Charles L. Whitfield, M.D., is a physician, psychotherapist, author and internationally recognized expert on mental illness, behavioral problems, and recovery from addiction and trauma. He was on the faculty of the Rutgers University Summer Institute of Alcohol and Drug Studies from 1978 through 2003, and in private practice of addiction medicine and psychotherapy since 1976. He has also been a consultant and collaborator at the CDC in Atlanta since 1998. He has been voted by his peers as one of the Best Doctors in America every year since 1993. He lives in Atlanta, GA, and is in private practice with his wife, author and therapist, Barbara Harris Whitfield.
Thanks to Charles L. Whitfield, M.D., and his book, Healing the Child Within: Discovery and Recovery for Adult Children of Dysfunctional Families, I was able to move on to a healthier way of life. When my children were teens, it became abundantly clear that some of the dysfunction I lived with as a teen was filtering into my parenting. That was the last thing I ever wanted to happen. Dr. Whitfield provides a clear and concise way to heal your inner child, the one damaged by your dysfunctional parents. I don't hate my parents. If anything, I understand them better now than I ever did before. However, I know that they weren't equipped to nourish me in the way they need to be nourished, so I had to do it for myself. If you think your adult life is still affected by the way you were raised, read this book to see if it could be your tool toward recovery.
This book is about psychology, spirituality and coming to terms with the conditions of one's psyche.
Throughout the book, Whitfield talks heavily about integration. The main subject matter is about finding a way to reintegrate the parts of us that have been frozen at the time of trauma... the point being, that a full integration allows us to reclaim parts of our selves so that we are no longer beholden to their mechanisms. Only after we are aware of how those parts of us are trapped in automatic cycles of reactivity, can we begin to find a way to heal -- to embrace that stifled "child within" and bring that child back out to the world. Many of us, myself included, have lost the enchanted vision we once saw the world with. When the world became hostile so we became guarded.
Being guarded means two things. If we are not present (since we are trapped in the meanings of yesterday) then we can't be interacting with the world in the conditions that are now.
You see, spirituality is of an inspired unity. In even the most dead and abstract concept, Spirit is a place for all of us together in harmony as a union. And union is only possible if one is wholly present. We might think of presence as mindful awareness in the moment -- but this can only happen if we reclaim the parts of ourselves that are frozen in past trauma, so those parts of us do not keep pulling us back into past events that are no longer present even if we bring them into the present.
Spirituality is being present because then our whole integrated self, including the parts of us that were as when we were new (as children) can come to the foreground and be present again, instead of reeling in hidden agendas, damaged by past events and unwilling to be okay with ourselves and others.
Much of Whitfield's language is wrapped in the language of spirituality but he is wholly as a doctor to help people heal. In his practice he has found how to get to the source of the trauma so as to unlock that which traps us. His metaphors are useful, and his language clear. In any situation, there is a wide spectrum of experience available -- the experience we take from a situation is in part, a reflection of how we have been deployed internally. As humans certain things (such as being eaten) are just bad. But in our civilized societies, most situations are complex and multivalent. If we choose to see loss and pain instead of joy and opportunity then there is a reason... if we are stuck in past traumas and past hurts then we will see the present moment in terms of those traumas and hurts. We may forget why something bad happened but we do not forget how it made us feel when we behave in ways to avoid the feelings we carry with us, feelings we may normalize when we suppress the traumatic experience yet carry with us those resultant feelings.
There was another book I thought profound decades ago -- Ernest Becker's Denial of Death. In this book, Becker claims that our personality is a product of how we deny death; how we avoid the pain of our existence. Our character is how we step into the light (or the dark). And so, with Whitfield, our character can be seen as a coping mechanism for pain, loss and uncertainty in the world. But since much of that cannot be removed; pain, loss and uncertainly are always with us -- so we either live with denial or we accept the uncertainty and instead choose to see the situation as it can benefit us, as a chance to play with the world and be alive in it, instead of fearing it and wanting to control it. Becker's book was great -- but spoken from a place that is very big picture. Whitfield is much more useful, personable as Whitfield is speaking to the child within us instead of to the mind looking for meaning -- Whitfield says we create meaning through how we relate to things.
We can create meaning by relating to life through pain, or we can create meaning by relating life to joy. Life has an abundance of both. To really allow us to be as we are, we need to accept both in balance. Only then when we are present and integrated, can we really face life in all its opportunities and be there, be present for the people we love in the situation we are in, instead of trying live in a past situation where we attempt to control in the present based in how the past turned out.
I managed to get on the same mental wavelength as the author 3 or 4 times during the book and really identify with what he was saying. The rest of the time I was lost in a fog of vague psychobabble.
The concept of the book is still quite intriguing, but the book itself did not deliver a whole lot that I could really understand and use.
Instead read . While not exactly a self help/therapy book, it does give a good overview of childhood trauma and "neurosequential development."
This book is a great read for anyone getting started on their personal journey to finding more happiness. I found it a great return to the beautiful basics of emotional healing and would recommend it to anyone wanting to understand why their life patterns, especially in relationships, are the way they are, and how to make them better. The book is comprehensive in tools for the discovery of how our early life experiences shaped us in the behaviors and thinking we have now. It helps identify the ways to accept what needs to be accepted and change what needs to be changed. I recommend for everyone, whether just getting started or for a great return to the fundamentals of personal growth, happiness & healthy relationships.
Five solid stars. Healing the Child Within is an extremely powerful and therapeutic read 鈥� one which is perfect for meditation and healing. I highly recommend it to anyone seeking strength and empowerment as well as personal, interpersonal and spiritual growths. Read this and learn to discover, nurture and free your true self!
The was a really good book. The first few chapters were jam packed with great information. The last few chapters I found a little more difficult to read and more pscyhology heavy...
One particular part in the book that was really an a-ha moment for me was Chapter 13 Transforming. This very same thing had happened to me already so it was really refreshing to see it described as common:
Joe came from a troubled family. During his recovery, he was assertive and stood up to his mother who called his sister and said 'i don't know what's wrong with your brother. He's different. I wonder what's wrong with him?'...as though he's crazy or something. Depending on where we are in our recovery, some people may notice a change in us, and become afraid that the unhealthy relationship might have to change. Fear may build up in them to such an extent that to handle it they often dump it on to others, often onto the person they saw changing and suggest there is something wrong with them because they are no longer willing to participate in the dysfunctional relationship.****
I plan on reading it again but more slowly to digest everything.
It reads more like a personal account, someone sharing his personal experience, than a well-researched book. So there are many claims without evidence or backing up. Interesting is how he transfers ideas from alcoholism recovery to any kind of emotional struggle growing up in a family that did not give enough support. I feel the book lacked impact, or depth of ideas. While it had a breadth of ideas, it did not go into depth for any of them. I found the personal bill of rights interesting!
This is written as a sort of textbook to accompany someone who is in the starting phase of looking into their childhood/unhealthy habits/problems. I think it would be absolutely useful for many people unless you have already idenfified most of your core issues, and have worked on your childhood problems for years. This is because for instance, this is full of checklists for example for people who think they might have a drinking problem in their family but are unsure. It also has examples from case studies and is full of citation to other literature and studies, which got annoying because it completely ruined the flow and distracted me from the content. I think the range of subjects he tries to include is a bit to wide, and would have prefered if this was several books with smaller topics. He jumps back and forth to much for me as well. There was a lot of great stuff and advice here though, I just think structurally it had some problems
One of the first self help books that I read back in 1990. It helped me understand about the little girl inside me. I may have grown up on the outside but I was not grown up emotionally and this book was the beginning of that transformation.
Not nearly as good as I thought it would be. Basically you read the whole book and the gist is he thinks you'll get way more out of it if you go to group therapy. Don't get me wrong, there are a few good things in here, but I was expecting blow me away amazing and I definitely did not get that.