ABSTRACT
Treatment roadblocks often stall therapies with clients who have complicated trauma histories and entrenched self-sabotaging patterns. Many of these clients have failed prior therapies, and this profile fits many people who seek help. Therapy often stagnates when clients need more than new cognitive habits, empathic responding, analytical insight, pure catharsis, temporary relief from anxiety, or trauma incident resolution to produce a fundamental, lasting shift within the self.
The author explains how she discovered “therapeutic gold” after decades of practice, training, direct observation, and analyses of thousands of videotaped therapy sessions. She developed Dynamic Emotion Focused Therapy, an approach that puts shame work at its center to access unconscious feelings and create profound attachment experiences. The therapeutic transfer of compassion for self serves as the antidote to shame. The author shares her journey toward identifying core principles that held up well under the pressure of day to day practice and made accelerated emotional intimacy not only accessible but also frequently achieved.
