While a psychological ache brings you to therapy, everyone also brings an intrinsic motivation to thrive, even if this feels distant at the start. I’ll help us notice this, and as this drive is nurtured, many people feel more alive, motivated, and hopeful – and they start to feel better. This can lead to more energy to bring to the process of healing.

“Accelerated” does not imply pressure or rushing. AEDP sessions involve slowing down into the experience of the moment, which paradoxically often results in accelerated healing.

As you explain your situation to me, an experience is created. New and sometimes unexpected information emerges by tuning in to what this is like for you. This may take the form of sensations, emotions, forgotten memories, or awareness of parts of you with mixed feelings.

I will frequently ask you to slow us down to invite what you feel and notice. We’ll make sure that we are working to find a good pace together and that you are not feeling alone as we process emotions that have been confusing or pains that have been overwhelming or intolerable.

AEDP is unique in that we also focus on the experiences associated with healing and feeling what seems “right,” previously unvoiced or unacknowledged. Research in neuroplasticity shows us that our brains are constantly changing in response to new experiences. So, this attention uses our capacity for neuroplasticity to “wire-in” change for the better.

“Dynamic” has two meanings in AEDP.

First, dynamic refers to the psychodynamic theoretical traditions which influenced the development of AEDP. This means that our earliest attachments lay the groundwork for the relational patterns we carry through our lives. In therapy, we can look at relational patterns and replace ones that may no longer serve you with newer, updated ones.

Second, dynamic refers to the energetic quality of emotions. Often trauma results in constricted, self-protective modes of being. As we untangle knots of tangled emotions, the adaptive energies associated with various emotions guide your unique path toward healing. This often leads to feeling more clear, confident, and “like my true self.”

“AEDP is an integrative model of psychotherapy that brings together relational work, experiential techniques, and a focus on the process of change and healing itself, with the aim of not only alleviating negative suffering but also bringing about positive flourishing.”

— Diana Fosha, Ph.D., founder of AEDP

Ultimately, AEDP therapy should be a place where you feel good – not necessarily in the sense of happiness – but in the sense that some part of you can recognize from the first session that what we’re doing feels helpful and aligned. Together and over time, we’ll create lasting change that helps you live your life with more clarity, ease, and vitality.