That is all very similar (not exactly, but similar enough that I can recognize the parallels) to what my T and I do (part of what we do) and it can actually make a huge difference. The hurt parts of our selves are stuck in the past. They respond to triggers as if the traumas are happening right here and right now. Their whole physiological being responds as though the trauma is occurring in the present. All of these steps outlined above are to try to get the parts of the brain that respond to current day triggers as present day threats to calm (calming the nervous system response) and to allow the frontal cortex ('adult mind'/compassionate self) to come back online.
It reads like make-believe, but its actually based on neuroscience. Its all about retraining the brain.