Summary:
Research has demonstrated that having a secure and loving attachment bond with caregivers can protect a child from the devastating effects of adverse childhood experiences such as abuse, family dysfunction, and parental pathology. But what happens if those caregivers who are supposed to be attuned and protective are in fact abusive and abandoning? This advanced training for psychologists, licensed mental health professionals, and medical personnel will review the research and evidence-based treatment protocols at the intersection of adverse childhood experiences and attachment, namely attachment trauma. It will look at how these early experiences render an individual at risk for struggles with many issues, especially emotion regulation, development of a sense of self, and struggles with relationships with others via a lack of mentalization. Each speaker will present the treatment interventions they utilize with clients struggling with the most common and debilitating symptoms that accompany attachment trauma. Five core, evidence-based, transdiagnostic treatment modules adapted from the Unified Protocol and Cognitive Behavior Analysis System of Psychotherapy (CBASP) will be reviewed in depth, as will the integrative Self-Trauma Model that incorporates trauma-based treatments such as EMDR, State of Mind or Parts therapy, as well as Attachment-based treatments. Specific treatment options for willing Christian clients will be included.
All mental health professionals are guided by theories of change and their corresponding assumptions about the source of problems and their solutions to help clients (Faija et al., 2023; McMinn, 2012; Moore et al., 2015). To remain true to their faith, Christian mental health professionals choose to maintain a comprehensive theory of change that allows them to ethically engage all clients while upholding their biblical beliefs (King, Connors & Hawkins, 2024). Unfortunately, faith-based mental health professionals frequently lack formal training in integrating faith, theory, and practice and must instead rely on personal experience and other sources of education (Husain & Sherr, 2015; Moffatt & Oxhandler, 2018). In this workshop, psychologists, licensed mental health professionals, and ministry leaders will learn about a comprehensive biblical theory of change and model for clinical decision-making that will allow them to ethically integrate their faith and practice while effectively helping Christian and non-Christian clients achieve change. Participants will also be able to identify key biblical terms and how mental health professionals can utilize them in a clinical setting. Finally, participants will be given two case examples to apply the biblical theory of change and learn how to target treatment strategies based on clients’ issues and needs.
Learning Objectives:
Identify the different types of adverse childhood experiences and their psychological consequences.
Describe the nature and function of early attachment and how early traumatic experiences can be impacted by insecure attachment dynamics.
Outline key findings from research on the impact of attachment trauma on brain and psychological development.
Examine how attachment trauma can lead to issues with emotion regulation, mentalization, and relationships with self and other.
Evaluate a transdiagnostic framework for understanding how attachment trauma can lead to a broad array of psychological disorders, from chronic depression and anxiety to PTSD, dissociative disorders, and various personality disorders.
Apply creative ways to formulate complex cases using a transdiagnostic framework and how to tailor-make treatments using a combination of evidence-based treatment modules.
Demonstrate how to administer an attachment-oriented developmental history to help clients explore the effects of early relationship disturbances on their social-emotional functioning.
Identify maladaptive behaviors clients use to avoid emotions and triggers, and identify adaptive alternatives.
Analyze the basic skills of emotional exposure and titration within the therapeutic window to increase emotion tolerance with a non-judgmental, present-focused, emotional awareness.
Examine specific skills for improving mentalization skills by examining transference interactions in therapy.
Discuss methods for helping clients modify core attachment schemas by learning to discriminate between the therapy relationship and past toxic relationships.
Describe strategies to develop an internal secure attachment with self and God for willing Christian clients.