The Child Who Became Responsible Too Soon | Inner Child Work
by Abi Beri
This is a somatic-informed practice that addresses parentification, which occurs when children take on adult roles and responsibilities too soon, creating patterns of over-responsibility, people-pleasing, and boundary difficulties that persist into adulthood. This practice combines psychoeducation with somatic exploration, addressing: What parentification is (emotional and practical caretaking roles in childhood). How and why it happens in family systems (addiction, mental illness, stress, overwhelm). Why YOU specifically became the responsible child (family constellation perspective). Where this pattern lives somatically (shoulders, jaw, breathing, chronic tension). The exhaustion of being unable to stop being responsible as an adult. Guided exploration of what it would feel like to put down this weight. Permission-based integration without forcing change.
