Dear AEDP Community,
It is with great joy that I announce that Kaori Yoshijima has been formally recognized as a Certified AEDP Therapist.
I have had the privilege of serving as Kaori’s certification supervisor throughout this process, and it has been deeply meaningful to witness the integrity, dedication, and relational sensitivity she brings to her work. Kaori embodies the spirit of AEDP not only through her clinical skill, but through the humanity and values that guide her therapeutic presence.
Even prior to discovering AEDP, Kaori had already dedicated herself to working with survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault, as well as immigrants and marginalized communities. Her work has consistently reflected a deep commitment to social justice and profound respect for the resilience and dignity of those who have experienced suffering and disconnection. This foundation has allowed her to resonate naturally with the transformational and relational ethos of AEDP.
Kaori’s AEDP journey also reflects remarkable perseverance and initiative. She first encountered AEDP while living in the Kansai region of Japan, at a time when there were very limited opportunities to study the model locally and almost no established AEDP community nearby. Despite this, she actively sought out learning opportunities, traveled internationally for training, and collaborated with fellow Japanese therapists to create spaces for ongoing study and mutual support. Through these sustained efforts, she has contributed meaningfully to the growth of AEDP within Japan.
Clinically, Kaori demonstrates a deeply attuned and grounded therapeutic presence. She possesses remarkable sensitivity to subtle emotional and somatic shifts and works with flexibility, patience, and precision. What stands out most in her work is her deep commitment to understanding each client’s unique background and context with great care and sensitivity. She listens closely to the relational histories, environments, and lived experiential worlds that each individual client carries, and she applies AEDP in ways that feel most natural, safe, and attuned to that particular person. Rather than applying interventions or theory in a mechanical or formulaic manner, Kaori stays closely connected to the client’s moment-to-moment experience, thoughtfully adjusting her pacing and relational stance to foster safety, trust, and transformation. There is a profound depth in the way she integrates AEDP in response to each client’s unique context.
Beyond her individual clinical work, Kaori’s dedication to collaborative learning and community-building has been deeply inspiring. Through peer study groups, training participation, and ongoing dialogue with fellow therapists, she has helped nurture the emerging AEDP community in Japan with sincerity and generosity.
The AEDP certification reviewers offered the following reflections on Kaori’s work:
One reviewer wrote:
“There is such a gentle and tender relationship between therapist and client demonstrated in each tape. The safety that the clients feel with the therapist is palpable and I can see the transformation taking shape in the work. I am so impressed with the attunement and the pacing of the work. Particularly the long moments of silence where the client is invited to explore their internal world while the therapist maintains a connected presence and a holding space for the client to access themselves.
I am impressed with all you have done to learn AEDP, and proud of you for the work you showed in your clips. I can see your heart, mind, dedication and passion for helping your clients heal ❤️”
Another reviewer shared:
“I was calmed and assured by Kaori’s gentle, calm, patient, and skillful presence. She was gentle yet incisive, helping her clients go deep in healing ways. These were two beautiful AEDP sessions. Brava!
Kaori seemed masterful in her AEDP stance and technique. She was talented in her ability to stay present and regulated amidst long silences when her clients were clearly processing. Her questions and scaffolding statements brought her clients into healing experiences with a mixture of portrayals, somatic focus, and allowing ample time for processing to completion. She demonstrated how to skillfully move her patients from state 1 to state 4 — beautifully validating defenses, undoing aloneness, and helping them drop into their body. This was great AEDP.”
And finally, in Kaori’s own words:
“The first emotion to arise upon receiving notice of my certification was a mourning affect. It had been a long and challenging journey, and the complex mix of emotions from finally reaching my goal overwhelmed me. My tears also told me that I had achieved. After savoring these tears for a while, a sense of pride in myself arose.
This was the very essence of the transformative experience of AEDP.
That I have come to be able to savor my emotions so fully, to entrust myself to their natural unfolding — this, too, is a gift borne of AEDP training. AEDP fosters the therapist’s own transformation through the training process, and my own experience clearly exemplified that.
My encounter with AEDP has provided a clinical psychological framework for what I have long regarded as essential in my work not only in individual psychotherapy, but also in practice within organizations, groups, and communities. It has enabled me to approach the individual and the social as a continuum, and has proven invaluable in facilitating collaboration with a diverse range of institutions and practitioners.
I did not complete this difficult journey alone; it was only with the help of peers and supervisors. My deepest appreciation goes to them.
I am also so grateful to my patients who granted permission to record the sessions and utilize them as part of my certification application, and for the privilege of having been present at the site of their remarkable transformational experiences.
I chose the field of psychotherapy to contribute to the realization of social justice. My Master’s advisor once said, “Psychotherapy brings peace to the client’s heart. Psychotherapy is practiced to bring peace to the world.”
Isolation and loneliness lead to division, and division leads to isolation and loneliness. One of the core convictions of AEDP — undoing aloneness — is one I intend to continue embodying in my practice.”
Please join me in warmly celebrating Kaori’s well-deserved achievement by sending your congratulations to her at play.it.by.trust@gmail.com as we welcome her as a Certified AEDP Therapist.
See Kaori’s therapist Directory listing here
Warmly,Yuko Kobayashi, LMHC, LPCC
Certified AEDP Supervisor