What Does Inner Child Therapy Look Like?

Inner child therapy is a therapeutic approach that aims to address unresolved emotional issues and traumas from childhood.

The concept of the “inner child” refers to the part of a person’s psyche that retains the emotions, memories, and experiences of their early life. These experiences, both positive and negative, can significantly influence an individual’s thoughts, behaviors, and emotional well-being in adulthood.

The theory behind inner child therapy is that many emotional struggles and relationship difficulties experienced in adulthood can be traced back to unresolved issues from childhood. These issues may include neglect, abuse, abandonment, loss, or other adverse experiences. Inner child therapy seeks to connect with this wounded inner child, provide support, and help it heal from past wounds.

Inner child healing can look like:

1. Identification: Identify the unresolved emotions, beliefs, and patterns that stem from childhood experiences.

2. Reconnecting: The therapy aims to reconnect the individual with their inner child parts and bring awareness to the emotional wounds that are affecting their present life.

3. Expression: Expressing and releasing repressed emotions related to past experiences. This may involve allowing parts to feel and express anger, sadness, fear, or other emotions that were suppressed during childhood.

4. Nurturing: The therapist helps the individual learn to nurture and care for their inner child parts, providing the support and love they may not have received in the past.

5. Functional Integration: The goal is to integrate experiences of the healed inner child parts with the here and now reality of the adult self

Healing is possible 💜