Alienation from self in the context of abusive parenting is a survival strategy that maintains children’s attachment to caregivers by disowning themselves as “bad” or “unlovable.” This deeply painful failure of self-acceptance results in lifelong shame and self-loathing, difficulty self-soothing, and complications in relationships with others. Without internal compassion and a sense of worth, it is difficult to take in the compassion and acceptance of others.
To overcome this alienation from self, therapy must focus on cultivating clients’ mindful awareness of their disowned selves and disowned experience. As clients discover their trauma-related, structurally dissociated younger selves and bring them “home,” they spontaneously begin to feel an internal sense of warmth and safety that changes their internal experience.
In this workshop, using strategies inspired by Structural Dissociation theory, Sensorimotor Psychotherapy and Internal Family Systems, you will explore the therapeutic power of fostering internal secure attachment to clients’ most deeply disowned selves.
You will learn to:
- Describe the relationship between early attachment or trauma and alienation from self ;
- Recognize signs of disowned parts and their internal conflicts ;
- Identify parts that sabotage self-compassion or self-acceptance ;
- Describe interventions that create an increased somatic sense of connection or attachment to the body or the parts ;
- Capitalize on interpersonal neurobiology to increase the effectiveness of therapeutic interventions ;
- Foster "earned secure attachment" as the outcome of attachment bonding between adult and child selves.
