What is “Inner Child” work?
What is “Inner Child” work?
Inner child work is a way of framing the stuck patterns of thoughts, emotions, and behaviours that are habits from growing up in an alcoholic family system. This work is related to the reparenting that is needed to become a healthy and content adult.
Throughout therapy and recovery work, the ACoA identifies the Inner Child and works to reparent them with nurturing, structure, discipline, education, and protection (boundaries and safety.) The Inner Child is the ACoA’s true self — the ultimate essence of the person before patterns and introjected messages got mapped on, prior to the abuse and trauma encountered.
Along the way, the Inner Child has built up long-stored emotions about his/her history and from being ignored, forgotten, abandoned, emotionally invaded, and/or emotionally squashed.
