Inner Child Work. What is it and why could it be helpful for me?

I often do parts work. I think it’s something that we are used to in our normal day to day parlance. So you may think of your work persona or how you act with your friends vs acquaintances. When we think about parts in relation to therapy, we may think of our inner child (or inner baby) and how we can care for this younger part (or parts) of ourself.

What we would like, as an adult, is to have control of our emotions and to act using our most adult self which utilises our cognitive functions. So if we are snubbed by a friend at a party, we are able to assess the situation and recognise it for what it is – either the friend is acting out due to their own inner child taking charge or that maybe that friendship isn’t what we had hoped it could be. However, sometimes our inner child takes over and feels hurt. That part of ourselves does not have access to our current emotional regulatory capacity or cognitive function which is why we can sometimes act in ways that we may not wish to.

Inner child work seeks to address the needs that haven’t been met in childhood. It is the act of going inside oneself, allowing our subconscious to take the lead, to explore the emotions and expectations within. Whilst exploring, we fully accept what comes and use our own adult self to provide what was needed from the child in the first place. On many occasions, we will help that child to see that they are no longer in the same situation as they were in the past and that you, as the adult, can look after them now.

Once our inner child feels more cared for and held, there are less opportunities for that inner child to feel triggered. Childhood emotional wound that you carry can have a massive impact on how you react to situations as an adult. When you work to heal these emotional wounds, your inner sense of peace can increase. Some parents find this work particularly moving as healing their inner child’s emotional wounds can help them to be more open and less agitated as a parent.

Inner child work can be deeply moving. If you would like to explore more about how this works, please contact me for a brief initial consultation.