Attachment Focused EMDR and the Healing of Relational Trauma
- Julien Fyhrie, LMFT
I first became interested in Attachment Focused EMDR while looking for additional ways to address the problems my clients were having in relationships. I came to realize that major themes and challenges in their lives stemmed from early relational or attachment trauma.
This type of trauma was often the result of deficits in the clients’ relationships with their caregivers early on. Sometimes there had been abuse or neglect, the absence of good care like mirroring or a parental attitude that was dismissive to the emotional world of the child, all of which resulted in substantial wounding. The subtle nature of this type of relational trauma means that clients often have difficulty even identifying it.
A big and important part of the therapeutic process starts with discovering and articulating the trauma that occurred. However, a better understanding of the trauma a client experienced doesn’t always translate to different behavior or improved experience. Often we have parts of us that remain stuck at the age when the trauma occurred and as a result we develop a frustrating tension between the adult parts of us that understand the trauma and the child parts that are still stuck in it.
Attachment Focused EMDR is meant to address this tension and to work through the part that feels stuck. The neurobiology of trauma is such that the trauma can get locked in the nervous system with the original picture, sounds, thoughts and feelings. EMDR uses a form of mind-body free association to unlock the nervous system and allow the mind and body to process the experience. The entire process involves both validating what happened in the context of a secure therapist-client relationship, helping the client integrate traumatic memories, and focusing on repairing the original attachment wounds. The hope is that through this work the client is freed up to experience more security and agency in their relationships and in their life’s choices.
Video: Attachment-Focused EMDR – Tools & Techniques to Heal Trauma with Dr. Laurel Parnell - Dr. Laurel Parnell, who developed AF EMDR, discusses discusses tools and techniques.
Podcast: Therapist Uncensored on Attachment Focused EMDR - Tune in for this episode as co-host Dr. Ann Kelley and Dr. Parnell take a deep dive into the evolution and successes of EMDR.