Attachment

Healthy Attachment to self, family, community, and the world can all be in need of support and counseling. I am able to support you in your work to build healthy attachment rooted in your unique wholeness

Attachment is how we as individuals relate to ourselves and how we relate to others. We learn this from a very young age: often the stage is set before we're born, as context and culture informs our family environment which informs how we are born and raised. Attachment as a framework can inform all the other things we deal with on a daily basis, and our clinicians approach issues from this perspective, working to help you elevate how you show up for yourself, and with others.

While training in Somatic Experiencing®, I was introduced to the work of Dr. Diane Poole Heller. I have completed Modules I – IV of Dr. Heller’s Dynamic Attachment Re-patterning experience (DARe). DARe is an approach that focuses on helping individuals create more meaning, connection, and emotional intimacy in their relationships by processing early attachment wounds and identifying individual attachment styles.

No matter what type of therapy we are doing, the through line is our own attachment relationship; in the therapeutic relationship, we build safety and trust, understanding your past relationships in new ways and building new experiences in our own relationship, so that you can reshape your current and future relationships outside of therapy into secure, authentic connections.

As babies, we come into the world quickly forming relationships with our caregivers. Those caregivers can either be a source of safety and connection or a distant or harsh parent. As children dependent on our caregivers we begin to create safety for ourselves in any way we can. As we grow older we carry these ways of survival with us which plays out in our adult relationships. These may manifest in us as codependency, low self-esteem, and people-pleasing.

Attachment is one of those pieces that we can carry for a long time, and struggle to understand. I use EMDR, IFS, and brainspotting to help you lean in and gain an in-depth understanding of yourself so that you can learn how you adapt and function. In this process, you also learn to see yourself as human and love the human that is inside.

Attachment styles are formed early in life by our caregivers and then greatly influenced by relationships we have throughout our lives. I believe that attachment styles are as unique as fingerprint. By supporting individuals and couples better understand their attachment styles

I could listen to you talk for hours about your relationships with caregivers growing up or your family culture and explore the ways it impacts your current sense of self and relationships to others. I believe strongly that we are shaped neurobiologically to seek connection and belonging and the ways we are responded to as little ones really impact the way we feel about ourselves and how safe we feel in relationships. Lets deepen your self-understanding and get you feeling more secure.

You want connection, and yet it's terrifying. Humans are wired for relationships. Our caregivers, friends, families, and partners are essential to our well-being and yet can be very challenging when those relationships also involve pain or abuse. My training is rooted in attachment theory and the ways in which a trusted therapeutic relationship can build towards secure, nourishing, and joyful relationships.

Our early experiences with attachment and bonding shape the way we relate to others throughout our lives. If you're struggling with attachment issues, such as fear of abandonment, difficulty trusting others, or feeling disconnected from yourself or others, my approach could be well suited to working on these issues. I offer therapy that focuses on understanding and healing attachment wounds, which is correlated with healthier, more fulfilling relationships.

Attachment (and its more advanced form of interpersonal neurobiology) is at the center of all my work. I help people understand the formation of their identity as they develop a narrative of their life to reflect on cause and effect regarding how a brain and nervous system create predictions based in memory. I teach clients about how to recognize when their own attachment patterns manifest and how to regulate and communicate to others in a way to resolve distress coming from attachment wounds.

Our early formative experiences create a blueprint for our thoughts, feelings, and behaviors later in life. Experiencing rejection, neglect, trauma, or other relational injuries impacts our sense of safety and distorts our core beliefs about belonging, worth, and lovability. This, in turn, hinders our ability to show up authentically and experience genuine connection with others, ultimately creating a repetitive cycle of painful disconnection—but therapy can help break this cycle!

Attachment Theory is paramount in the work that I do with my clients. I utilize psychoeducation with my clients to help them understand Attachment Theory and how that relates to the emotional bond they feel with others, particularly with their partner. I help my clients identify their attachment styles. Once they can identify their style, they can understand what they are longing for and be able to communicate their needs to their partner in a healthier, more effective way.

Our attachment style begins to develop when we are very young children. Ideally, it is a secure attachment but often due to a variety of reasons it is insecure or even avoidant. This impacts adult relationships in ways that people are often unaware. If you need help understanding yourself in your personal relationships, Jeannette York can help.

As babies, we come into the world quickly forming relationships with our caregivers. Those caregivers can either be a source of safety and connection or a distant or harsh parent. As children dependent on our caregivers we begin to create safety for ourselves in any way we can. As we grow older we carry these ways of survival with us which plays out in our adult relationships. These may manifest in us as codependency, low self-esteem, and people-pleasing.

Attachment is one of my favorite mental health topics because it is truly involved in everything we do! I have done extensive research and received training on the role of attachment in our everyday lives, relationships, and even our perceptions of self. As a relational therapist, I am a firm believer in exploring the role of our childhood attachments in adult interpersonal issues and I have helped many clients understand their unhelpful patterns of thinking, feeling, and engaging with others.