Healing the Child Within : Discovery and Recovery for Adult Children of Dysfunctional Families (Recovery Classics Edition)

Dr. Whitfield provides a clear and effective introduction to the basic principles of recovery. This book is a modern classic, as fresh and useful today as it was more than a decade ago when first published. Here, frontline physician and therapist Charles Whitfield describes the process of wounding that the Child Within (True Self) experiences and shows how to differentiate the True Self from the false self. He also describes the core issues of recovery and more. Other writings on this topic have come and gone, while __Healing the Child Within__ has remained a strong introduction to recognizing and healing from the painful effects of childhood trauma. Highly recommended by therapists and survivors of trauma.

Have you ever heard of your inner child? Well, this is the classic book that started it all.

In 1987, Charlie Whitfield's breakthrough concept of the child within—that part of us which is truly alive, energetic, creative and fulfilled—launched the inner child movement. Healing the Child Within describes how the inner child is lost to trauma and loss, and how by recovering it, we can heal the fear, confusion and unhappiness of adult life.

Eighteen years and more than a million copies sold later, Healing the Child Within is a perennial selling classic in the field of psychology. And it is even more timely today than it was in 1987. Recent brain research, particularly on the effects of trauma on the brain of developing children, has supported Whitfield's intuitive understanding as a psychiatrist.

About HCI Recovery Classics

HCI's recovery backlist contains some of the most important and best-selling works in the recovery field. These books are still sought after today, selling more than 100,000 copies per year. Our new line of branded books features expanded editions of our top recovery titles, new introductions, updates on pertinent recent developments in the field, and contemporary new covers and packaging.

Whitfield's book is a road map you can follow from discovery to recovery, helping you create the gift of personal freedon in your life.

Foreword -- Acknowledgments -- Introduction -- 1. Discovering our child within -- 2. Background of the concept of the child within -- 3. What is the child within? -- 4. Stifling the child within -- 5. Parental conditions that tend to stifle the child within -- 6. The dynamics of shame and low self esteem -- 7. The role of stress : the post traumatic stress disorder -- 8. How can we heal our child within? -- 9. Beginning to deal with core issues -- 10. Identifying and experiencing our feelings -- 11. The process of grieving -- 12. Continuing to grieve : risking, sharing and telling our story -- 13. Transforming -- 14. Integrating -- 15. The role of spirituality -- Appendix -- References -- Index. "In this book, Dr. Whitfield describes a journey of discovery and healing. He offers gentle guidance through the fear, confusion, and unhappiness that has becomem a legacy for so many adults who were raised in an alcoholic or dysfunctional family. This book begins where many others describing adult children of alcoholics have left off. Rather than focusing only on the alcoholic family, it defines and fully develops the concept of adult children of dysfunctional familier. Members of 12-Step self-help groups will find this book especially useful in their personal recovery work, both within and outside of their meetings."--Page 4 of cover This book begins where many others describing adult children of alcoholics have left off. It focuses on how the inner child is denied as a result of early trauma and loss, and how by recovering it we can heal the fear, confusion, and unhappiness of adult life. It also describes and develops the concept of adult children of troubled or dysfunctional families in general, rather than only on the alcoholic family. -- From back cover