An interview exploring a hybrid approach to therapy, integrating traditional psychology with intuition, inner child work and holistic healing.
Key Takeaways
- Healing benefits from integrating psychological frameworks with intuitive, embodied practices
- Inner child work can complement traditional therapy in trauma-informed ways
- Intuition is not unscientific; it is a human faculty often overlooked in clinical settings
- Therapists benefit deeply from engaging in their own inner work
- Hybrid therapeutic approaches create deeper access to emotional healing beyond language
A Conversation on Hybrid Healing Approaches
Modern therapeutic approaches are evolving. While traditional psychology offers essential frameworks for understanding the mind and behaviour, many practitioners and clients alike are recognising the limitations of approaches that rely solely on cognition and language.
This interview explores a hybrid approach to healing; one that honours psychological theory while also welcoming intuition, embodiment and inner child work as valid and powerful therapeutic tools.
I met Andriele, a chartered psychologist, through what can only be described as synchronistic circumstances in Brazil in 2017. What began as a chance meeting through couchsurfing unfolded into long conversations about psychology, healing, human behaviour and the deeper layers of lived experience that often sit beyond words.
Two years later, after both of us had undergone significant personal and professional transformation, we reconnected. Our shared curiosity — Andriele from a clinical psychological framework and myself as an intuitive-led therapist working with the inner child — naturally led to a rich dialogue about the compatibility of these worlds.
This interview reflects that dialogue. It is offered as an exploration rather than a conclusion; a meeting point between traditional psychology and holistic, intuitive healing, and an invitation into a more integrated vision of therapy.
A Psychologist’s Journey into Therapeutic Practice
Q: To begin, could you share a little about your background? What drew you to psychology, and what influenced your decision to work closely with people?
A: In Brazil, we choose our area of training and profession quite early on. I started college at 17 years old. At the time, I was interested in philosophy and deeply curious about the relationship between mind, brain and human behaviour. Another important motivation was my desire to understand myself more fully.
One of the aspects I appreciate most about working as a therapist is that it involves working on myself. During college, when we began clinical care, we reflected on the statement: “Each therapist has the client he or she deserves.” What I have come to understand is that clients and cases often touch on sensitivities and experiences within the therapist’s own life.
I believe we attract those we can help, and those who help us. This is one of the most intriguing and meaningful aspects of my work.
Discovering Inner Child Work from a Clinical Perspective
Q: Were you familiar with inner child work before we met?
A: No, I wasn’t aware of inner child work before then.
Where Traditional Psychology Meets Intuition
Q: Do you work with anything similar conceptually or theoretically in your role as a psychologist?
A: After experiencing the workshop, I set the intention to explore the concept further. I can relate it to Jung’s analytical psychology, although I hadn’t encountered inner child work specifically during my training.
What I can assimilate it to is the use of guided meditations and role-playing techniques sometimes used in clinical settings, particularly for supporting clients with post-traumatic stress.
Q: Is there anything you would like to share about your experience of the Inner Child Workshop?
A: It was a very interesting experience. Discovering the origins of feelings and emotions I had experienced before, without knowing their source until then, was truly revealing.
It offered me a deeper level of understanding and practice that had previously felt inaccessible. I am very grateful to Amy for facilitating that experience.
Integrating Inner Child Work into Therapy Settings
Q: Do you see space within psychological practice to explore approaches like inner child work alongside established therapies?
A: Yes, absolutely. I believe it can be a valuable complementary approach within therapy.
It’s important for therapists to experience the practice themselves first, allowing them to integrate it authentically into their personal and professional lives. From my experience, and the relevance I see for certain clients and cases, this approach holds great potential.
I noticed emotions from long ago resurfacing and moving through me; areas I would like to explore further. I also believe strongly that therapists need their own space for therapy and integration. This is essential, not optional, when supporting others.
Reflections on Healing, Embodiment and Professional Practice
Q: Do you feel inner child work could be incorporated into your own practice? If so, how?
A: Yes, with further training. I would need to contextualise it within my practice and create a clear framework around which cases it would best serve.
Many clients struggle to talk about feelings because of how language itself is structured. What I experienced through inner child work was access to emotional understanding beyond rational explanation and verbal processing.
From that perspective, this work has great potential within a psychologically informed, ethically grounded therapeutic setting.
Conclusion: Bridging Psychology and Intuition
This conversation reflects a growing truth within the healing professions: no single approach holds all the answers.
Traditional psychology provides structure, safety and essential theoretical grounding. Intuitive and inner child–based practices offer access to emotional, somatic and unconscious material that language alone cannot always reach. When integrated thoughtfully, these approaches do not compete; they support one another.
What stands out most in this exchange is the shared recognition that therapists are human first. Our capacity to support others deepens when we remain willing to explore our own inner landscapes with humility, curiosity and care.
This interview is not an argument for replacing traditional therapy, but an invitation to expand it; to include intuition as a legitimate human faculty, embodiment as a pathway to healing, and inner child work as a bridge between past experience and present integration.
In a world where healing is increasingly fragmented, hybrid approaches offer a return to wholeness.
This conversation connects deeply with themes explored in inner child work, reparenting, and embodiment-based healing practices.
If this conversation resonated with you and you’d like to learn more about the Inner Child Workshop Andriele experienced, you’re warmly invited to explore further below.
Reflective Invitation
As you reflect on this interview, consider:
- Where do you rely solely on rational understanding in your own healing?
- Where might intuition, embodiment or emotional listening offer deeper insight?
- What would integration, rather than polarity, look like in your journey?
If you’re curious about beginning or deepening inner child work in a grounded, trauma-informed and intuitive way, you can learn more about my Inner Child Workshops and therapeutic offerings here.
