Inner Child Work: How it Can Help You
Our experiences in childhood can have long-lasting effects that span all the way into our adult lives.
Each of us has a child version of ourselves hidden within our psyche. Learning how our inner child affects our attitudes and behaviors is the key to healing past emotional wounds.
In this article, we will explore what Inner Child Work is and why it is a necessary therapeutic process for many people. Plus, we will examine some of the key benefits of working with a trained inner child work practitioner.
What is Inner Child Work?
As children, traumatic events in our lives can leave permanent impressions that flow over into our life as an adult. This trauma can come from a wide range of experiences including neglect, abandonment, or abuse.
Inner Child Work is a type of psychotherapy that focuses on how a person’s past experiences from childhood influence their current behavior and mental health.
When emotional wounds from childhood are left unresolved, this inner part of yourself struggles to grow and evolve. As a result, your behavior and reactions are impacted by an unhealed wound, which can make it much harder to process difficult emotions and events as an adult.
By working to heal your inner child, you enable yourself to also correct your current behaviors and mental health. In turn, your ability to live a happier and more fulfilling life is greatly enhanced.
Benefits of Working with an Inner Child Work Trained Practitioner
As with any form of therapy, Inner Child Work is most effective when you work with a trained practitioner.
Inner Child Work therapists will have a greater ability for identifying what areas of your life are being directly affected by a wounded inner child. Inner Child Work practitioners will also be able to guide you through the process of connecting with and understanding how to help your younger inner self.
Here are 3 key benefits of working with a trained practitioner:
1. Compassionate Self Awareness
When working to examine the effects of past traumas, having a trained therapist guiding you will ensure you approach your inner child with compassion.
Victims of trauma can often feel heavy amounts of guilt and shame around their experiences. With the help of an Inner Child Work practitioner, you can more easily navigate these negative feelings. As a result, you will be better able to nurture your inner child and show forgiveness towards yourself.
2. Improved Emotional Processing
Healing your inner child requires both patience and strength, particularly when it comes to facing difficult memories head-on.
However, as you get more comfortable with moving through your pain, you also become less fearful of it. This makes it tremendously easier for you to process difficult emotions in your present-day life. Your inner child is no longer holding you back, as you feel more self-assured in your ability to protect yourself and your feelings.
3. Greater Self Confidence
When you and your inner child have been emotionally realigned, it can feel extremely empowering.
Not only can you shed the guilt or shame you may feel around your past, but you can also rid yourself of self-doubt and insecurity. Showing compassion, patience, and understanding to your inner child is the first step towards having confidence in yourself as an adult.
Final Thoughts
Inner Child Work can do wonders for building up your sense of self-confidence and emotional health.
If you have painful experiences from your past, embracing this form of psychotherapy can enlighten you as to how these old wounds still affect your present-day life.
Remember, the first step to any healing process is to seek the help you need from trained professionals. If you would like to speak to someone at COPE Centre about any of the themes discussed in this blog, please contact us here: CONTACT US – Copecentre