Summary

Amazingly, this reading reiterates the substantial and long-term effects of insecure attachments, both intergenerational and during our early life neurologic development. Delving deeper into the consequences of parental neglect and abuse (in it’s many forms) we are made aware of their impact on our ability, or lack thereof, to transcend the dilemmas of various forms of trauma. Whether they are large acute traumas such as September 11th, 2001 or the steady drip of fear, helplessness, abandonment, shame and humiliation experienced during our early life.

What we now know, is that improper or dysfunctional attachment early in life leads to a multiplier effect in the probability of our development of behavioral, social, biologic and cognitive disorders, and tendency towards neuroticism such that our conscious capability to digest trauma is retarded and maladaptive,

Conversely, successful early life attachment results in a healthy and sustained ability to adapt to various traumas. Furthermore, that effective, and in many cases, short term dynamic psychotherapeutic treatment can enable corrections of such attachment deficits by reconnecting the conscious mind of the present to the unconscious pain and emotions from the past.

Response

This was both, a fascinating and reinforcing view of attachment theory and the intergenerational epigenetics of trauma and abuse. Coupled with a descriptive six hour attachment-based psychotherapy tool which highlights the precise techniques used to unlock the unconscious such that healing can begin through greater understanding of self and how our feelings work to either entangle or untangle our dilemmas through greater coping skills.

Reference

Neborsky, R. (2002). A clinical model for the comprehensive treatment of trauma using an affect experiencing-attachment theory approach. In M. Solomon & D. Siegel (Eds.), Healing trauma (pp. 282–321). New York, NY: Guilford Press.