INNER CHILD
journaling
template
by Rachel Havekost
7-Day Journaling Template
to assist you on your path to
connecting with and healing
your inner child.
@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
Ready? Lets begin!
@rachel_havekost
3
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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
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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?
What do I remember about this time in my life?
What happened to me that hurt me during this time?
How did my parents respond to my needs, desires, dreams, or personality at this age?
What were my hopes and dreams at this age?
How did I change after this age in my life?
@rachel_havekost
5
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INNER CHILD
day two
journaling template
DAY TWO:
Channel Them
Our Inner Child is the most intuitive, creative, and
playful part of us.
Yet when we are closed of to them or have Inner
Child wounds, our creativity, play, pleasure, and
intuition are blocked.
Research shows that using your non-dominant hand
taps into the right side of your brain--the side that is
creative, intuitive, and taps into feelings and
spirituality.
Our dominant hand taps into the left side of the
brain--the part that is critical and logical.
In this exercise, you will answer the first set of prompts
using your NON-DOMINANT hand.
If you are ambi-dexterous, choose the hand you use
least often.
Then, you will answer a set of questions with your
DOMINANT hand, and observe the change.
@rachel_havekost
6
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INNER CHILD
day two
journaling template
DAY TWO:
Channel Them
Write your Name:
NON DOMINANT HAND:
Why did you choose to do this journal?
What is it like writing with your non-dominant hand?
What words come to mind to describe the experience?
@rachel_havekost
7
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INNER CHILD
day two
journaling template
DAY TWO:
Channel Them
DOMINANT HAND:
What do you think when you look at your non-dominant handwriting?
Do you have any judgments or criticisms of the non-dominant section?
What words come to mind to describe the experience?
@rachel_havekost
8
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INNER CHILD
day two
journaling template
DAY TWO:
Channel Them
NON-DOMINANT HAND (response):
Now, with your NON-DOMINANT HAND, respond back to this
inner critic.
What would you like to say to your inner critic?
How does it feel to be criticized?
What else do you want to say to assert yourself? You have full permission here:
@rachel_havekost
9
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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.
HAKOMI'S CHARACTER STRUCTURES
(as adapted by the Somatica Institute)
Circle or underline the beliefs that resonate with you
Unsafe: I believe that the world is unsafe, and I am unsafe
Over Dependent: I believe that my need for closeness will not be met
Under Dependent: Not only do I believe that my need for closeness
will not be met, but I believe this means I don't actually have any
needs, and will do everything myself
Unfree: I believe I have no choice in my life, and my life is about duty,
responsibility, and acting out of obligation
Invulnerable: I believe the world is out to humiliate me, so I should
never let my guard down
Unworthy: I believe I am not good enough, and I am unlovable, and I
will only receive love if I do everything right
@rachel_havekost
10
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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
Unsafe: I am guarding your safety and I want you to feel safe
Over Dependent: I want to take care of you and I will do my best. I
will stay connected to you even if I don’t know exactly how to take
care of you.
Under Dependent: I will take care of all of this so you can rest, play,
or enjoy.
Unfree: I want to connect with you but only when you want to and the
way you want to, and you don’t have to do anything you don’t want to.
Invulnerable: I feel connected to you when you are vulnerable and I
will never do anything to humiliate you.
Unworthy: There is nothing you need to do for me to love you. I love
you for who you are.
Write your medicine statements below. Feel free to write the same
medicine statement as above, or modify it to make it feel more
personal to you.
@rachel_havekost
11
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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?
More space on the next page
@rachel_havekost
12
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INNER CHILD
day four
journaling template
DAY FOUR:
Letter to Your Inner Child
@rachel_havekost
13
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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
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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?
@rachel_havekost
15
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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
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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).
@rachel_havekost
17
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INNER CHILD
day seven
journaling template
DAY SEVEN:
Worth
A wounded Inner Child often produces core feelings of worthlessness.
People-pleasing, self-betrayal, fear of abandonment, and general anxiety
in the face of loving or intimate relationships are rooted in beliefs of:
"My needs don't matter"
"If I'm not good/perfect, they won't love me"
"Their needs matter more than mine"
"I'm nothing without them"
"I don't think I'd survive if they left me"
These beliefs, at their very core, stem from the core belief of:
"I am not worthy."
Inner Child healing must include a practice of re-instilling a sense of worth,
so that all the new behaviors to come (like setting boundaries, asking for
needs, enjoying play, trusting your intuition, and feeling safe and secure in
relationship) can freely grow from a place of feeling utterly worthy.
If you don't feel worth those experiences, you won't engage in those
practices.
On the next page, write your Inner Child a letter about their worth.
You can think about writing it from the perspective of a a loved one or
trusted person--anyone whose words would feel soothing and healing.
@rachel_havekost
18
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INNER CHILD
day seven
journaling template
DAY SEVEN:
Worth
@rachel_havekost
19
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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
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INNER CHILD
index
journaling template
EXERCISES, EXPERIENCES, + PRACTICES
for Adults Healing Inner Child Wounds
Now that you know your Inner Child more intimately, you can begin
implementing exercises and practices in your adult life that honor and
care for your Inner Child in the ways that they were not honored in
childhood.
This is a list of some practices you can engage in and work towards to
begin integrating safety, security, and creativity back into your
consciousness.
Affirmation writing
Asking for your needs
Accepting responsibility for actions without over-apologizing
Creative projects
Clear expectations from others
Dancing or moving to music without structure
Enjoying play and silliness
Expression of all emotions, not just "good" ones
Follow your gut instincts
Keeping promises you make to yourself
Hitting a pillow, squeezing fists, or face paced exercise for healthy
anger expression
Mindfulness practices
Meditation
Play for the sake of play
Radical Acceptance
Respecting own and others' boundaries
Saying "no"
Somatic shaking
Setting clear boundaries
Speaking your truth
Taking time in the day just for yourself
Tending to own needs before the needs of others
Trusting your intuition
@rachel_havekost
21
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