Dear AEDP Community,
It is with great pleasure that I announce that Shiho Yamauchi has been formally recognized as a Certified AEDP Therapist.
I have had the privilege of serving as Shiho’s certification supervisor, and throughout this process I have been deeply impressed by her intellectual clarity, clinical integrity, and depth of understanding of the AEDP model. Shiho demonstrates a sophisticated ability to integrate AEDP theory with clinical practice, tracking affective change processes with precision while remaining firmly grounded in the relational ethos of the model. Her work reflects not only technical competence, but a mature, embodied understanding of how transformation unfolds over time.
A particularly distinctive strength of Shiho’s work lies in her capacity to apply AEDP with cultural sensitivity and nuance within the Japanese context. She brings refined awareness to implicit relational dynamics and nonverbal communication, and she is able to make these implicit emotional experiences explicit and experientially available within the therapeutic process. While maintaining clear fidelity to AEDP principles, Shiho helps clients gently recognize, name, and deepen what is often felt but not yet articulated. In this way, she translates AEDP in a manner that is both culturally resonant and theoretically rigorous.
Beyond her individual clinical work, Shiho has contributed meaningfully to the growth of AEDP in Japan through her participation in trainings, translation efforts, service as an Experiential Assistant, and presentations on the application of AEDP within Japanese child mental health settings. Her presence reflects not only dedication to her own professional growth, but a sustained commitment to cultivating a vibrant and relationally grounded AEDP community in Japan.
I am delighted to share the following words from her supervisor, Kaori Strum:
Shiho has been a dedicated and deeply inquisitive learner, bringing both curiosity and depth to her clinical work. She demonstrates a profound capacity to attune to her clients’ moment-to-moment emotional and psychological experiences. From the very beginning of our supervision, she has shown a sensitive and steady presence with her clients’ pain and suffering, truly embodying the undoing of aloneness that lies at the heart of AEDP.
Her devotion to her clients, combined with her ongoing commitment to learning and growth within the AEDP model, has beautifully blossomed. We are delighted to celebrate her formal recognition as an AEDP Certified Therapist and look forward to her continued presence and contributions to the AEDP community, particularly within the Japanese community.
The AEDP certification reviewers offered the following comments on Shiho’s work:
One reviewer wrote:
“What a gift to experience Shiho’s masterful, exquisite work! Yuko’s whole-hearted recommendation of Shiho for Certification expresses my feelings exactly: Shiho exceeds by far the level of skill and understanding of the AEDP model required for Certification as an AEDP therapist.
Highlights of Shiho’s AEDP way of working evident in her first tape include: skillful, deeply-informed navigation of choice points informed by Shiho’s capacity for rich therapeutic presence; economy with interventions leaving full space for her clients’ experience; creation and sustaining of a strong therapeutic vessel through non-verbal expression of vitality affects; use of pacing and timing and incorporation of silence in a way akin to a masterful orchestra conductor; masterful somatic work; and demonstration of the transformative power of attuned presence in the hands of a skillful AEDP therapist.
Highlights evident in her second tape include: use of non-verbals and expression of vitality affects to expand and deepen experience, especially in states three and four; comfort and ease in periods of silence supporting depth throughout her work; MASTERFUL experiential work with visual imagery; astute discernment of when to lead and when to follow; attuned use of mirroring to clarify, expand, and amplify experience in the moment; attuned presence in state three eliciting a magnificent display of healing affects, dancing like northern lights; and attuned presence in state four and metaprocessing eliciting deeply embodied, poetic, integrative true-self experiencing in her client.
Shiho’s microanalyses demonstrate mastery-level understanding of the AEDP model in theory and in practice.”
Another reviewer shared:
“Shiho’s attunement to the client is spectacular; it was beautiful to watch the relationship and the flow between the therapist and client throughout the session. I saw the client being deeply held, cared for, and understood—at a pace that was comfortable and regulating for the client. The work with defenses was tender and safe.
Relational disclosures were attuned, genuine, and impactful—very sweet to see their impact on the client and the emergence of core affect. The welcoming of tears was so nutritive for this client. Pacing is slow, gentle, and attuned. I can clearly see the AEDP interventions, and how Shiho embodies the model in her work.
I think this work is beautiful, and I appreciated Shiho’s reflections on her own initial struggles with psychological closeness between therapist and client. I saw such effective use of the therapist as an intervention and the power of the relationship in Shiho’s work. Well done!”
And finally, in Shiho’s own words:
“My encounter with AEDP has brought a deep trust in emotion and relationship into my personal life, and in my professional life it has given me the opportunity to integrate my innate qualities as a therapist with clinical techniques. Through AEDP, I learned that the therapist can be the intervention, and that we ourselves must cultivate our receptive affective capacity—particularly for positive emotions. I also came to understand that when appropriate, taking the risk of self-disclosure as a therapist can create corrective emotional and relational experiences. I now feel quite distant from the therapist I was before learning AEDP. My clinical style has transformed profoundly.
When I received the news of my certification, my first reaction was not joy but a sense of hesitation. I felt my body tighten and shrink (a familiar pattern for me). Then I remembered the words my supervisor, Yuko Kobayashi, wrote to me: “Read it slowly and let yourself take it in.” As I gradually straightened my back and allowed my body to open, the reviewers’ comments began to sink in warmly. Tears naturally came as I felt that my years of effort had been recognized.
As I reflect on this journey, many faces come to mind.
First, I would like to express my deepest gratitude and respect to Yuko Hanakawa, who introduced AEDP to Japan; to my supervisors, Kaori Strum and Yuko Kobayashi, who nurtured me within that rich soil of AEDP; and to Professor Shigeru Iwakabe, who first introduced me to AEDP and to Yuko Hanakawa while I was studying EFT. It is no exaggeration to say that without their support and guidance, I would not be where I am today.
I am also deeply grateful to all the faculty members I encountered through Immersion, ES, ASMs, and other trainings. The richness of their lectures gave me the strength to cross the Pacific Ocean and overcome language barriers. Their warm consideration—such as making time to have lunch with Japanese participants and offering office hours scheduled to accommodate our time zone during online courses—was truly an experience of to be seen and undoing aloneness.
Furthermore, as someone whose first language is not English, I was able to deepen my understanding of AEDP thanks to Eri Kubota, who provided interpretation during Immersion, and Yoshimi Shimizu, who served as the assistant for the Japanese practice group in ASM. Through their steady support, I was able to absorb the theory in my native language and bring it back to Japan as living, embodied skills.
Finally, I would like to express my deep gratitude to Yuka Mukai, Yumi Yamaguchi, and Kaori Yoshijima, who have shared peer supervision with me for many years. Together, we shared our session videos and explored both the challenges and the richness of practicing AEDP in Japanese. As someone in private practice, having colleagues with whom I can continue learning has been an invaluable source of strength.
Recently, the Immersion course was held in Japan for the first time, and I had the honor of participating as an EA. I hope to contribute, even in a small way, to the continued growth of the AEDP community in Japan. I am deeply grateful to be able to continue learning as a member of this community.”
Please join me in celebrating Shiho’s well-deserved achievement. You can do so by writing to her at shiny.bluesky.639@gmail.com
Warmly,
Yuko Kobayashi, LMHC, LPCC
Certified AEDP Supervisor