Description:
What does “secure enough” attachment mean for a client whose family is from a collectivistic or indigenous culture that was scattered by war?

Attachment theory grew up studying white, Western, nuclear families. It hands a few early caregivers the whole weight of a person’s security.

Then it gets applied to families from collectivistic and indigenous cultures who survived war, genocide, and forced displacement, and their survival adaptations end up in the chart as pathology: the parent who can’t rest, the child who learned to read every room, the adult client who over-functions or under-functions and can’t say why. Some of what these clients carry is grief our training has no name for. Ambiguous loss. Traumatic homesickness. Ancestral grief for a country that carried on without them.

In this session, trauma therapist, somatic educator, and former child refugee Linda Thai looks at how war, forced displacement, and structural -isms, including colonialism, racism, and economic pressure, shape a person’s felt sense of safety, across one lifetime and across generations. She then offers a more expansive conceptualization of the secure attachment template, built on 5 portals: nature, ancestors, culture, body, and time. Lineage, land, and culture take their place in the secure base, beside the people who raised us.
Expect clear teaching, a short guided practice, and room to bring your own family’s story into the conversation.

About the Presenter:
Linda Thai LMSW is a trauma therapist specializing in cutting-edge brain- and body-based modalities for
complex developmental trauma. As an educator, she adeptly communicates on trauma, attachment, and the
impact of oppressive systems. Passionate about healing trauma, Linda is redefining what it means to be wounded
and whole and a healer.

Area of expertise:
From the fields of meditation, yoga, and self-enquiry. Addictions and behavioral health. Childhood adversity
and resiliency. Colonization, intergenerational refugee trauma and social justice. Grief, loss and reclamation.

Read full bio Here

Are you a member? Log into your account here to register
Not a member yet? Become a member here