Uploaded March 2026 | Updated September 2026, 3 weeks ago
In this episode, Niall speaks with Professor Marc Lewis and Cece Sykes about addiction, Internal Family Systems therapy, and the neuroscience of behavioural change.
Professor Lewis is a neuroscientist and professor emeritus at the University of Toronto, specialising in developmental psychology and addiction. He is the author of “Memoirs of an Addicted Brain” and “The Biology of Desire”.
Cece is a clinical psychologist with over four decades of experience supporting trauma survivors and people with addiction. She is the author of “Internal Family Systems Therapy for Addictions”.
In this discussion, they explore:
— Why addiction is best seen as an adaptive response to emotional difficulty rather than a disease
— How the polarization between critical and escape-seeking parts maintains addictive patterns
— The neuroscience behind why parts emerge in specific moments and contexts
— Why bringing compassion, rather than judgment, to addictive behaviours creates the conditions for change
— How Internal Family Systems therapy helps people access their capacity for self-regulation
And more.
You can learn more about Professor Lewis at memoirsofanaddictedbrain.com and Cece at https://www.cecesykeslcsw.com.
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Prof Marc Lewis, PhD is a neuroscientist, professor, bestselling author, and one of the world’s leading experts on the neuroscience of addiction. In his academic work, he has authored or co-authored more than fifty journal articles, and for many years was a professor of developmental psychology at the University of Toronto and then Radboud University (Netherlands) before retiring.
For the last decade, he has focused on making his work more accessible to a wider audience through books for lay readers, pop science articles, public talks, and interviews. He is the author of two bestselling books on addiction: “Memoirs of an Addicted Brain” and “The Biology of Desire”, a book which Dr Gabor Mate argues “effectively refutes the disease model of addiction.” He is currently practicing psychotherapy as a clinical psychologist in Toronto, working with clients with addictive problems and other difficulties.
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Cece Sykes, LCSW, ACSW; IFS Senior Trainer, US and international. Contributed to Levels 1 and 2 IFS training manuals and teaches L1 as well as L2 Trauma and Addiction. Cece has over thirty years of clinical experience working with individuals, couples and families, specializing in work with the effects of trauma and addiction. Her chapter on compassionate approaches to addictive process appears in IFS: Innovations and Elaborations, 2016, Routledge. Cece also has special interests in spiritual practices intersecting with therapy and in the impact of psychotherapy upon the life of the therapist and she lectures, consults and leads workshops on all of these topics. Cece lives and works in the city of Chicago.
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Timestamps:
00:00 - Intro
01:27 - What Is Addiction? Introducing the Work
08:16 - The Polarisation Within: Managers and the Urge to Use
13:17 - Softening Stigma and Finding Agency
18:18 - Cultural Shifts: Technology, Isolation, and Immediate Rewards
28:35 - The Three Categories: Managers, Firefighters, and Exiles
33:25 - Developmental Origins: Theory of Mind and Early Adaptation
38:06 - Predictive Coding and the Neuroscience of Parts
42:48 - The Two-Way Street: How Therapy and Neuroscience Inform Each Other
46:04 - The Role of Play in Human Experience and Addiction
50:12 - Stigma, Judgment, and Normalising Soothing Behaviours
53:08 - Accessing the Capital S Self in IFS
54:29 - Constraint Releasing vs. Choosing Self Energy
57:06 - Finding the Choice Points: The Oil Can Metaphor
59:11 - The Practice of Noticing and Listening for Self
01:01:08 - Capital S Self: Presence, Acceptance, and Nurturing
01:03:28 - The Transformative Power of Believing in Self
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Interview Links:
— Professor Lewis’ website: memoirsofanaddictedbrain.com
— Professor Lewis’ books: amzn.to/4rIga10
— Cece’s website: cecesykeslcsw.com
— Cece’s book: amzn.to/4btvzfm
In this episode, Niall speaks with Professor Marc Lewis and Cece Sykes about addiction, Internal Family Systems therapy, and the neuroscience of behavioural change.
Professor Lewis is a neuroscientist and professor emeritus at the University of Toronto, specialising in developmental psychology and addiction. He is the author of “Memoirs of an Addicted Brain” and “The Biology of Desire”.
Cece is a clinical psychologist with over four decades of experience supporting trauma survivors and people with addiction. She is the author of “Internal Family Systems Therapy for Addictions”.
In this discussion, they explore:
— Why addiction is best seen as an adaptive response to emotional difficulty rather than a disease
— How the polarization between critical and escape-seeking parts maintains addictive patterns
— The neuroscience behind why parts emerge in specific moments and contexts
— Why bringing compassion, rather than judgment, to addictive behaviours creates the conditions for change
— How Internal Family Systems therapy helps people access their capacity for self-regulation
And more.
You can learn more about Professor Lewis at memoirsofanaddictedbrain.com and Cece at https://www.cecesykeslcsw.com.
---
Prof Marc Lewis, PhD is a neuroscientist, professor, bestselling author, and one of the world’s leading experts on the neuroscience of addiction. In his academic work, he has authored or co-authored more than fifty journal articles, and for many years was a professor of developmental psychology at the University of Toronto and then Radboud University (Netherlands) before retiring.
For the last decade, he has focused on making his work more accessible to a wider audience through books for lay readers, pop science articles, public talks, and interviews. He is the author of two bestselling books on addiction: “Memoirs of an Addicted Brain” and “The Biology of Desire”, a book which Dr Gabor Mate argues “effectively refutes the disease model of addiction.” He is currently practicing psychotherapy as a clinical psychologist in Toronto, working with clients with addictive problems and other difficulties.
---
Cece Sykes, LCSW, ACSW; IFS Senior Trainer, US and international. Contributed to Levels 1 and 2 IFS training manuals and teaches L1 as well as L2 Trauma and Addiction. Cece has over thirty years of clinical experience working with individuals, couples and families, specializing in work with the effects of trauma and addiction. Her chapter on compassionate approaches to addictive process appears in IFS: Innovations and Elaborations, 2016, Routledge. Cece also has special interests in spiritual practices intersecting with therapy and in the impact of psychotherapy upon the life of the therapist and she lectures, consults and leads workshops on all of these topics. Cece lives and works in the city of Chicago.
---
Timestamps:
00:00 - Intro
01:27 - What Is Addiction? Introducing the Work
08:16 - The Polarisation Within: Managers and the Urge to Use
13:17 - Softening Stigma and Finding Agency
18:18 - Cultural Shifts: Technology, Isolation, and Immediate Rewards
28:35 - The Three Categories: Managers, Firefighters, and Exiles
33:25 - Developmental Origins: Theory of Mind and Early Adaptation
38:06 - Predictive Coding and the Neuroscience of Parts
42:48 - The Two-Way Street: How Therapy and Neuroscience Inform Each Other
46:04 - The Role of Play in Human Experience and Addiction
50:12 - Stigma, Judgment, and Normalising Soothing Behaviours
53:08 - Accessing the Capital S Self in IFS
54:29 - Constraint Releasing vs. Choosing Self Energy
57:06 - Finding the Choice Points: The Oil Can Metaphor
59:11 - The Practice of Noticing and Listening for Self
01:01:08 - Capital S Self: Presence, Acceptance, and Nurturing
01:03:28 - The Transformative Power of Believing in Self
---
Interview Links:
— Professor Lewis’ website: memoirsofanaddictedbrain.com
— Professor Lewis’ books: amzn.to/4rIga10
— Cece’s website: cecesykeslcsw.com
— Cece’s book: amzn.to/4btvzfm
