Healing Trauma : Attachment, Mind, Body, and Brain Book

A good set of writings on trauma and attachment, by a bunch of big names in the field. They provide comprehensive introductions to the neuroscience, evolutionary and familial/generational development, maintaining mechanisms, pathological outcome, and relational approaches in treatment. So despite it being published almost a decade ago I think the content holds up, addressing issues at the core of attachment pathology, as well as focusing on those not typically written about - such as non-maltreating parents.

I have to say it took me a while to get into some of these chapters - namely the opener on interpersonal neurobiology - think I'm saturated with that topic lately! However, I particularly liked Fosha's chapter on Dyadic Regulation and Experiential Work. It is one of the clearest, humanistic theories and papers I've read on disorganized attachment (development and pathology) and the therapeutic approach to address this. She introduces Accelerated Experiential-Dynamic Psychotherapy (AEDP) which, at it's heart, has the three phase, psychobiological approach of attunement, disruption and repair for working through defenses and difficult emotions to transform individuals experience and world view based on unhelpful attachment patterns. The road Fosha describes to healing and 'freedom' of sorts is no different from other approaches to attachment - even neuroscience, but I like her language choices better. I can compare it to Nebrosky's language use in the next chapter, which suggests to me an approach of force against one's experience. Having a preference for body-psychotherapy and Buddhist approaches of non-violence/no force, I have a problem with this - and worry for the mentality it engenders in practitioners.

There's no rush to get to the information in the book, but it's certainly one people should get their hands, minds and hearts on at some point.