Healing Early Trauma and Attachment
We respond, relate, and react based on our earliest experiences in relationship. Early caregiving lays the initial wiring for our nervous system — or neurobiology. If we were attended to by consistent, caring and attuned providers, our system will lean toward mental resilience and balance. If our attachment to our parents or caregivers was interrupted due to a parent’s illness, absence, addiction, busyness, chronic distraction, divorce, death, mental imbalance, or other adversity, and/or we experienced in utero or medical trauma, neglect, abuse, adoption, or other early trauma, we must be much more deliberate in healing and strengthening our circuitry to support mental wellbeing. This circuitry is activated and developed through caring, attuned relationships (starting at any age), play, storytelling, being delighted in, mindfulness, self-compassion, and much more, and is aided by balanced nutrition, exercise, and sleep.
Secure attachment –whether by early caregiving or by later cultivation and healing- literally grows the mass of our brain and circuitry in our body necessary for emotional regulation, impulse control, focus, attuned communication, thoughtful decision making, empathy, intuition and foundations for physical health as well. Playfulness, Acceptance, Curiosity & Empathy (PACE) is a powerful remedy when early attachment has been compromised. PACE is an essential component of Attachment Focused Family Therapy, (also known as Dyadic Developmental Psychotherapy) – the gold standard in addressing developmental trauma, and a model in which I have extensive training.
I serve adults and youth with a wide array of histories and symptoms. As we work together, it is not uncommon to find that these struggles are influenced –if not rooted in– early patterns including traumas (with a “t” and “T”), that once attended to, open space to create change and move forward.
I love working with parents to support stronger bonds and greater enjoyment with their children – no matter their age. I have served as a Head Start mental health consultant for little ones 0-5 years; I have worked in residential care with kids and their parents ages 5-14; and have worked with older adolescents in many contexts. (Currently, I have a child at Grand County High School and am not seeing Moab area high school students.)
“Sarah helped me navigate through one of the most difficult periods of parenting I’ve experienced. She helped me understand how my child’s behaviors were connected to trauma and supported my decision-making around finding the right care for her. As an adoptive parent herself, she understands the challenges I face. She’s a tremendously calm and empathetic sounding board–and she can always find the positive! She always brings things back to me, to focus on what I need to be my best self and the best possible parent.”