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= Inner child =
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Introduction
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In popular psychology and analytical psychology, inner child is an
individual's childlike aspect. It includes what a person learned as a
child, before puberty. The inner child is often conceived as a
semi-independent subpersonality subordinate to the waking conscious
mind. The term has therapeutic applications in counseling and health
settings.
Origins
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Psychologist Carl Gustav Jung (1875-1961) is often referenced as the
originator of the concept in his divine child archetype. New Thought
spiritual leader Emmet Fox (1886-1951) called it the "wonder child".
One method of reparenting the inner child in therapy was originated by
art therapist Lucia Capacchione in 1976 and documented in her book
'Recovery of Your Inner Child' (1991). Using art therapy and
journaling techniques, her method includes a "nurturing parent" and
"protective parent" within "inner family work" to care for a person's
physical, emotional, creative and spiritual needs (her definition of
the inner child). It also posits a "critical parent within" and
provides tools for managing it. Charles Whitfield dubbed the inner
child the "child within" in his book 'Healing the Child Within:
Discovery and Recovery for Adult Children of Dysfunctional Families'
(1987). Penny Park's book 'Rescuing the Inner Child' (1990) provided a
program for contacting and recovering the inner child.
In his television shows, and in books such as 'Homecoming: Reclaiming
and Championing Your Inner Child' (1990), John Bradshaw, a U.S.
educator, pop psychology and self-help movement leader, famously used
"inner child" to point to unresolved childhood experiences and the
lingering dysfunctional effects of childhood dysfunction: the sum of
mental-emotional memories stored in the sub-conscious from conception
thru pre-puberty.
Further developments
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Within the framework of psychosynthesis, the inner child is often
characterized as a subpersonality or may also be seen as a central
element surrounded by subpersonalities.
Internal Family Systems therapy (IFS therapy) expanded the concept
considerably by positing that there is not just one inner child
subpersonality, but many. IFS therapy calls wounded inner child
subpersonalities "exiles" because they tend to be excluded from waking
thought in order to avoid/defend against the pain carried in those
memories. IFS therapy has a method that aims to gain safe access to a
person's exiles, witnessing the stories of their origins in childhood,
and healing them.
The twelve-step based fellowship of Adult Children of Alcoholics
considers healing the inner child to be one of the essential stages in
recovery from addiction, abuse, or psychological trauma (including
post-traumatic stress disorder).
See also
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* Ageplay
* Codependency
* Developmental needs meeting strategy
* Dysfunctional family
* Inner critic
* Jungian archetypes
* Personification
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License
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License URL:
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/
Original Article:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inner_child
