The CEH Process is built around the Core Emotional Healing® Model which I created and my husband and business partner, Doug Miller, PhD, helped to further develop.
In this video, I explain the CEH Model and discuss why CEH works.¹
The focus on the “Core” in CEH indicates that the main emphasis is on the source, the origin, of your suffering, while also addressing all of the resulting levels indicated in the diagram.
As can be seen in the video and as described below, there are dynamic interactions between the levels of the CEH model, all unique for each individual. This multilevel inclusion, representing the major schools of psychology, are one thing that make CEH unique, effective and efficient.
After learning about CEH, you will see why what you’ve tried or have been relying on hasn’t fully helped you heal your chronic emotional and/or physical symptoms, and also the relationship patterns and other behaviors that are creating more suffering for you. That said, a lot of modalities complement the CEH process.
The reason why it’s hard to focus on what hurt you and to express that hurt now is because your hurt was ignored, denied, and even shamed. It was just too painful. Though you may feel that your parents were there for you in every way, because they were not taught to feel and express their own feelings, you were emotionally abandoned by them, and this resulted in an emotional disconnection from yourself.
For example, let’s say as a child, your father or sibling keeps hurting you so you cry and tell your mom about it and she changes the subject to make you ignore it and “feel better”. This is how she learned to deal with her feelings, so she can’t be present for yours. As a result, you learned to suppress your true feelings just to “be okay” and stay busy and distracted, and even to remain connected with your family so as not to feel abandoned, but your feelings were abandoned.
This example begins with your core wounds of abuse and neglect, which result in suppression of your memory and emotions. In turn, you then form a limiting belief that your feelings don’t matter and protect yourself so you do not feel.
One way you may do this is to stay busy, which protects you from feeling your emotions and fear of being abandoned, which can also result in intimacy issues. You may go through life either avoiding relationships or staying in abusive or distant relationships. It is also common to develop chronic anxiety and/or depression, as well as digestive issues or other physical symptoms from all of the repression.
As a child, if your caregivers, who are supposed to care for you and keep you safe, are not only neglecting and/or abusing you, but also ignoring your feelings about the neglect and abuse — representing further neglect — you do not learn to mentally or emotionally process any of it. So, your memories and emotions of those experiences get repressed, and go into your subconscious supporting your limiting beliefs, defenses, and adaptations.
Because of this, you make decisions and unknowingly act out from your trauma, unconsciously, which in turn reinforces your limiting beliefs, and so on in a repeating and self-fulfilling cycle. In addition, you may continue to try to feel safe and loved from others who repeat similar patterns as your family, or the extreme opposite.
These patterns will repeat until you feel and heal your childhood wounds.
As another example, if your parents modeled, implied, and/or directly told you in various ways that you need to be perfect, then they often negated how you truly are, what you feel and what you want.
Some self-absorbed parents even want you to just be there for them, instead of them supporting you. Because your parents only accepted you if you lived up to an external standard, you came to feel there was something wrong with your true self and you deep down believe there is something wrong with you, creating a shame-based self.
The result is that you will feel unlovable just being yourself. You may then try to gain the love you always wanted by striving for perfection, while all the while, underneath, feeling there is something lacking in who you are. You will attract people in your life, who, like your parents, are highly critical or unavailable to you in the ways you need.
This repeating pattern reinforces the negative beliefs about yourself and of others. You are caught in a pattern of doing anything for love and approval, trying to please people who mistreat and/or neglect you like your parents, doing whatever they want you to do, while neglecting your needs. These patterns can fuel chronic yeast infections, an eating disorder, and obsessive behaviors.
The adaptations, protections, and beliefs are mostly in your subconscious, so you don’t know why you are doing it, and you can’t stop.
You may wonder why you keep attracting the same kinds of dysfunctional relationships.
In an effort to heal your physical symptoms, you may focus on eating a sugar free diet and taking antifungals to get rid of your yeast infections but no matter what you do they never go away and you feel worse about yourself because you feel like a failure.
Some of this can even become self-punishing, like doing water fasts because you blame yourself for eating the wrong things, thinking that’s why your symptoms aren’t going away.
Nobody in your life can understand what you are going through, your family thinks it’s all in your head, and your partner continues to blame you.
The only comfort you have is food but you can’t eat what you want, and emotionally, you are in a vicious cycle of shame, guilt, hopelessness and despair.
You think to yourself “There must be something wrong with me”, but there actually isn’t, you just have repressed hurt from childhood that needs to be fully felt and healed.
Sounds simple, maybe even easy, but it’s not because your defenses and protections that helped you feel safe from the emotional pain as a child are now getting in the way of you healing that same pain.
When you start the CEH process, your defenses may even get stronger, that is why you have to work with skilled practitioners, like myself and Doug, who specialize in supporting you to move through your resistance in order to heal the root of your suffering so you can finally find relief and receive the support you’ve always needed.
You will then feel safe and empowered to express your true self and gifts, get your real needs met, and obtain the fulfillment that you always have wanted.
By focusing on the core, and what happened to you in childhood, and healing on that level, it makes it so much easier to release all of the resulting patterns, symptoms, and behaviors that are also creating suffering.
When you are the one who validates and feels your childhood feelings that you had to deny and repress, and you are the one who heals the neglect and abuse, then you are the one supporting your inner child, vulnerability, clarity, and personal power.
When this happens, you live through your authentic self, you know when your needs are and are not being met, and you know how to go about getting them met.
In turn, you develop deep heartfelt connections, realize your gifts, and live more fully with joy!
¹ While CEH works for most everyone, it is not recommended for individuals with Bipolar Disorder, or with Borderline, Narcissistic or Histrionic Personality Disorders. If you have been diagnosed with, or think you may have one of these conditions, please see a mental health practitioner.