Sports injuries are more than just physical events, they also involve an avalanche of emotions. Athletes will often report feeling sad, angry, anxious, frustrated, helpless, and doubt about their identity. While the traditional intervention in the world of sport psychology focuses mostly on controlling those thoughts or managing stress, Emotion Focused Therapy brings a different perspective, working with emotions rather than against them.

Supporting a loved one after trauma can be especially challenging when you haven’t experienced anything similar yourself, making it hard to fully understand their feelings or reactions. This piece introduces ten practical and gentle ways to offer effective support while respecting that everyone processes trauma differently.

The inner child represents a younger, childlike part of yourself that can hold wounds and unmet needs, as described by Carl Jung’s child archetype. These early experiences strongly influence adult life, and unresolved negative experiences can continue to impact you until they are acknowledged and healed.