One of the more unique challenges of working with clients who have attachment-based issues is the lack on concrete goals in their treatment. Clients who enter therapy for issues like addiction, anxiety, or marital troubles have very clearly defined results they would like to work toward, but the endgame for attachment-based issues—where any number of adulthood issues are grounded in deep-seeded childhood injuries—is often much more abstract.
Diane Poole Heller—an expert on working with the DARe (Dynamic Attachment Re-Patterning Experience) model—has many effective techniques to recommend when working with these clients who may have undefinable therapy goals.
Here, Diane talks about one of her therapy techniques: Corrective experiences. Watch this clip to learn more about corrective experiences: what they are, how to use them, and how they work to help create a secure attachment system with a client.
Rich Simon
Richard Simon, PhD, founded Psychotherapy Networker and served as the editor for more than 40 years. He received every major magazine industry honor, including the National Magazine Award. Rich passed away November 2020, and we honor his memory and contributions to the field every day.
Diane Poole Heller
At a time when psychotherapists trained primarily in the “talking cure” are increasingly recognizing the need to “read” clients’ nonverbal communications, particularly those buried in early attachment issues, Diane Poole Heller has been a leader in addressing the unconscious issues that clients are often unable to express. With an approach grounded in Attachment Theory, Peter Levine’s Somatic Experiencing method of trauma resolution, and spiritual healing techniques, she’s traveled around the world teaching integrative mind-body methods that deepen the resonance of the therapist–client bond.
