Can inner child work and the Emotion Code be combined?
Yes, some people choose to combine them, but they are different kinds of thing. Inner child work is a way of exploring how early experiences still shape your feelings and reactions, usually done inside psychotherapy with a licensed therapist. The Emotion Code is a complementary energy practice created by Dr. Bradley Nelson and taught by his company, Discover Healing.
Laura Bass is a psychotherapist in Charlotte, North Carolina, with a part-time office at The Healing Cottage in Columbus, near Tryon. She is also a certified Emotion Code practitioner. She offers inner child work as part of individual counseling with adults, and clients who want it can bring Emotion Code sessions alongside that work. Whether you do is entirely your choice.
What is each one, in plain terms?
It helps to be clear about both before deciding anything.
Inner child work
Inner child is a popular, informal idea, not a diagnosis and not one standardized therapy. It refers to the feelings, needs and beliefs that took shape in childhood and can still show up in adult life: the part of you that freezes at criticism, or the part that still waits to be noticed. Several researched approaches work with these child-like states in different ways. What is inner child work explains the idea, and does inner child work help looks at the evidence honestly.
When inner child work happens in therapy, it sits inside licensed clinical care: a trained professional, a state board, a code of ethics, and methods that can be discussed and reviewed.
The Emotion Code
In Dr. Nelson's model, the energy of past emotions can become trapped in the body. Discover Healing describes the method as using muscle testing to put yes-or-no questions to the subconscious, then running a magnet along the back to release what practitioners call a trapped emotion. Practitioners may also ask when an emotion became trapped, which can include an age or a period of life.
It is important to be plain about the evidence. The mechanism the Emotion Code describes is not established by scientific evidence, and muscle testing has not held up well in blinded studies; see muscle testing explained. Discover Healing's own legal page calls the method experimental, says it is not to be taken as the practice of psychotherapy, and says it is not intended to diagnose or treat any condition. No state licenses Emotion Code practitioners. What is the Emotion Code and does the Emotion Code work go further.
The Emotion Code, The Body Code, The Belief Code and Heart-Wall are trademarks of Wellness Unmasked, Inc. (Discover Healing). The names are used here only to describe the method; this site is independent and is not published or endorsed by Discover Healing.
Why do some people want both?
The two share some language. Both talk about the past still being present, and Emotion Code practitioners often ask about ages and periods of life, which can feel familiar to someone already thinking about their younger self. For a person whose faith or outlook already includes energy or spiritual practice, having room for it in counseling can feel like being met as a whole person rather than in pieces.
It is also worth naming what draws people for less helpful reasons. Sometimes the hope is that an energy session will lift a painful feeling quickly, without having to feel it or talk about it. That hope is understandable, but no practice can promise it, and the Emotion Code should not be used to avoid the parts of inner child work that ask for patience.
Laura works with the whole person, mind, body and spirit, and that is why the option exists. It is not a sign that inner child work needs an energy practice to be complete. Many people do deep, steady inner child work in therapy with no complementary practice at all, and some would find energy work at odds with their beliefs. Inner child work and faith covers how spiritual life can be part of this work in other ways.
Where does the line sit?
When one person offers both, honesty about which part is which matters even more. These are the principles that keep the boundary clear:
- Psychotherapy is the clinical care. The Emotion Code is a complementary practice you may choose in addition.
- The Emotion Code is never presented as treatment for trauma, anxiety, depression or any other condition.
- It does not replace the slower work of therapy: noticing feelings as they come, understanding patterns, and learning to care for the younger parts of yourself at a pace you can manage.
- Nothing happens without your clear consent, and you can decline, stop or change your mind at any point with no effect on your counseling.
- Your beliefs are respected either way, whether you are drawn to energy work or skeptical of it.
- Tell any other providers you see about every approach you use, as the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health advises, and do not use a complementary practice as a reason to put off care you need.
Questions to think about before choosing
If you are curious, a few questions can help you sort out what you actually want:
- What am I hoping for? If the answer is relief from symptoms such as panic, depression or flashbacks, that points first to psychotherapy.
- Does energy work fit my faith and values, or would it leave me uneasy?
- Would I feel free to say no, or to stop, if I tried it and did not like it?
- Am I looking for a shortcut past painful feelings? Inner child work often asks for patience, and no practice removes that.
- Have I read the safety and evidence pages, and am I comfortable with what is and is not known?
Talking with Laura about it
If you would like to explore inner child work with Laura, you can start with counseling alone and decide later, or never, whether to ask about the Emotion Code. How she schedules, documents and charges for Emotion Code sessions when a client also sees her for therapy is hers to explain, so ask her directly through the contact page. You can read about Emotion Code sessions with Laura, the Emotion Code guide, and how the Emotion Code and psychotherapy fit together.
Looking at childhood can stir up strong feelings. If that starts to feel like too much, when inner child work feels overwhelming covers pacing and grounding. Neither counseling by appointment nor an energy practice is crisis care: if you are in danger, call 911, and if you are thinking about suicide or are in emotional crisis, call or text 988. The inner child work guide has the rest of this library.
Common questions
Is the Emotion Code a form of inner child therapy?
No. Inner child work, when it happens in therapy, is part of licensed psychotherapy. The Emotion Code is a complementary energy practice, and Discover Healing, which teaches it, says it is not psychotherapy and is not intended to diagnose or treat any condition. Some people choose both, but one is not a version of the other, and the Emotion Code's mechanism is not established by scientific evidence.
Do I have to try the Emotion Code if I do inner child work with Laura?
No. Inner child work with Laura is part of individual counseling, and the Emotion Code is only ever included if you ask for it and agree to it. Many clients never use it. You can also try it and decide it is not for you. Your counseling continues in the same way whatever you choose, and you never need to explain your reasons.
Can the Emotion Code release childhood trauma?
Emotion Code practitioners describe releasing trapped emotions from earlier in life, including childhood, but that is the method's own claim, and there is no reliable evidence that it treats trauma or any other condition. If you are living with the effects of childhood trauma, start with a licensed therapist. Any complementary practice is something you may add by choice, never a substitute for that care.
Is it safe to do both at the same time?
For most adults, the bigger safety question is pacing. Looking at early experiences can bring up strong feelings, and adding more at once can make that harder to manage. Talk openly with your therapist about what you are doing and how you feel afterward, tell your other providers too, and read the Emotion Code safety page, which explains who should start with clinical care first.
What if I am skeptical of the Emotion Code?
That is a reasonable position, and it will not affect your counseling. The method's central idea is not established by scientific evidence, and many thoughtful people choose not to use it. Inner child work in therapy does not depend on it in any way. If you are curious but unsure, you can read the evidence pages first, ask questions, and still decide no.