Overcoming Narcissistic Abuse: Tip #15 – Inner Bonding Therapy

Introduction

Hi everyone, this is Blake Anderson and I'm a registered social worker and therapist. I have over 13 years experience as a registered social worker and five years as a therapist. In this blog post, supplementing my YouTube video on the top 20 tips for uncovering and overcoming scapegoat dynamics in a dysfunctional family as well as narcissistic abuse recovery, I'm covering my 15th tip on the notion of inner bonding therapy. This approach helps repair yourself if you grew up with a father or mother who wasn't healthy, supporting your journey through family of origin trauma.

Understanding Inner Bonding Therapy for Scapegoat and Narcissistic Abuse Recovery

Inner bonding therapy is an approach where you talk, where you bond with your inner child. The notion is that you can go to a therapist or do your own self-reflection and have a good intellectual understanding of your situation, but inner bonding therapy gets you to consider that we have an inner child. In the report, I'll give you some suggestions of walking you through a visualization exercise, particularly taking from the book Inner Bonding from the nineties.

Often when you grow up in these homes, there might be an aspect of yourself that has kind of been suppressed or your inner child has been kind of scared or feeling unheard or unsafe. By your adult self kind of having interactions with your younger part of yourself and honoring and speaking to it like an actual child, with empathy and compassion—it's not always just a rational aspect, but the healing aspect where you're listening to this inner child that had to go through these experiences growing up.

It's almost like rescuing this child, but for the most part you're listening to it and dialoguing in an empathetic and compassionate way so that child will open up and learn that it's safe and they can trust life and relationships again. Because you've been through relationship traumas from a very young age, this child can very much be in fear or have some level of being unheard or having challenges with certain emotions.

Visualization Exercise to Connect with Your Inner Child

Let's just imagine that you're going into a room, and you have your inner child in that room. Think about how that inner child is sitting, or maybe it's in the corner and has its head down or it's covered. By doing this visualization exercise—and I'll leave in the report that you can kind of walk through—I would encourage you to consider this in terms of checking in with that inner child and interacting and just honoring that sense of yourself. This can go far in your healing journey from narcissistic abuse and scapegoating.

Overcoming Childhood Trauma Through Empathy and Compassion

By regularly engaging in inner bonding therapy, you address the fear, suppression, and emotional challenges carried from dysfunctional family dynamics. This process helps rebuild trust in life and relationships, fostering safety and openness. It's an important approach for scapegoat survivors seeking to integrate suppressed parts of the self and advance emotional recovery.

Conclusion

Inner bonding therapy offers a powerful way to heal from narcissistic abuse and family of origin wounds by reconnecting with your inner child. Definitely check out this report and follow up with the book Inner Bonding—it's definitely an important approach. I think it's gonna go far away in your healing journey.

To explore all 20 tips with detailed reports and a 45-page healing toolkit, join my free Scapegoat & Narcissistic Abuse Recovery Course. Learn more here.

What does your inner child need to hear today to feel safe? Share in the comments—your insight might help another on their narcissistic abuse recovery path.

Disclaimer: This educational content supports self-reflection and is not a substitute for professional therapy.