turn concept.
Aaaaaand we joked about KP looking for part time work in the Madison area. While this is kind of true, she’s more open to clients who are elders or experts in their fields that want to grow their social media engagement. If that’s you — especially if you are a therapist, coach, writer, or artist — message her at kp@havecakecreative.com <3
This episode is a primer, not a crossover — astrology gets a nod but stays in the background. Chelsea walks through two foundational Internal Family Systems concepts: blending, when a part takes over the system so fully it’s effectively doing the talking, and unblending, the process of getting enough space from a part to relate to it rather than be it. KP shares a personal account of an early unblending experience — encountering a very young, long-held part connected to their sister and grandmother — and the felt difference between feeling a part’s emotion directly versus sensing it with some distance. Chelsea then leads KP through a live U-turn exercise: a guided visualization for noticing which part shows up in a difficult relational dynamic and exploring what more choice might feel like in that moment. The conversation closes with a discussion of direct access (when a practitioner works with a blended part on a client’s behalf) and the practice of letting a part choose its own name, rather than assigning one to it.
Key Takeaways
* Blending is the norm, not the exception. Most people are blended with some part most of the time — parts have jobs to do, so of course they’re active. Blending becomes worth noticing when one part takes over the system, especially in charged or emotionally activated moments.
* Unblending creates relational distance, not emotional distance. KP describes the shift from feeling a part’s sadness as their own to sensing it while remaining themselves — present with the part’s experience without being fully inside it.
* The U-turn redirects attention inward. Rather than focusing on what someone else is doing, the U-turn asks: which part of me is responding right now, and how do I want to respond? Chelsea notes this is something within a person’s control even when another person’s behavior isn’t.
* The guided exercise itself: picture a difficult relationship, place both people in a room, then “take the roof off” to observe from above — watching the interaction, noticing what you want to say, and imagining how the other person might respond. KP’s takeaway: the exercise didn’t produce a single “right” response, it produced more options.
* Direct access is a practitioner tool, not a self-practice. When a client’s part is too blended for the client to access much Self-energy in the moment, the practitioner may work with the part directly — offering their own steadier presence until the part can start to trust the client’s own capacity to be with it.
* Let a part name itself. Rather than assigning a label, ask the part what it wants to be called (or whether it wants a name at all) — naming from an agenda is itself worth noticing as a possible sign of another part at work.
Key Quotes
“We’re all pretty much blended with a part... in most of our daily lives.” — Chelsea
“When a part is really blended... it’s kind of taking over.” — Chelsea
“I had more options.” — KP, on the You-turn exercise
“How do I want to respond? ...what parts are involved with that?” — Chelsea, on the You-turn
“The therapist accesses the client’s part that’s blended directly, so they have a dialogue.” — Chelsea, on direct access
About This Podcast
Parts & Charts is co-hosted by astrologer KP Kaszubowski and licensed therapist Chelsea Owens, exploring the intersection of astrology and Internal Family Systems.
For those applying to grad programs in counseling:
* Chelsea Owens pulled together a deeeeeep dive into all the practical elements of this decision, for the price of a cute cafe lunch ($25) — follow this link: https://chelseawow.gumroad.com/l/bfbiau
Chelsea’s Oracle deck, Outer Realms for Inner Archives :
a collage deck shaped by exactly this work, made the way she makes images of her own parts. Pre-orders coming; this email sign-up form gets you deck news only, nothing else. → subscribe here
Meet your Moon.
If the Moon is the tender spot for everyone, this is the guided audio course for meeting yours as an inner figure — KP’s active-imagination approach, on your own time. ($42) → https://kpkaszu.gumroad.com/l/meetyourmoon
Work with Chelsea.
If you’re in California and you’ve been looking for a therapist who will actually go there with you — the deep stuff, the weird stuff, the stuff you’ve never quite found the words for — Chelsea Owens is your person. Licensed therapist, Leo moon, first house everything, art supplies on every surface. She brings clinical rigor and genuine delight to the work in equal measure, which turns out to be exactly what the hard stuff needs.
👉 www.chelseaowenstherapy.com
Work with KP.
Astrology readings (written, voice note, or live; in person if you’re in Wisconsin),astrology readings “mommy and me”, Astro Parts sessions.
Book Doula — a monthly retainer for people serious about making the book real, three clients at a time, waitlist when full.
→ Book Doula Waitlist: forms.gle/3LwpmAinnBN2Q4aY8
Schedule a 1:1 session → https://app.acuityscheduling.com/schedule.php?owner=22372975
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🌟 Credits
Music “Vape Juice Dave’s Bistro” composed by Scott Cary (Wild Western Avenue) for the feature film RINGOLEVIO (2020) directed by KP Kaszubowski — performed by Scott Cary, Max Wikoff, Else Albeck Gasparka, and Sarah Luther.
Collage cover art by Chelsea Owens.
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