Healing Your Inner Child

Being Well with Forrest Hanson and Dr. Rick Hanson

We all have an "inner child:” the part of ourselves that carries the emotions, beliefs and experiences from our early years. While this aspect of ourselves can be a source of creativity, playfulness and wonder, it might also harbor unresolved wounds that affect our adult relationships and behaviors. In this episode, Dr. Hanson and Forrest explore what the inner child really is, how it manifests in our lives, and practical ways to work with this important part of ourselves. They discuss how to identify inner child wounds, demonstrate techniques like voice dialogue, and share strategies for bringing more awareness and healing to our younger selves.

You can watch this episode on YouTube.

Key Topics:

0:00: Introduction

1:20: What is the inner child?

7:30: How the inner child shows up in our adult lives

10:40: A CBT-ish way of thinking about the inner child

16:40: Unmet needs, and examples of inner child wounds

21:45: Promoting the positive aspects of the inner child

28:50: How to begin engaging with the inner child

35:30: Shame, and turning toward yourself

39:00: Reparenting

46:30: Voice Dialogue demonstration

1:00:15: Reflections on the demonstration

1:06:00: Other approaches, and reasons you might be having a hard time

1:09:25: Rage and release, looking at pictures, and creating an autobiography

1:14:00: Balancing the inner child's desires with the realities of life

1:20:10: Recap

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