Ali Bushell, therapist and Internal Family Systems (IFS) practitioner, joins us on the #teakink Podcast for a deep dive intotherapy, kink, and self-discovery. From his work with sex workers to exploring fetish in therapy, Ali shares insights on topics like power, violence, and the parts of ourselves we exile. We unpack shadow archetypes of therapists, the brain as a sexual organ, and the complexity of integrating the self through practices like Vipassana and IFS.
Ali's book, 'The Sex Party Handbook': https://shorturl.at/dZeF6 Watch on YouTube: https://youtube.com/evaoh More on Eva Oh: https://eva-oh.com HIGHLIGHTS: Here are the timestamps for the video episode. On some podcast players you should be able to click the timestamp to jump to that time. (00:00) - Welcome. What is #teakink (00:23) - Meet Ali Bushell, Therapist and Internal Family Systems Practitioner (00:40) - How We Met, Ali's Sex Worker Outreach (03:12) - How Sex Workers Can Find Therapists (14:20) - Defining Sex and the Brain as a Sexual Organ (16:05) - Kink in Therapy (24:30) - Power and Violence (26:20) - An Extreme Example? Is it ok That I Enjoyed What I Enjoyed with My Father? (31:00) - Exiled Parts of Ourselves (33:00) - What is Therapy, to Ali (37:50) - Shadow Archetypes of Therapists: Savers, Narcissists and Robots (39:20) - Vipassana, Hearing Voices and Integrating the Self (44:50) - How Ali Found Internal Family Systems (IFS) and Uses It (49:40) - You Can't Un-Kink (52:09) - Sex Negativity and Turning the Lights Off (53:50) - The Kinsey Scale, How Homosexual or Heterosexual are We?