Inner Child Therapy is effective for a wide range of emotional problems such as: physical, sexual and emotional abuse, childhood neglect, eating disorders, OCD, DID, self harm, ritual abuse, anxiety or depression, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, phobias, grief and loss issues (including murder, suicide, abortion, miscarriage, still birth, loss of job, material things or pets).
As a child our greatest need is to be nurtured, nourished, loved and cared for. A healthy family, meant we were provided with a safe space to grow emotionally, to explore, to discover, to imagine, to create and to simply be – to cry, to laugh, to feel anger and to feel love. As adults we are more able to maintain a healthy balance between our responsible, problem solving adult self and our childlike sentiments, freely expressing our child’s joy, spontaneity, creativity and sense of fun into our adult life.
Coming from a dysfunctional family, in which we may have been abused, neglected, shamed, abandoned, rejected, made to grow up too quickly or told we were never good enough meant we never received the nurturing, care and love we needed for our emotional growth and maturity. Never having the freedom to play as a child, never been given permission to enjoy life, to have fun or to freely express our thoughts and feelings in a safe space can result in us supressing our feelings and needs and becoming emotionally stuck at that point in our lives.
Core beliefs about ourselves, others and the world are learned during childhood. These beliefs will be positive and supportive if we come form emotionally healthy families who demonstrate good parenting, however if our family is emotionally dysfunctional and parenting skills lacking then our core beliefs will be limiting and erroneous. When we suffer abuse or trauma, our world becomes unsafe and no-one can be trusted. We see ourselves as helpless and inadequate.
Abuse and trauma creates in us a lost, frightened and frozen inner child. Our child’s grief, pain, shame, guilt, fear, anger and feelings of isolation continue into adulthood if we are unable to reach the wounded child. As a result we may never heal ourselves, preferring to bury our painful memories or to hide from them. Consequently, every decision we make into adulthood reinforces our mistaken belief about ourselves, others and our world; we may struggle to maintain healthy relationships, we may strive to maintain an appearance of control and order by overachieving or afraid to let go and enjoy life, take life too seriously demanding perfection.
We may even shirk responsibility afraid of taking risks and exposing our weaknesses or become emotionally and psychologically addicted to substances and things in order to hide from our pain. Self-preservation becomes essential and silences the child within, preventing the walls of our self-imposed prison from caving in and leaving us vulnerable and exposed. Unless we reconnect with our inner child and learn to love the child within we will be unable to continue on our journey to wholeness and fulfillment.
Using a variety of therapeutic techniques; PICT therapy, Mindfulness, Transactional Analysis, Talk Therapy and Cognitive Behavioural Therapy - Inner Child Therapy can help you find the courage to stop running away from the hurt that keeps you emotionally imprisoned and dysfunctional and encourages you to reconnect with you inner child, providing you with a safe and non-judgemental space to explore, express and work through your painful feelings from the past.
Inner Child Therapy teaches you new behaviours and skills to enable you to transform negative and destructive self-talk and beliefs so that you are no longer hindered by traumatic and abusive events from the past. As you discover and learn to care for and love the child within, Inner Child Therapy encourages you to embrace positive and helpful beliefs about yourself and others, giving you permission to uncover the real true you.
If you feel that you are ready to begin your journey, call Chalene on 07834 226025 or email info@chameleon-coachingandtherapy.co.uk to book your free 30 minute initial consultation.