Comparing meditation with inner child / trauma recovery work

In recent months I've been spending more time doing what I call inner child work (also trauma recovery work) than meditating. This work is similar to mediation, yet I'm not clear on the differences.

This week I began an 8 week "life retreat" with my teachers Kenneth Folk and Beth Resnick-Folk. I hesitated to join the retreat because I'm not a standard hardcore meditator at the moment -- I'm doing this recovery work. But I joined anyway. When, during our first group meeting on Google Hangout, Kenneth asked each of us to say what was juicy in our practice, I said that this work was juicy. And, for the first time, I tried to articulate a comparison between this work and meditation: "Both practices fundamentally involve directing my attention to my present moment experience. In meditation I try to objectify the self; in this work, I try to relate to the self." Kenneth encouraged me to explore this.

Since then I've tried a little to go back and forth between the two practices, comparing them more. During inner child work, I feel into and follow the sensations of emotion. If I feel sad, I feel into and follow the sadness. One might say that I luxuriate in it, the way one typically luxuriates in the sensations of a pleasurable massage. I try to "give it space" (to use a phrase of my psychotherapist). In contrast, during meditation, if I feel sad, I note "sad", then immediately shift back to a wider scope of attention such that the next thing I note is likely to be something other than sadness.

During inner child work, I dialog, using words, with what I perceive to be the inner child -- a set of strong, dynamic sensations in the right side of my body. I direct my attention to the sensations. Words come to mind: "this is a waste of time." I ask myself, "Why does it seem to be a waste of time?" "I am going to get hurt!" "Who is going to hurt you?" "Dad's going to beat me over the head with his fist!"  And so forth. During meditation, if words (thought) arise, I immediately let go of the words, ignoring their content.