Posted by gardenergirl on September 19, 2005, at 12:42:33
In reply to Therapy and Inner children, posted by cricket on September 19, 2005, at 8:39:16
Hi Cricket,
I think that exploring the idea of an inner child in therapy can be very useful. I know that a lot of the pain that comes up for me in sessions has to do with childhood experiences. After processing this over and over, I have this sort of picture in my head of what that little girl (me) looked like. I don't know that the picture I have in my head is directly related to how I actually looked and acted as a child. But the image is more like a sad, lonely, longing little girl who just wanted her daddy to love her.She doesn't have a specific and individual voice, although I know some people do have that. And my T doesn't really talk to her. Rather, I can tell sometimes that things I say, or long to say, or fear saying, come from that place inside me where that little girl resides.
I mean this sort of metaphorically in my case. But some people have a more concrete image of an inner child. That can be useful and okay, too. It is important for the T to be aware of this and to tread carefully. If someone has a very fragile or fragmented ego (sense of self), then working with an inner child can make this worse.
I hope that helps. A mix of my experience and a bit of knowledge. :)
Good question.
gg
poster:gardenergirl
thread:556772
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/psycho/20050912/msgs/556838.html