Healing Your Inner Child

Oct 20, 20242 min read

By: Maria "Mica" Salazar Istre

Have you ever wondered how you can achieve optimal emotional regulation? You want to but struggle to regulate your emotions when life events make you feel out of control. Some people that struggle with anxiety or depression may not realize the underlying trauma that is leading them to react in the moment. What happens next could lead to panic attacks or depressive epidoses that will leave someone unmotivated, sad, overwhelmed, burnt out, or isolated for days or weeks. There is hope in finding healing with the right approach and trained clinician. Inner child work can help you find a place to start.

Inner child work is a therapeutic approach that focuses on addressing and healing the childlike aspects of oneself, often to resolve emotional issues rooted in childhood experiences. The concept is based on the idea that our inner child holds feelings, memories, and experiences that can influence our adult lives. When this emotional part of ourselves is in the driver's seat, our adult part takes a back seat, which can lead us to make impulsive decisions or give up quickly. In trauma therapy, we want to improve your adult part by healing your inner child. First, we start by providing your inner child space and resources through various forms of therapy such as Ego State Therapy.

Ego State Therapy is a therapeutic approach that involves identifying and working with different "ego states" or parts of the self, which can include aspects formed during childhood. This method can be particularly effective for healing the inner child by allowing individuals to explore and integrate these fragmented parts of themselves.

Key Components of Ego State Therapy for Inner Child Work:

Identification of Ego States: Recognizing the various ego states within oneself, including the inner child. Each state may have its own emotions, memories, and coping mechanisms.
Dialogue and Communication: Engaging in a dialogue with these ego states, particularly the inner child, to understand their needs, fears, and experiences. This can help bring awareness to unresolved issues.
Validation and Nurturing: Offering reassurance and support to the inner child. This can involve recognizing and validating the child's feelings and experiences, which may have been dismissed or ignored in the past.
Integration: Working to integrate the insights and feelings from the inner child into the adult self. This helps create a more cohesive sense of identity and emotional resilience.
Healing Trauma: Addressing past traumas or unmet needs that the inner child may be holding onto. This can involve reprocessing painful memories and developing healthier coping strategies.
Empowerment: Helping the inner child feel empowered and safe, fostering a sense of agency and self-worth.

This can lay a good foundation for other trauma therapeutic appraoches such as Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EDMR). Choosing a trauma-informed therapist with extensive training in mutliple treatment modalities is vital to tailor your healing journey to your specific needs. If you or someone you know is interested in learning more about trauma therapy, feel free to check out my bio. I look forward to healing your inner child and finding your authentic self!