Understanding the Younger Parts of Yourself

Inner child is a metaphor, a figure of speech used in some therapies and in popular writing. It is not a brain structure and it is not a diagnosis. None of the research on this page tests the inner child idea itself.

Some people find a metaphor like this useful for thinking about how they learned to cope, and what they need now. Whether it helps is personal, and you can leave it aside if it does not fit.

• The metaphor: a way of speaking about earlier experiences and needs.
• The interventions: specific therapies, studied one by one, with different amounts of evidence.
• Evidence for an intervention does not prove that the metaphor is literally true.

The therapies below are done with a trained clinician. They are described here so you can see how much evidence exists.

Memory researchers broadly agree on three points. Memories are rebuilt each time we recall them, and they can be wrong in details. People sometimes report remembering real events they had not thought about for a long time, and this can happen outside therapy. And repeated suggestion, hypnosis or leading imagery can create false memories.

Most people who lived through frightening or painful events do remember them. In lab studies, roughly 15% to 30% of people came to report a suggested childhood event as a memory, depending on how the reports were judged. Recovered memories may be accurate, false or a mixture of the two. Researchers disagree about whether trauma can be pushed out of awareness and later recovered.

For these reasons, this page does not ask you to search for memories. If you are unsure about a memory, a qualified therapist can help you think it through.

You do not need to remember more in order to be kind to yourself now. A feeling in the present can be worth caring for whatever its origin.

This reflection looks at needs and coping, not at recovering memories. Stay with what you already know, or leave a question blank. Do this with a therapist if the questions bring up painful memories.

People in many cultures and traditions use images to speak about earlier stages of life or different sides of themselves. These images are not scientific findings. Some find them comforting, and others find them unhelpful. You can use the one that fits you, or none.

Consider talking with a licensed professional if these patterns affect your daily life, such as your sleep, work, relationships or mood, or if they feel too heavy to carry alone. See How to choose a therapist and Therapy types.

If thinking about your earlier life brings up flashbacks, panic, numbness or strong distress, please talk with a licensed professional who is trained to work with this. See Trauma and PTSD and Understanding trauma.

• Ally, D., Tobiasz-Veltz, L., Tu, K., Comeau, A., Bumpus, C., Blot, T., Rice, F. K., Orr, B., Soumerai Rea, H., Sweezy, M., & Schuman-Olivier, Z. (2025). A pilot study of an online group-based Internal Family Systems intervention for comorbid posttraumatic stress disorder and substance use. Frontiers in Psychiatry, 16, 1544435. Source IFS-based pilot with 10 adults; early and uncontrolled.
• Assmann, N., Schaich, A., Arntz, A., Wagner, T., Herzog, P., Alvarez-Fischer, D., Sipos, V., Jauch-Chara, K., Klein, J. P., Hüppe, M., Schweiger, U., & Fassbinder, E. (2024). The effectiveness of dialectical behavior therapy compared to schema therapy for borderline personality disorder: A randomized clinical trial. Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, 93(4), 249-263. Source Trial of DBT versus schema therapy in borderline personality disorder; a non-significant difference does not show equivalence.
• Boterhoven de Haan, K. L., Lee, C. W., Fassbinder, E., van Es, S. M., Menninga, S., Meewisse, M.-L., Rijkeboer, M., Kousemaker, M., & Arntz, A. (2020). Imagery rescripting and eye movement desensitisation and reprocessing as treatment for adults with post-traumatic stress disorder from childhood trauma: randomised clinical trial. The British Journal of Psychiatry, 217(5), 609-615. Source Imagery rescripting versus EMDR in adults with PTSD from childhood trauma; no untreated group.
• Brewin, C. R. (2021). Tilting at windmills: Why attacks on repression are misguided. Perspectives on Psychological Science, 16(2), 443-453. Source Commentary: recovered memories may be genuine, false or a mixture; the disputed part is unconscious repression; suggestive therapy is hazardous.
• Brewin, C. R., & Andrews, B. (2017). Creating Memories for False Autobiographical Events in Childhood: A Systematic Review. Applied Cognitive Psychology, 31(1), 2-23. Source Review of false-memory implantation studies; about 15% judged full memories under stricter rating.
• Brewin, C. R., Andrews, B., & Mickes, L. (2020). Regaining consensus on the reliability of memory. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 29(2), 121-125. Source Memory is reliable but malleable; review.
• Carey, O. G., Dempsey, M., Minihane, K., & Murphy, G. (2026). When, where, and how often do individuals recover memories of traumatic experiences? A systematic review. Memory, 34(2), 238-259. Source Systematic review of 42 studies: people report recovering memories of trauma, in and outside therapy; no special memory mechanism found; definitions vary.
• Joss, D., Comeau, A., Chevannes, R., Parry, G., Rea, H. S., Barria, J., Bumpus, C., Rector, A., Rajan, A., Rosansky, J., Rice, F. K., Ward, M. C., Tobiasz Veltz, L., Ally, D., Rosenberg, L. G., Sweezy, M., Lovas, D., & Schuman-Olivier, Z. (2026). A randomized controlled trial of an online group-based internal family systems treatment for posttraumatic stress disorder: The Program for Alleviating and Resolving Trauma and Stress (PARTS) study. Psychological Trauma: Theory, Research, Practice, and Policy. Advance online publication. Source IFS-based randomized trial; active control improved equally.
• Kip, A., Schoppe, L., Arntz, A., & Morina, N. (2023). Efficacy of imagery rescripting in treating mental disorders associated with aversive memories - An updated meta-analysis. Journal of Anxiety Disorders, 99, 102772. Source Imagery rescripting versus waitlist and other active treatments (a 2025 corrigendum exists; its numbers are not used here).
• Kirby, J. N., Tellegen, C. L., & Steindl, S. R. (2017). A meta-analysis of compassion-based interventions: Current state of knowledge and future directions. Behavior Therapy, 48(6), 778-792. Source Compassion-based interventions in 21 trials.
• Morina, N., Lancee, J., & Arntz, A. (2017). Imagery rescripting as a clinical intervention for aversive memories: A meta-analysis. Journal of Behavior Therapy and Experimental Psychiatry, 55, 6-15. Source Imagery rescripting: promising, with few randomized trials.
• Otgaar, H., Howe, M. L., & Patihis, L. (2022). What science tells us about false and repressed memories. Memory, 30(1), 16-21. Source False memory research and disagreement about repression; review.
• Otgaar, H., Howe, M. L., Patihis, L., Merckelbach, H., Lynn, S. J., Lilienfeld, S. O., & Loftus, E. F. (2019). The Return of the Repressed: The Persistent and Problematic Claims of Long-Forgotten Trauma. Perspectives on Psychological Science, 14(6), 1072-1095. Source Review of claims of long-forgotten trauma; suggestive techniques and false memories.
• Scoboria, A., Wade, K. A., Lindsay, D. S., Azad, T., Strange, D., Ost, J., & Hyman, I. E. (2017). A mega-analysis of memory reports from eight peer-reviewed false memory implantation studies. Memory, 25(2), 146-163. Source Mega-analysis of implantation studies; about 30% classed as false memories by investigators.
• Taylor, C. D. J., Bee, P., & Haddock, G. (2017). Does schema therapy change schemas and symptoms? A systematic review across mental health disorders. Psychology and Psychotherapy: Theory, Research and Practice, 90(3), 456-479. Source Schema therapy review: schema and symptom change; evidence sparse beyond personality disorders.

How we choose and label our sources: Evidence and editorial standards