Attachment in Psychotherapy: Relational Transformation and the Psychology of the Therapist

Attachment research has revolutionized our understanding of human development, the internal world, and the consequences of development gone awry. Above all, the research demonstrates that we become who we are in the context of first relationships in which the influences that shape us are implicit and nonverbal. It also documents how it is that the psychology of the attachment figure becomes, in effect, the psychology of the developing child -- security in the parent begetting security in the child, insecurity begetting insecurity, and trauma begetting trauma. And just as surely as the parent's psychology shapes parenting, the psychology of the therapist shapes therapy. Because psychotherapy within an attachment framework is a process of transformation through relationship -- and because relationships take two -- attending to our own evolving psychology is always key.

Corrective relational experience, work with enactments of transference-countertransference, the therapist's self-revelation, the therapist's own growth and change as a catalyst for growth and change in the patient -- these and more are aspects of psychotherapy as relational transformation. Within this framework, it is always who we are and who we can become -- rather than our techniques or theories -- that determines our effectiveness in creating relationships with our patients that are genuinely therapeutic.

In his acclaimed book, David Wallin spelled out the implications of integrating attachment research with neuroscience, relational psychoanalysis, mindfulness, and a focus on the body to help clinicians become more effective facilitators of growth and healing. Now in his latest workshop, he deepens the focus on work within the relationship as the primary therapeutic intervention, highlighting the importance of multiple self-states and dissociation in patient and therapist alike. Illustrating his approach with vivid case material and video examples, Wallin illuminates a way of being a therapist in which we aim to know ourselves as a part of the process of trying to know our patients. Working in this way, our professional path can also be a personal journey of discovery that has the potential to deepen and enliven the experience not only of the patient but of the therapist as well.

Additional pricing options...
LIVE WEBCAST REGISTRATION $159.00
GROUP RATE (3 OR MORE) $169.00

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