Where does it come from?

Despite its recent very popular use on social media and in new alternative healing methods, Inner Child Healing is not tied to a single founder, but it comes from a mix of psychology, psychotherapy, and trauma healing methods popularised in the last decades.

Some of its key founders include:

–Carl Jung (one of the founders of 20th century Psychiatry with Freud) with the different inner archetypes and the role of the unconscious in our behaviour and well being
–Alice Miller (influential psychologist from the 70s) who introduced the idea that unmet childhood needs contribute to adult suffering in the long term
–John Bradshaw (famous counsellor and life coach from the 80s-90s) who popularised the term Inner child and brought it to the self-help and emotional recovery world.

As you can see, it is a concept that has been slowly but surely evolving over the last century, and more importantly over the last decades! If you’re interested in reading more about it, here is one of my favourite articles on its history and main figures, as well as great explanations about each concepts mentioned: understanding_inner_child_healing.

What’s the goal of Inner Child Healing ?

As a whole, the core goal of Inner Child Healing is to feel healthier and more at peace with yourself in the present. Through awareness and gentle, tailored practices, you begin to shift emotional patterns and ultimately move toward a more joyful and authentic life.

However, they are a few major milestones in the healing journey which are essential in order to move toward a more joyful and authentic life:

1. Identify emotional wounds from childhood (often unconscious).
2. Understand how they still impact your life (e.g., anxiety, avoidance, perfectionism, anger, people-pleasing, etc..).
3. Learn to provide the care, protection, and voice your inner child didn’t receive at the time.
4. Build emotional resilience and self-trust by integrating these parts, instead of repressing them.
   
   –> Ultimately, it helps create a secure inner foundation—so you no longer react from old wounds, but respond with self-awareness and emotional maturity.
   

Finally, Why use this Healing approach ?

Inner Child Healing is a powerful approach if you feel stuck in emotional patterns, struggle with self-worth, or keep repeating the same relationship dynamics. It helps you understand where these patterns come from and gently shifts them—so you can feel more grounded, emotionally free, and connected to who you really are.

1. Healing Emotional Wounds: By addressing the emotional wounds of the past, such as shame, rejection, abandonment and what emotions stem from them, we can start to feel those emotions more safely, realising the tension, grief or fear your body has been holding.
2. Soothing your Inner Critic: By understanding where do your repetitive patterns stem from in relationships, self-sabotage or copying mechanisms, you build more self-worth and empathy towards yourself and your ability to grow, changing radically your inner dialogue.
3. Gaining clarity on Why you feel Stuck: When our Inner Child is blocked, we often feel disconnected from our true self and stuck in a repetitive loop, as you build more understanding from your patterns and how to feel safe in your own body, your nervous system will shift and improve not only your emotional well being, but your physical well being too.