Secure Attunement Framework
Working with survivors of developmental trauma (trauma that took place ages 0-6) requires a different framework of treatment than work with trauma experienced later in life.
During the first two years of childhood, the brain is wired to develop through reciprocity and attuned attachment. When this fails to happen, the resulting sense of mis-attunement leads to a continuous state of physiological distress. Since the resulting trauma is caused in reference to others, treatment must, therefore, take place in the context of an attuned relationship.
The brain develops from the bottom upward. Lower parts of the brain are responsible for functions dedicated to ensuring survival and responding to stress. Upperparts are responsible for executive functions, like making sense of what you are experiencing or exercising moral judgment.
Development of the upper parts depends upon prior development of lower parts. In other words, the brain is meant to develop like a ladder, from the bottom up. When stress responses (typically due to consistent neglect or abuse) are repeatedly activated over an extended period in an infant or toddler, sequential development of the brain is disturbed. The ladder develops, but foundational steps are missing and many things that follow are out of kilter.
Developmental trauma can manifest in a variety of ways and thus often goes unrecognized: Sensory processing disorder, ADHD, Oppositional Defiance Disorder, Conduct Disorder, DMDD, Eating-Disorder and Body Dysmorphia, Self-Harm, Major Depression, Bi-Polarity, personality disorders (especially borderline personality disorder), PTSD, cognitive impairment, speech delay, learning disabilities, and more may have developmental trauma at their core.
This series of two (90min sessions) will focus on theories and treatment practices of developmental trauma and how to apply them in clinical practice.
Objectives:
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Understand and learn about the ETI Secure Attunement Framework.
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Increase therapeutic adeptness in blending bottom-up experiential modalities (expressive arts and somatic/body-oriented approaches) and top-down approaches (narrative processing) in the context of a secure-attunement framework.
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Develop a clear understanding of the foundational role of attunement in brain development in the early years of life and what type of intervention is needed according to the age when the trauma took place.
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Learn what is trauma integration in the context of developmental trauma based on case presentations of treatment plans.
Topics
Session One: Introduction to ETI Secure Attunement Framework.
Session Two: Application of Secure Attunement Framework in Online Sessions.
Target audience
Mental health counselors, social workers, psychotherapists, psychologists and other clinicians working with clients affected by developmental trauma, complex trauma (reactive attachment disorder, BPD, CPTSD).
Recording from: December 13 (two sessions)
Cost: $120 click $ to purchase
FAQs
What materials will participants need during sessions?
1) A notepad.
2) Several print papers (A4).
3) A pencil/pen, crayons, and or markers.
Are there handouts and printouts?
There are several pages to print out for the exercises. You will find a link to these embedded on the first screens of the video.
Do I need to be an artist or expressive therapist to participate or to apply these methods with my clients?
No, these are simple techniques that anyone can learn to use in clinical settings. While we will use art-making, drawing, and role reversal, our focus will be on the process of expression and experiencing "imaginal space", not on the end product.
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