John Bradshaw is best known for his book, Homecoming: Reclaiming and Championing Your Inner Child, and the PBS special of the same title. These are the places to the get started. If you don’t have access to the PBS special, start with the book. Bradshaw believes that we all have an “inner child,” and for many of us, it was damaged or wounded during our childhood from living in a dysfunctional family. In Homecoming, Bradshaw offers a guide to understanding and mourning our wounded inner child.
The book, his therapy, and his programs are about healing yourself. He draws on techniques used in his workshops to help put readers in touch with painful childhood memories and experiences. He believes that only after confronting and re-experiencing these past hurts can we break the family cycle of dysfunction and move ahead with our lives.
Bradshaw uses practical techniques, case histories, and questionnaires to demonstrate how your wounded inner child may be causing you pain. You’ll learn to gradually and safely go back to reclaim and nurture that inner child—and literally help yourself grow up again. Homecoming shows you how to:
• Validate your inner child through meditations and affirmations.
• Give your child permission to break destructive family roles and rules.
• Adopt new rules allowing pleasure and honest self-expression.
• Deal with anger and difficult relationships.
• Pay attention to your innermost purpose and desires...and find new joy and energy in living.
To give you a sense of the type of material he provides, here is an excerpt from John Bradshaw:
I like mnemonic formulas, so I’ll describe some of the ways the wounded inner child contaminates our lives using the word contaminate. Each letter stands for a significant way in which the inner child sabotages adult life. …
Co-Dependence
Offender Behaviors
Narcissistic Disorders
Trust Issues
Acting Out/Acting In Behaviors
Magical Beliefs
Intimacy Dysfunctions
Non-disciplined Behaviors
Addictive/Compulsive Behaviors
Thought Distortions
Emptiness (Apathy, Depression)
John Bradshaw’s books and ideas have impacted millions of people. If you feel that you were brought up in a dysfunctional family and want some help, Homecomings is for you.