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Inner Child: Journaling Template
Inner Child: Journaling Template
journaling
template
by Rachel Havekost
@rachel_havekost www.rachelhavekost.com
INNER CHILD
journaling
template
CONTENTS
page 3
What is my Inner Child?
page 4
What to Expect
pages 5-19
Seven Days of Journaling
page 20
Final Reflection
page 21
Index
@rachel_havekost www.rachelhavekost.com
INNER CHILD
journaling
template
Over the next 7 days, you will engage
in daily journaling prompts that will
help you:
Connect with your inner child
Become familiar with their needs,
fears, and core wounds
Learn tools for soothing, protecting,
and caring for them
Identify how they show up in
relationship
Tap into their creativity, intuition, and
play
@rachel_havekost 3 www.rachelhavekost.com
INNER CHILD day one
journaling template
What is My
"Inner Child"?
Your Inner Child is the unconscious part of your
mind that holds your unmet childhood needs.
They are the true "you" that held an intuitive
knowing about yourself and the world, before
parents, society, or systems conditioned you to
forget, deny, or betray yourself in order to
receive love.
In childhood, our deepest needs are to be
seen, loved, and kept safe.
When these needs aren't met, we sustain Inner
Child wounds.
As adults, these wounds manifest as feelings of
worthlessness, insecurity, judgment, shame, guilt,
codependency, self-betrayal, lack of
boundaries, people-pleasing, and difficulty
regulating and expressing emotions.
Healing your Inner Child involves identifying
them, understanding their core needs and
wounds, and re-parenting them so they can
heal so you can fully integrate into your self.
@rachel_havekost 4 www.rachelhavekost.com
INNER CHILD day one
journaling template
DAY ONE:
Get To Know Them
Find an old photo of yourself from childhood, between the ages of 0-11.
It should be a photo that sparks feelings of love, protection, and
tenderness.
If you don't have any photos, imagine yourself as a child, and allow
yourself to call on a visualization of whatever age seems to come to
mind.
As you look at/visualize your childhood self, answer the questions below:
What age am I here, and what drew me to this age?
How did my parents respond to my needs, desires, dreams, or personality at this age?
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INNER CHILD day two
journaling template
DAY TWO:
Channel Them
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INNER CHILD day two
journaling template
DAY TWO:
Channel Them
NON DOMINANT HAND:
Write your Name:
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INNER CHILD day two
journaling template
DAY TWO:
Channel Them
DOMINANT HAND:
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INNER CHILD day two
journaling template
DAY TWO:
Channel Them
NON-DOMINANT HAND (response):
What else do you want to say to assert yourself? You have full permission here:
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INNER CHILD day three
journaling template
DAY THREE:
Character Structures +Medicine Statements
As children, our core needs revolve around safety, security, and love. At
each age in childhood, we look to our parents to model for us what it
looks like to navigate our feelings and experiences.
If, at each important juncture of our childhood, our needs are not met by
our parents, we may develop character structures that shape the way we
see ourself and the world long into adulthood.
In this exercise, you will identify your character structures, and write
mantras or "medicine statements" that are healing for each type.
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INNER CHILD day three
journaling template
DAY THREE:
Discover Unmet Needs
MEDICINE STATEMENTS FOR EACH STRUCTURE
use these as mantras you can repeat to yourself when your inner
child wounds are triggered
@rachel_havekost 11 www.rachelhavekost.com
INNER CHILD day four
journaling template
DAY FOUR:
Letter to Your Inner Child
Letter writing is a powerful way to heal inner child wounds.
Start by visualizing your inner child.
Ask your inner child, "What do you need to hear?"
Alternative lead-ins include:
"It would be nice if someone said"
"I'd feel better if I heard"
"What would soothe me is"
"If someone said XYZ I might feel relief"
Write a letter to your inner child based on these prompts--remember you
are writing to yourself at this young, tender age in your visualization (or
photo if you have one!) Think about what you have learned about your
Inner Child so far--what would feel especially healing?
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INNER CHILD day four
journaling template
DAY FOUR:
Letter to Your Inner Child
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INNER CHILD day five
journaling template
DAY FIVE:
Creativity and Play
Our Inner Child is where we access our creativity, imagination, and play.
Sadly, many of us lose this part of ourselves in childhood, either because it
wasn't encouraged or fostered by our parents, or we were ridiculed for
our imaginations, creative expression, or playful personality.
Today's exercise is about tapping back into that creativity, and observing
what comes up as you do.
What you do in this section is completely up to you. You can draw a
picture, write a poem, a song, free write, doodle, create a script, anything
you feel called to. Let yourself play, imagine, and create for the sake of
creating.
@rachel_havekost 14 www.rachelhavekost.com
INNER CHILD day five
journaling template
DAY FIVE:
Creativity and Play
Reflect on what the experience was like.
What came up for you?
What thoughts arose when you were deciding what to create?
What thoughts arose while you were creating?
How do you feel now that you've completed this activity?
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INNER CHILD day six
journaling template
DAY SIX:
Relationships
A wounded Inner Child manifests in multiple ways in adult relationships.
Some of those manifestations include:
Emotional addiction to chaos
Behavior is aimed at seeking approval from others
Fantasizing about a partner "saving" or "healing" you
People-pleasing or betraying own needs to please others
Making life decisions based on what parents will think
Today's exercise is about identifying your core wounds, so you can begin
to heal and repair them.
When thinking about your relationships, what do you fear most?
In your relationships, what behaviors do you have that feel out of your control, or that you feel
"icky" about?
How do your adult relationships mirror your childhood relationship with your parents, or your
observations of your parents' relationship?
How well are your needs met in your relationships? How much do you ask for your needs to
be met?
@rachel_havekost 16 www.rachelhavekost.com
INNER CHILD day six
journaling template
DAY SIX:
Relationships
Looking at your responses on the previous page, what themes come up? (trust, safety,
abandonment, anxiety, confusion, fear, control, jealousy, others?)
Take a moment to brainstorm what actions you can take in your adult life to begin repairing
some of the ways in which your Inner Child wounds are showing up in your adult relationships.
(If you can't think of ideas, see the last page for actionable Inner Child exercises).
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INNER CHILD day seven
journaling template
DAY SEVEN:
Worth
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INNER CHILD day seven
journaling template
DAY SEVEN:
Worth
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INNER CHILD reflection
journaling template
FINAL REFLECTION
Take a few minutes to reflect back on the week. What have you
learned about your Inner Child? What have you discovered they need
most? How can you begin to take care of and honor your inner child in
your day to day life?
@rachel_havekost 20 www.rachelhavekost.com
INNER CHILD index
journaling template
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