Befriending Your Inner Child: A Catholic Approach to Healing and Wholeness

by Brya Hanan

Hurts experienced in our youth, be they traumas or trials, might get stowed away, yet our inner child remembers. It doesn’t matter how much time passes or how mature we become; such hurts can eventually cause friction in our daily lives, casting a long shadow over our relationships with ourselves, our loved ones, and our God.

Written in a compassionate and pastoral tone by licensed marriage and family therapist Brya Hanan, Befriending Your Inner A Catholic Approach to Inner Healing invites you to venture deep into your heart and befriend your hurts, emotional wounds, and childish behavior—or in the world of psychotherapy, your “inner child”—to reclaim your truest self, experience inner wholeness and healing, and strengthen your relationship with God and others.

Part one of the book explains why it is essential to befriend your inner child as well as the wounds and self-protections that this “child within” holds. Through this discovery, you will learn how to transform your deepest hurts into opportunities for healing and integration. Part two of the book offers practical tools to tend to your inner child compassionately.

Through Hanan’s practical “5 A’s,” you will learn how to

anchor yourself in God and in your God-given body; acknowledge your feelings and where you notice them showing up in your body; attune to your deepest wounds, core beliefs, and distressing feelings; ask God to show you what you need and how to participate in his healing work; and act consistently with loving compassion toward yourself.   Hanan vulnerably shares her own journey of “reparenting” her inner child with God and offers additional case studies from her clinical practice that highlight how different life stories and life stages can respond to befriending their inner child. Each chapter includes charts, lists, and “Befriend Work” exercises that challenge readers to reflect further on the content.

If you long to experience more fulfillment and wholeness, this book is for you.

Genres: Psychology, Christian, Nonfiction, Self Help, Catholic, Religion, Spirituality

192 pages, Paperback

Published April 19, 2024

Reviews

[Megan Dominick · Rating 4 out of 5]

Change can be incredibly scary. Healing is a part of change and can be scary! But it doesn't have to be scary or frightening.

This was a rather informative book in regards to re-connecting with our inner child, which is often pushed to the back burner. As we reconnect with our inner child, it is something that can help with breaking the generational cycles of trauma, toxic shame, dysfunction and sin. What that looks like is going to vary from person to person.

One thing that I liked about this book is that while the author gives us ways to help us work on healing our inner child, it doesn't feel like a workbook of any sort. While I didn't utilize them at this time, I plan on going back and working through it again.

[Maria Turner · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great read. I would recommend this book to clients. If you are clinician/therapist and are familiar with IFS, inner child work, attachment theory, EMDR … this read will feel like a mini brief review.

[Hilary · Rating 4 out of 5]

Let me start by saying that the “inner child” is a very new concept to me. I’ve started doing this work on myself just recently, and I’m still not 100% clear on the entire process. I do think this book helped clarify some stuff for me, and I look forward to trying some of the tools she provided, especially the bilateral journal. Still, I think I need to reread this again to really grasp the entire idea. There was a lot of information to digest. I loved the biblical tie in very much, (though I am not Catholic). None of the references to Catholicism bothered me - there weren’t many.

I was also given this book as an advanced reader copy, and there were so many errors in it with formatting and spacing, so it was sometimes hard to read as a result of that. Plus, several examples that she provided in the book were actually blank for me in my ebook ARC. I think those examples could have really helped me! It also took me several months to read this, and as a result, I forgot some of the content I read early on. I will be reviewing my notes!

Thank you to NetGalley and Ave Maria Press for providing me this ARC!

[RxReads · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Befriending Your Inner Child: A Catholic Approach to Healing and Wholeness" it's a game-changer! First off, can we just appreciate how comforting and relatable Hanan's writing style is? It's like having a heart-to-heart with a wise friend who totally gets it. This book dives into the nitty-gritty of our emotional baggage and why it's crucial to give our inner child some TLC. What I loved most is how she doesn't just preach; she shares her own struggles and gives practical tools to help you nurture your inner child. Plus, those "Befriend Work" exercises in each chapter? Gold. If you're looking to make peace with your past and deepen your faith along the way, give this book a shot. Trust me, your inner child will thank you for it.

Thank you NetGalley for this advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review.

[Lauren Nelson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I cannot say enough good about this book. The content is fabulous. The connections to scripture and Catholic tradition are not only sound but impressive. This book changed a lot of things for me and has opened up so many ideas I’d long buried. Healthy and honest in a gorgeous way. The accompanying meditations are not to be missed. Ms. Hanan’s voice is soothing and comforting. I’m so glad I took the time for this one. Brava and thank you!

[Susan · Rating 5 out of 5]

A life changing book for me, a Catholic approach to healing and wholeness, I will surely read this book again and again, and make use of the guided meditation links at the end of each chapter. Finding out how to heal our wounded inner child is something that I embrace wholeheartedly going forward. The author is a licensed marriage and family therapist. Very thankful to have found this book!

[Becky Philo · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book gave me valuable insight into how unmet childhood needs can influence present-day experiences. As a person of faith—though not Catholic—I appreciated its approach to healing and wholeness through a spiritual lens.

[Bonnie Dupré Isacks · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very practical and clear!! So helpful for inner healing

[Kim · Rating 5 out of 5]

Offers healing for all in a day of walking wounded.

[Tamara · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent! Will re-read, very helpful!

[Julie Colman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very insightful. Read and went through it with a couple of friends which deepened the experience. Gained a lot of self-awareness that will hopefully make me a better person and Christian