ABSTRACT
Taking us back to the beginning of her work as a trauma therapist, the author tells a personal story of working in hospital with a group of traumatized women. The heart-wrenching suicide of one of the group members leads to questions about how to create safety and connection as a way for the group to manage complex and challenging emotions. Addiction is considered in light of attachment theory: its history as well as current adaptations that consider feminist approaches and the trouble with mother-blaming. Woven into this updated view of the aetiology of addiction are many strands, including the move towards increased valuing of qualitative inquiry and the current politics of trauma and oppression. Transformation at the personal, community, and global/systemic levels are called for to develop effective ways to heal attachment wounds, trauma, and addiction.
