I like the picture of your inner child about to headbutt you Helen.

I'm glad you two are getting to know each other.
My T was, I think, talking about my inner critic in my last session. She says it is on steroids. I think it has roid rage too. She says I need to listen to what it is really trying to tell me. And that I need to thank it for looking out for me but let it know that it goes too far. I'm not sure about all of that, it makes sense, but I feel like that critic is my enemy. It wants me destroyed. Maybe she's talking about setting boundaries for the critic. I'd like to try training it with a shock collar also. You know, start filling my head with how I'm so worthless and I just press a button and *BBBBZZZZZZZZTTTTTTTT!!!!!* I've literally had to shout it down, in my own head not out loud thankfully, telling it to shut up, it's wrong and I don't have to listen to this right now. That's works for awhile, but it just waits for a moment when I'm down again and it returns whispering poison in my ear.
What are some of the ways of working with the inner critic and inner nurturer to establish a relationship with the inner child?
Phoenix, that makes so much sense about self-sabatoge coming from that taking on of our abuser's attitudes about us. Still haven't read the articles, but they are saved on my computer.
Worn