What Is Reparenting Your Inner Child?
There’s a voice inside many of us that still speaks in whispers from the past — soft, urgent, and often unheard.
It echoes in the form of fear when we try to take up space, guilt when we set boundaries, or shame when we express our needs.
That voice belongs to the inner child.
It’s a part of us that can hold onto early memories, unmet needs, and emotional truths that remain unresolved.
Reparenting, a cornerstone in inner child work, is a deeply healing practice that invites us to return to these forgotten places with compassion.
At The Witch’s Therapist, we approach this work holistically, combining traditional London Ontario psychotherapy insight with soul-rooted rituals and somatic presence.
Reparenting isn’t just about "fixing" the past.
It’s about rewriting the narrative of who we believe we are and reclaiming the wholeness that was always within us.
Today on our holistic therapy blog, we’ll be taking a closer look at your inner child.
In particular, we’ll explore the concept of reparenting, and its role in your therapy journey.
Understanding the Inner Child
The inner child is more than a concept.
It’s the emotional residue of our earliest relationships and environments.
Many of us carry core wounds related to abandonment, rejection, or feeling emotionally unseen.
These wounds often live quietly beneath the surface until they begin to disrupt our adult lives.
This is true whether or not your caregivers were overtly hurtful.
The inner child may filter our perceptions in many different ways by developing beliefs like:
· “I am not good enough”
· “I am bad”
· “I am not safe”
· “I am too much”
· “I am all alone”
· “I am hopeless”
· “I deserve this”
· “I am not loveable”
· “And others”
Which can result in:
· Emotional reactivity
· People-pleasing
· Chronic self-doubt
· Self-deprecation
· Difficulty regulating emotions
· Anxiety
· Depression
· Fear of abandonment
· And others
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We may find ourselves caught in loops as a result.
These may look like relationships that echo earlier pain, or patterns of avoidance.
They may also include inner narratives that tell us we’re too much, not enough, or fundamentally unlovable.
Inner child work invites us to gently unearth these patterns.
Reparenting is the method by which we begin to mend them.
What Is Reparenting?
Reparenting is the conscious act of providing yourself with the support, guidance, boundaries, and love that may have been absent or inconsistent in childhood.
This isn’t about blaming your parents or caregivers.
It’s about witnessing the emotional voids that may have shaped your self-perception and survival strategies.
Like many types of psychotherapy, this work is not linear.
You might find yourself moving between understanding your past and meeting present needs.
It’s a practice of attunement - of learning to listen to what your younger self longed for.
And from there, offering it from the wise, grounded adult you are becoming.
At The Witch’s Therapist, we see reparenting as a form of ritual, not just routine.
It is sacred, intentional, and profoundly liberating.
How Does Reparenting Work?
The reparenting journey is a profoundly personal one.
As a result, everyone’s journey through this process will be unique.
However, there are some important fundamental elements involved in the process.
Let’s take a closer look at each of them.
1. Attunement: Listening to Your Inner Child
You can’t parent a child if you don’t know they’re present.
That’s why the first step in reparenting is building a relationship with your inner child.
This means slowing down enough to hear what this part of you is feeling and needing.
Attunement can look like:
· Journalling dialogues between your adult self and your inner child
· Visualisation or meditation, where you meet your younger self in a safe, inner space
· Recognizing your triggers as opportunities for connection, not self-judgement
The goal here is to simply be present, and to listen.
2. Safety and Regulation
Many of us never learned how to soothe our nervous systems.
This is especially true if your early environment was chaotic, invalidating, or emotionally distant.
Your body may have internalised constant vigilance or shutdown as a normal way of being.
This isn’t sustainable.
It can lead to chronic perfectionism, as you worry nothing you do will ever be good enough.
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But since humans are inherently imperfect, this creates a self fulfilling prophecy.
Never being able to live up to impossible standards keeps you locked in the type of loops we mentioned previously.
It can lead to burnout, low self esteem, and more.
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Reparenting includes developing tools to regulate your nervous system — to feel safe, grounded, and emotionally stable.
This might involve:
· Breathwork and grounding practices
· Somatic exercises to discharge held trauma
· Inner affirmations like: “It’s safe to feel what I’m feeling” or “I am here for you”
3. Boundaries and Structure
It might seem counterintuitive at first.
But love without boundaries doesn’t feel safe to the inner child.
Children need predictable boundaries, routines, and consistent care to thrive.
Reparenting means setting compassionate boundaries for yourself — not to punish the people in your life, but for protecting your inner child.
This may include things like:
· Limiting contact with people who trigger you
· Creating daily rituals that prioritise your emotional needs
· Saying no without guilt
We honour our inner child when we create a world in which they can finally rest.
4. Joy and Play
The healing journey isn’t only about tears.
Reparenting includes rediscovering the joys your inner child may have missed or forgotten.
This is often the most overlooked — yet equally essential — part of the work.
Ask yourself:
· What did I love as a child?
· When did I feel most free?
· What would it feel like to create space for pleasure, spontaneity, or messiness — without shame?
Healing includes joy.
In fact, joy is resistance to a culture that teaches us to earn our worth.
How Reparenting Transforms Our Lives
Reparenting doesn’t change what happened, but it changes what we do with those stories.
It gives us the tools to respond rather than react.
To pause and contemplate, rather than spiral and panic.
To choose ourselves in ways we were once taught not to.
With time, reparenting can help you:
· Form healthier, more authentic relationships
· Make decisions from a place of self-trust rather than fear
· Set and uphold boundaries without collapsing into shame
· Soothe yourself during emotional storms
· Reconnect with your purpose, creativity, and intuition
This is the deep magic of inner child work.
It clears the path for your most aligned self to emerge.
Reparenting in Holistic Psychotherapy
At The Witch’s Therapist, we offer an integrated approach to reparenting.
We draw from evidence-based practices — such as Internal Family Systems therapy, somatic psychotherapy, and trauma-informed care.
Meanwhile, we work to honour your emotional, energetic, and spiritual landscapes.
We know that healing happens in layers, and that the therapeutic space itself can become a new template for safe relationship.
But it’s important to acknowledge that reparenting isn’t only personal.
It’s political.
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Many of our wounds are not just familial but generational, systemic, and cultural.
Colonization, capitalism, ableism, racism, and heteropatriarchy have shaped the way care has (or hasn’t) been offered.
Reparenting is a radical act.
It can be an important part of decolonizing psychotherapy.
It disrupts the internalized narratives of unworthiness and disposability.
It honours the truth that you were always worthy of care.
Worthy not because of what you produce, but simply because you exist.
This work, especially for marginalized folks, is not about becoming “better”, but becoming free.
Book Your Appointment With The Witch’s Therapist Today
Reparenting in inner child work is a journey.
It’s tender, non-linear, and often profound.
It is not a one-time fix but a commitment to ongoing self-relationship.
It’s a willingness to hold yourself with the love and consistency you may have longed for all along.
At The Witch’s Therapist, we view this work not just as psychological healing, but as a return to sacred relationship with who you are.
To reparent is to remember that you are not broken.
You are becoming whole, one loving choice at a time.
If you're feeling the call to reconnect with your inner child, we welcome you into our practice.
Let us hold space for you as you begin — or continue — this sacred return.
Book your FREE 15-minute intro session with The Witch’s Therapist today.
The Witch's Therapist
242 Dundas St.
London, Ontario
Canada
N6A 1H3
1-226-977-1660
► London Ontario Holistic Psychotherapy
The Witch's Therapist is located in London, Ontario and offers holistic psychotherapy therapy throughout London and surrounding areas.
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