The I-gaze interweave for attachment repair in EMDR therapy

Approximately 40% of the general population suffers from an insecure attachment style from infancy. These individuals are disproportionately represented in the psychotherapy population. Seen as a scalar phenomenon, the presentation of insecure attachment can range from an occult co-morbidity of anxiety and depression to disabling personality disorders, intractable relational dysfunction, and self-harm. The associated symptoms of depersonalization, psychic numbing, and affect dysregulation present serious clinical challenges for which specialized interweaves may be necessary. The proposed interweave offers additional dyadic resourcing to facilitate resolution of attachment trauma. The literature on attachment and social engagement in mammals is replete with evidence of the salience of eye-gazing between parents and children, as well as between adults. The I-Gaze protocol involves an interweave in which the therapist sits knee-to-knee with the client and gazes into one of the client's eyes throughout phase four, utilizing bilateral tapping as the dual attention stimulus. It is proposed that this recapitulation the original parent-infant attachment paradigm can enhance dyadic resourcing and install a profound felt-sense of earned secure attachment within the intersubjective realm of the therapeutic relationship.

Conference

English

Barry Litt

Litt, B. (2016, August). The I-gaze interweave for attachment repair in EMDR therapy. Poster presented at the 21st EMDR International Association Conference, Minneapolis, MN