inner child work (Inner Child, inner child therapy)

Form of psychotherapy pioneered and popularized by Texas-born theologian John Bradshaw, a former aspirant to the Roman Catholic priesthood. Bradshaw is the author of: (a) Bradshaw On: The Family; (b) Healing the Shame That Binds You; (c) Homecoming: Reclaiming and Championing Your Inner Child; and (d) Creating Love: The Next Stage of Growth. In Homecoming, first published in 1990, Bradshaw states that all children of dysfunctional families lose their "I AMness": their assurance that their parents or guardians are healthy, able, and eager caregivers. He recommends that victims of this loss or "spiritual wound" reclaim their "inner child" by reliving their developmental stages and finishing "unfinished business." He terms such reclamation a Zenlike experience. Toward this end, he suggests having conversations with one's "inner infant," writing letters to it and reading them aloud, and writing letters to oneself--with the nondominant hand--as if the infant were writing them. Through such methods, the "wounded inner child" supposedly evolves into a "wonder child," which Bradshaw describes as one's "Imago Dei--the part of you that bears a likeness to your creator." In late 1996, Bradshaw hosted "The Bradshaw Difference," a talk show on UPN.