If you have been in therapy for any length of time, the chances that you may hear of Inner Child Therapy are extremely high. This type of therapy is very popular amongst therapists and it seems to have a lot of success with individual clients too. However, the question remains should Christians engage in this sort of practice? It may seem like it has a lot of success amongst the average client who engages in therapy, but we should be more concerned with what the Scripture says concerning such practices. Before I answer that question, I need to explain what is Inner Child Therapy.
What is it exactly?
From what I understand, Inner Child Therapy is a therapeutic exercise where the client will look back on herself as a child. She will then speak to her "inner child" telling her the affirmations that she would have wanted an adult to tell her when she was a child. The reason this therapeutic technique is very successful is that it allows the client to face some trauma that they experienced in childhood with the adult hindsight that they currently have. Many people really love this exercise because everyone experiences some sort of trauma in their life and it really does feel good to finally process that trauma. Trauma can be something as simple as losing a favorite childhood blanket that one's parents gave them. A traumatic event can trigger a certain core belief that one develops as a child and a core belief can be something such as "I am a bad person". So, what the client would do in Inner Child Therapy is they would speak directly to their "inner child's" core beliefs and tell him or her positive affirmations that would replace their negative core beliefs. Many people resonate with this practice because deep down we all have a deep-seated need to be validated. We all desire and seek validation from someone or something and this form of therapy provides us with that much-desired validation. But, is it biblical?
What Does The Bible Say?
What is it exactly?
From what I understand, Inner Child Therapy is a therapeutic exercise where the client will look back on herself as a child. She will then speak to her "inner child" telling her the affirmations that she would have wanted an adult to tell her when she was a child. The reason this therapeutic technique is very successful is that it allows the client to face some trauma that they experienced in childhood with the adult hindsight that they currently have. Many people really love this exercise because everyone experiences some sort of trauma in their life and it really does feel good to finally process that trauma. Trauma can be something as simple as losing a favorite childhood blanket that one's parents gave them. A traumatic event can trigger a certain core belief that one develops as a child and a core belief can be something such as "I am a bad person". So, what the client would do in Inner Child Therapy is they would speak directly to their "inner child's" core beliefs and tell him or her positive affirmations that would replace their negative core beliefs. Many people resonate with this practice because deep down we all have a deep-seated need to be validated. We all desire and seek validation from someone or something and this form of therapy provides us with that much-desired validation. But, is it biblical?
What Does The Bible Say?
The underlying presupposition behind Inner Child Therapy is that children are inherently innocent and thus we should approach our inner child selves as if they are innocent and harmless. The idea is that our inner child selves have been deeply harmed by the world and thus we need to speak positive affirmations into their lives to bring about healing. However, the Bible rejects the notion that children are innocent. Psalm 51:5 tells us,
"Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me"
According to this text, children are naturally born into sin and thus are not innocent. As a result of Original Sin, the heart is "deceitful and wicked above all things" (Jeremiah 17:9). Anyone who honestly believes that children are innocent has never had any experience with children. So, why should we approach our inner child as if it is innocent when we understand that we are all born inherently corrupt? Already, it seems as if this form of treatment is on some rocky ground. In actuality, we should approach children as if they are "vipers in diapers" as Pastor Voddie Baucham would so eloquently put it. This means that we handle them with care but at the same time we understand that there is nothing good in them. The idea of reaching out to some innocent "childlike" version of ourselves is nothing more than a myth, not grounded in biblical truth.
Another problem with this sort of therapy is the idea of looking back into our past for some kind of healing from trauma. The Apostle Paul tells us instead to look forward and forget what is behind us. In Philippians 3:13-14, he tells us,
"Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus"
While "talking" to our inner child concerning past trauma may seem to provide some relief, ultimately it does us no good to focus on the past. The Apostle Paul knew that if we are to fulfill the calling that the Lord has called us to be doing, we must forsake the past and look forward to what is ahead of us. I can hear the question already being asked by my audience: "So, are you saying that we should never do any work toward facing our trauma?" That is not what I am saying at all. Of course, there is a benefit to working with a therapist in confronting childhood trauma. However, the problem comes when we become hyper-focused on the past and we are no longer looking to what is ahead. If we are so focused on our past, then we are not going to be able to complete the good work that the Lord has for us now. I believe that this is the point that Jesus was making in Luke 9:62 when He says,
"No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God"
Finally, the last issue that the Bible has concerning the topic of Inner Child Therapy is that it causes people to be focused too much on the ways of a child when we should instead be focused on what we are to do as adults. The Apostle Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians 13:11,
"When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I gave up childish ways."
What Paul is saying here is that there comes a time in our lives when we should not look to the ways of being a child anymore. Instead, we should focus on what the Lord would have us do as grown people. When we were children, it was perfectly acceptable for us to behave as children. However, when we are adults, there is something repulsive about seeing a grown man or woman behaving childishly. I am not saying that an adult must always behave maturely or even that an adult must never have a childish moment either. However, we do not need to look to our inner child selves for some kind of validation.
What is the Biblical solution?
You must be wondering right now if Inner Child Therapy is not the right answer to resolving our trauma, then what is the Bible's solution? The answer is quite simple, yet very profound. We are called to not ground our identities in our trauma, but to instead find our validation solely in our identity in Jesus Christ. As the Apostle Paul tells us in Galatians 2:20,
"I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God who loved me and gave himself for me."
Paul tells us that we should so find our identity in Christ that we see Himself living through us. This means that our lives no longer belong to ourselves. No matter what trauma you have faced in this life it does not define who you are. What truly defines who you are is your identity in Christ. What does your identity in Christ mean exactly? It means that we are "a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light" (1 Peter 2:9). As a result of this new identity, we are literally new creations in Christ (2 Corinthians 5:17) and our past no longer has any hold on us. We can finally be free to let go of any trauma and to live our lives free for Jesus Christ who bought us with his precious blood when He sacrificed Himself on our behalf on a roman cross. Three days later, our Lord literally rose from the dead to give us all a new life where we can be in eternal communion with the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
I thank you for taking the time to read my blog and I hope that this has helped you figure out if Inner Child Therapy is appropriate for Christians to engage in. If your therapist or psychiatrist is attempting to get you to engage in this form of therapy, tell them that it goes against your beliefs and ask them to move on to something else. If you have engaged in this therapy, or decide that you want to engage in this therapy, do not fret because according to Romans 8:1 you are not condemned if you are in Christ Jesus. Please pass this blog on to someone that you think may help and leave a comment below. May the grace of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ richly bless you all!
"Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me"
According to this text, children are naturally born into sin and thus are not innocent. As a result of Original Sin, the heart is "deceitful and wicked above all things" (Jeremiah 17:9). Anyone who honestly believes that children are innocent has never had any experience with children. So, why should we approach our inner child as if it is innocent when we understand that we are all born inherently corrupt? Already, it seems as if this form of treatment is on some rocky ground. In actuality, we should approach children as if they are "vipers in diapers" as Pastor Voddie Baucham would so eloquently put it. This means that we handle them with care but at the same time we understand that there is nothing good in them. The idea of reaching out to some innocent "childlike" version of ourselves is nothing more than a myth, not grounded in biblical truth.
Another problem with this sort of therapy is the idea of looking back into our past for some kind of healing from trauma. The Apostle Paul tells us instead to look forward and forget what is behind us. In Philippians 3:13-14, he tells us,
"Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus"
While "talking" to our inner child concerning past trauma may seem to provide some relief, ultimately it does us no good to focus on the past. The Apostle Paul knew that if we are to fulfill the calling that the Lord has called us to be doing, we must forsake the past and look forward to what is ahead of us. I can hear the question already being asked by my audience: "So, are you saying that we should never do any work toward facing our trauma?" That is not what I am saying at all. Of course, there is a benefit to working with a therapist in confronting childhood trauma. However, the problem comes when we become hyper-focused on the past and we are no longer looking to what is ahead. If we are so focused on our past, then we are not going to be able to complete the good work that the Lord has for us now. I believe that this is the point that Jesus was making in Luke 9:62 when He says,
"No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God"
Finally, the last issue that the Bible has concerning the topic of Inner Child Therapy is that it causes people to be focused too much on the ways of a child when we should instead be focused on what we are to do as adults. The Apostle Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians 13:11,
"When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I gave up childish ways."
What Paul is saying here is that there comes a time in our lives when we should not look to the ways of being a child anymore. Instead, we should focus on what the Lord would have us do as grown people. When we were children, it was perfectly acceptable for us to behave as children. However, when we are adults, there is something repulsive about seeing a grown man or woman behaving childishly. I am not saying that an adult must always behave maturely or even that an adult must never have a childish moment either. However, we do not need to look to our inner child selves for some kind of validation.
What is the Biblical solution?
You must be wondering right now if Inner Child Therapy is not the right answer to resolving our trauma, then what is the Bible's solution? The answer is quite simple, yet very profound. We are called to not ground our identities in our trauma, but to instead find our validation solely in our identity in Jesus Christ. As the Apostle Paul tells us in Galatians 2:20,
"I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God who loved me and gave himself for me."
Paul tells us that we should so find our identity in Christ that we see Himself living through us. This means that our lives no longer belong to ourselves. No matter what trauma you have faced in this life it does not define who you are. What truly defines who you are is your identity in Christ. What does your identity in Christ mean exactly? It means that we are "a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light" (1 Peter 2:9). As a result of this new identity, we are literally new creations in Christ (2 Corinthians 5:17) and our past no longer has any hold on us. We can finally be free to let go of any trauma and to live our lives free for Jesus Christ who bought us with his precious blood when He sacrificed Himself on our behalf on a roman cross. Three days later, our Lord literally rose from the dead to give us all a new life where we can be in eternal communion with the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
I thank you for taking the time to read my blog and I hope that this has helped you figure out if Inner Child Therapy is appropriate for Christians to engage in. If your therapist or psychiatrist is attempting to get you to engage in this form of therapy, tell them that it goes against your beliefs and ask them to move on to something else. If you have engaged in this therapy, or decide that you want to engage in this therapy, do not fret because according to Romans 8:1 you are not condemned if you are in Christ Jesus. Please pass this blog on to someone that you think may help and leave a comment below. May the grace of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ richly bless you all!
-David Lee Chu Sarchet
Christian Mental Health Advocate
Check Out The Christ-Centered Mental Health Ministry Website
Check out the other ministry website
Christian Mental Health Advocate
Check Out The Christ-Centered Mental Health Ministry Website
Check out the other ministry website
No comments:
Post a Comment