Therapists included in this directory are listed according to their level of training in AEDP (i.e. roughly number of AEDP training hours); AEDP Level does not correlate to the therapist’s overall experience as a clinician. To learn more about AEDP Levels, click here.
For the most up to date AEDP faculty list, click here.
Emotions are adaptive responses to life, yet many of us struggle with identifying and expressing them. From an early age, we are taught which emotions are acceptable and which to avoid (e.g., “You should be happy!”, “Don’t cry!”, or “Don’t you dare be angry with me.”). We quickly learn which emotions are safe to feel and which cause us problems, leading us to use various mental tricks to bypass the troublesome ones.
The issue is that emotional energy doesn’t simply disappear. It is meant to be felt and used to help us learn, grow, protect ourselves, and connect with others. Instead, this energy gets stored in the body, and the mind uses anxiety, shame, guilt, and various distraction/numbing behaviors to keep the energy suppressed and out of our conscious awareness. Essentially, unexpressed emotional energy gets bottled up and often manifests in disruptive ways, creating further problems in our lives.
So, how do we change this? Imagine an unopened 2-liter bottle of soda. If we shake it up and quickly take the top off, it will explode everywhere. Instead, we slowly and gently twist the top off to let some pressure out, then screw it back on and let it settle again. Repeat this process until all the pressure is released.
We use evidence-based modalities of therapy such as EMDR, Polyvagal-informed therapy, and Attachment-focused therapy (AEDP) to create safety in the body and access the underlying emotions that need to be felt. Often, we find that emotions aren’t as scary as they seem, especially when experienced with someone we trust.
This is the work. Change is possible. If you’d like to learn more, let’s talk.
