Counseling for Childhood Wounds

Have you ever asked yourself what it would feel like to be “normal”?

Do you often feel like you don’t fit in or fit the mold like other people do?

Have you ever thought about your childhood and wondered how life would be like for you now if things were different growing up?

Are there times when you feel weighed down and heavy from images, thoughts, or reminders of your childhood?

Are there people, places, or things you go out of your way to avoid because the pain and stress they bring up for you is too much?

When you look back on your childhood, how do you see yourself?

Perhaps you were a parentified child who shouldered so much grown up responsibility that you feel burnt out and exhausted from giving so much at such an early age.

Maybe you were a caregiver to a physically or emotionally unwell family member and rarely had anyone to rely on for your own needs.

Perhaps you grew up with limited resources and now a scarcity mindset or imposter syndrome follow you around wherever you go no matter how successful or abundant your life may be.

Or maybe your family was gripped by the pain or chaos of substance use that left you with deep wounds or unresolved pain.

Maybe the energy in the household was cold, distant, frightening, confusing, or hostile, leaving you feeling anxious and uncertain of yourself.

Perhaps there was chaos and disconnection that left you feeling like you had to fend for yourself.

Or, perhaps there was significant family conflict, tension, or violence which has made it hard for you to connect with, trust, or love others without having strong feelings come up.

These deep childhood wounds contribute to how you see the world and navigate through life’s challenges.

Many of the wounds you carry forward from your childhood leave their mark as Interpersonal Traumas, which result when people in our lives hurt us or fail to respond in ways that keep us safe, protected, and nurtured.

Relational trauma is a type of interpersonal trauma where a child’s relationship with their parent or primary caregiver is severely impacted or disrupted. In many families, relational trauma may occur due to issues of abandonment or unhealthy involvement or enmeshment.

Carrying the heavy burden of unmet needs into adulthood can weave its way into many areas of your life. Wounds from childhood can leave painful emotional scars or inner child wounds that may show up in unhelpful ways if not tended to.

You may find yourself grappling with intense feelings of anger, abandonment, shame, guilt, insecurity, or being easily triggered by reminders of your past. Symptoms of anxiety, depression, or PTSD may also impact your life.

Women with childhood wounds may also find that they may struggle with:

• Boundary issues
• Low self-worth or low self-esteem
• Substance use
• Self-harming
• Disordered eating
• Trust issues or tendencies towards isolation
• Increase in physical health symptoms
• People pleasing to the detriment of your own needs
• Intense need for control, routine, difficulty with flexibility
• Difficulty relaxing, constantly busy
• Perfectionism, workaholism, intense need for achievement
• Intense negative self-talk, inner critic
• Difficulty relaxing, having fun, seeking joy/pleasure
• Critical of others, rage outbursts, blaming
• Feeling empty, alone, or different even with or around others

There is hope and healing from the wounds of childhood

Therapy can help you understand and explore these wounds and the ways they are showing up in your life. Together, we might look at your attachment style, temperament, coping, and defense mechanisms to help you develop a way of relating and connecting with others in ways that are safe, healthy, and fulfilling.

Through the use of Interpersonal Psychotherapy (IPT), which is a brief, attachment-focused therapy, we might also look at areas of your life that have the most stress and support you in developing a plan for change. New ways of handling and coping with your current life challenges are supported in an active, and non-judgmental manner.

Therapy is a pathway to help you re-center and repair the hurting parts of yourself that have their roots in childhood so that challenges and symptoms that are showing up today can be reduced. You are deserving and worthy of tending to those hurts, so let’s work together on supporting your healing journey.

If you are a woman living in North Carolina or Virginia, I can support you on your journey in our confidential online therapy space. Contact me today or schedule your appointment to get started!