Parts Work & Shadow Work Therapy in Tampa & St. Petersburg
Healing the Inner Child
Author: Amanda Farris, LCSW, QS
Reviewer: Kaitlyn Shelp, MA, LMHC ✓
Published May 29, 2025
Have you ever found yourself overreacting to something small? Maybe snapping at a loved one, feeling paralyzed by self-doubt, or spiraling into anxiety you can’t quite explain? These moments may not be about what’s happening now, but rather about a part of you from the past that still needs healing.
At It Begins Within Healing Center in Tampa and St. Petersburg, we offer therapy grounded in parts work, shadow work, and inner child healing to help you reconnect with and transform these wounded aspects of yourself. Through a blend of mindfulness, emotional regulation techniques, and reparenting practices, we support your journey toward clarity, compassion, and lasting change.
What Is Parts Work Therapy?
Parts work is a powerful therapeutic approach rooted in the understanding that we are made up of many “parts” or sub-personalities. These parts are shaped by experiences, beliefs, and coping mechanisms—often formed in childhood—and they each serve a function, even if they sometimes show up in disruptive ways.
Examples of inner parts include:
The inner critic that drives perfectionism
The protector that shuts down vulnerability
The wounded child that reacts with fear, anger, or sadness
Parts work therapy helps you identify, understand, and develop compassion for these internal roles—so you can lead your life from your grounded, calm, and connected Self.
Shadow Work | Meeting the Parts We Hide
Shadow work is the process of bringing awareness to the parts of ourselves we suppress or reject. These could be “unacceptable” emotions, behaviors, or memories that we’ve pushed into the unconscious—often due to shame, fear, or social conditioning.
If you would like to explore shadow work with a licensed therapist, we invite you to schedule a free consultation.
what you will explore in shadow work
In therapy, shadow work allows you to ask:
Why do certain patterns keep repeating?
What is this uncomfortable feeling trying to teach me?
How can I embrace what I’ve been avoiding?
When we meet these parts with curiosity instead of judgment, we can finally understand their purpose—and begin to heal.
Understanding the Inner Child
Your inner child is the emotional memory of your younger self. It holds unmet needs, joys, fears, and beliefs from early life. When this inner child is ignored or misunderstood, it may show up in your adult life.
When this inner child is ignored or misunderstood, it may show up in adult life as:
Emotional reactivity
Fear of abandonment
Perfectionism or self-doubt
Chronic people-pleasing or avoidance
At IBWHC, we help you gently reconnect with this part of you—validating their pain, meeting their needs, and creating space for emotional healing and growth.
if your seeking support WE INVITE YOU TO learn more & schedule a free consultation with one of our TAMPA licensed THERAPIST.
Reparenting Techniques
How We can heal ourselves
Reparenting is a powerful therapy technique that helps individuals heal emotional wounds from childhood by learning to care for their inner child in the ways they needed but never received. This approach often includes mindfulness to recognize when younger emotional parts are activated, compassionate self-talk to challenge negative core beliefs, and creative expression such as art, movement, or time in nature, in order to reconnect with a sense of joy and play. Guided visualizations may also be used to revisit painful memories in a safe and supportive way. Over time, reparenting therapy empowers people to become the nurturing, protective, and emotionally attuned adult their inner child always needed, laying the foundation for emotional healing and personal growth.
Reparenting is the process of offering your inner child the care and support they may have lacked growing up, below are a few tools and techniques we utilize here at It Begins Within.
Mindfulness in therapy to notice when younger parts are activated
Self-compassion and self-talk to rewrite limiting beliefs
Creative expression (art, movement, nature) to connect with play and safety
Guided visualizations to revisit and heal painful memories
Therapy Tools to Take Home
Healing doesn’t just happen in the therapy room. Amanda Farris, a licensed therapist at IBWHC, supports clients with real-world tools that build emotional resilience:
Journaling prompts for inner child dialogue
Breathwork and meditation to regulate overwhelming feelings
Homework practices to notice patterns and try new responses
Encouragement to explore play—yes, even as an adult!
Whether it's picking up a paintbrush, joining a dance class, or throwing a Frisbee in the park, adult play helps reintegrate lost joy, curiosity, and spontaneity.
Is Shadow Work or Parts Work Right for You?
This therapy is especially supportive if you:
Struggle with emotional reactivity or feel “too sensitive”
Experience cycles of self-sabotage, shame, or fear of abandonment
Want to heal from childhood trauma, emotional neglect, or complex relationships
Are a high-achiever or caretaker who feels stuck despite outward success
Crave deeper emotional insight, resilience, and inner peace
