Your childhood self isn’t gone. And they may be running more of the show than you think.
Sometimes, it can be a challenge to conjure up our childhood selves. Maybe it’s too painful, or maybe we can hardly remember our childhood thoughts, dreams, experiences, and distress. This can be, and often is, because we block out trauma from our past to protect our current self. Unfortunately, it can still very much affects our personalities, triggers, and faulty self-protection tendencies.
We reached out to Tamarin Michel, a clinical psychologist and spiritual and holistic therapist, to share just how powerful this modality of understanding and healing the self via reparenting can transform your adult life.
Self-work is no picnic in the park. There’s a reason why so many of us struggle with the same patterns year after year, sabotaging relationships, getting stuck in toxic cycles, and feeling like we just can’t grow up. If shadow work was easy, we’d all be walking around perfectly healed.
But that’s probably why it’s called “work.”
While talking about our inner child might elicit a few eye rolls, we encourage you to lock those babies in their sockets. This isn’t a woo-woo approach to be easily dismissed. Inner child healing is a real therapeutic approach in many licensed therapists’ practice.
“Connecting to your inner child allows you to reclaim lost parts of your soul, heal emotional imprints, and dissolve patterns rooted in unmet childhood needs, awakening a more integrated, intuitive, and empowered version of your present self,” Tamarin shares.
Potent stuff. So how exactly do we tap into this sweet baby version of us?
Tamarin explains, “You connect to your inner child by slowing down, listening inward, and creating space for the feelings, needs, and memories you once silenced. I guide my clients through practices like inner dialogue, visualization, play, and reparenting, which offer your younger self the safety, love, and validation they always needed but never received, inviting deep psychological healing and spiritual integration.”
Reparenting may seem like a step backward, since we are usually more concerned with our current issues and relationships. But we promise you, the former begets the current situation. We have to start at the beginning.
Tamarin says, “Inner child healing frees you from the unconscious patterns that shape how you love, work, and relate. By meeting the needs your younger self was denied (like safety, validation, approval, being heard and seen), you stop seeking them externally.”
Anyone feeling called out yet?
“This creates clearer boundaries, healthier relationships, and a deeper sense of confidence, allowing you to make aligned choices in love and purpose instead of reacting from past wounds,” she explains.
That sounds like it might fix … everything. And while this approach to shadow work still feels relatively new, Tamarin assures us that inner child healing isn’t optional, it’s foundational.
“It’s the blueprint for how we love, trust, set boundaries, and see ourselves. Without it, we’re adults driven by childhood wounds, not conscious choice. With it, we reclaim our power, rewrite our patterns, and finally live free.”
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