We can see the futility of trying to please a perfectionist like this whose demands are totally unrealistic and can never be fully met no matter what we do. Needless to say, there are areas in which perfection is necessary and mistakes are catastrophic. We do want perfectionists supervising the designing and building of our planes, bridges,

Unfortunately, it usually disappears by the age of five. This child cannot exist in our civilized societies without the protection of a very strong protector/controller.

when we have the courage to look at our disowned parts, they change. The raging lion licks our face. He does not need to take over our personality; he only needs to be honored, to be heard, to be allowed to speak.

Life is not meant to be lived on a freeway full time. Neither was it meant to be lived in constant pain over our errors and imperfections. Although we, as psychotherapists on behalf of the health care professions in general, thank the critics, perfectionists, and pushers of the world, we do feel that it is time for a new management team—a team

Each of us has our particular omnipotent, or “top dog,” personality that we love dearly.

The playful child is just what the name implies—playful. It knows how to play as a child knows how to play. It is generally easier to reach than the vulnerable child, because he protector/controller is much more likely to permit play than tears and pain.

We can be helpless victims to the multitude of relationships in our lives that reflect our disowned selves, or we can accept the challenge of these relationships and ask: “How is this person, or this situation, my teacher?”

When dealing with the inner child, the dictum is: “There’s nowhere to go and there’s nothing to do.”

This development of an awareness level that can witness and an aware ego that can embrace both power and vulnerability is one of the central goals of transformational work.