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Inner-Child
Resources
“The miracle is this: the more we share the more we have.”
Books
by Patricia O'Gorman and Philip Oliver-Diaz
If you are the child of an alcoholic or an adult who has experienced trauma in childhood, you can give yourself a second chance for intimacy, fulfillment and joy by self-parenting. 12 Steps to Self-Parenting, based on the 12 Steps of Alcoholics Anonymous, will guide you to nurture your inner child so that it may grow into healthy self acceptance.
by John Bradshaw
In this powerful book, John Bradshaw shows how we can learn to nurture that inner child, in essence offering ourselves the good parenting we needed and longed for. Through a step-by-step process of exploring the unfinished business of each developmental stage, we can break away from destructive family rules and roles and free ourselves to live responsibly in the present. Then, says Bradshaw, the healed inner child becomes a source of vitality, enabling us to find new joy and energy in living.
Homecoming includes a wealth of unique case histories and interactive techniques, including questionnaires, letter-writing to the inner child, guided meditations, and affirmations. Pioneering when introduced, these classic therapies are now being validated by new discoveries in attachment research and neuroscience. No one has ever brought them to a popular audience more effectively and inspiringly than John Bradshaw.
by Alice Miller
Far too many of us had to learn as children to hide our own feelings, needs, and memories skillfully in order to meet our parents' expectations and win their "love." Alice Miller writes, "When I used the word 'gifted' in the title, I had in mind neither children who receive high grades in school nor children talented in a special way. I simply meant all of us who have survived an abusive childhood thanks to an ability to adapt even to unspeakable cruelty by becoming numb.... Without this 'gift' offered us by nature, we would not have survived." But merely surviving is not enough. The Drama of the Gifted Child helps us to reclaim our life by discovering our own crucial needs and our own truth.
By Dwight E. Kobar
Read this book to your own inner child or to any child, or let children read to themselves. It will lift the spirits of both reader and audience, even if they're one and the same. Keep it handy and read it often as a reminder of just how delightfully precious you really are. I dare you not to smile before you reach the end each time.
Links
Our inner child is a part of ourselves that’s been present ever since we were conceived, through utero and all the developing years after where we were young and developing into tender selves: baby, infant, toddler, young child and middle school year.
The inner child can often recall good experiences as well as childhood fears, traumas, neglect or significant loss. It can be hard to pinpoint the exact event that is tugging at us, but we can start to notice our internal patterns that have left us a subconscious “bread crumb trails” when we start to explore our inner world.
Podcasts
In our childhood, many of us have had adverse moments. Maybe you were always the last pick when playing sports, or perhaps you fell off your bike and scraped your knee. But for children of childhood trauma, it can leave scars that can take a lifetime to heal. For Janet Bentley, the journey has been harrowing, but with her husband Simon’s help, it’s also one that speaks to fortitude and endurance. Recovery Replay, which is powered by Meadows Behavioral Healthcare, was created and is written and produced by me, Dominic Lawson. Special thanks to Simon Bentley and Janet Bentley, who is the author of the award-winning book Don’t Expect Me To Cry. Find out more at JanetBentley.com. Also special thanks to Special thanks to Havi Kang, Clinical Director of Willow House at Meadows Behavioral Healthcare. Find out more about her work at https://www.willowhouseforwomen.com.
Join Tiffany Roe, relatable Mental Health Counselor and award-winning psychology teacher as she shares NO BS quick therapy lessons that improve your life with each episode. We explore real tools and tips to give you mental health education, love yourself, your mind, your body, and your relationship with food. Let's change the mental health game and feel deal heal together.
Videos
Dwight E. Kobar, author of “Who Else Can Love You? Things to Tell Your Child, Inner or Outer,” speaks about the role of his inner child in writing his book, “Who Else Can Love You? Things to Tell Your Child, Inner or Outer.” An open mic event at Scuppernong Bookstore in Greensboro NC on July 21, 2022. He closes with an invitation to celebrate your own inner child. Inspiring and moving.
From Survivor to Thriver - Women's Summit w/ Janet Bentley, author of “Don’t Expect Me to Cry“ discusses the reason for the subtitle of that book, “Refusing to Let Sexual Trauma Steal My Life.”
As we grow up it becomes easier to forget to listen to the inner child inside. If you were to check in with your inner child right now, what would he/she say? We get to decide what kind of relationship we have with ourselves by paying attention and listening. Do you have a relationship based on trust? Or do you push yourself too far where you don’t feel safe? In this episode of The Deep Dive with Adam Roa, I dive into how you can create more self-love and build a healthy relationship with yourself.
Watch on YouTube