Accelerated Experiential-Dynamic Psychotherapy

AEDP seeks to clinically make neuroplasticity happen. It has roots in and resonances with many disciplines, amongst them interpersonal neurobiology, attachment theory, emotion theory and affective neuroscience, body-focused approaches, and transformational studies. The goal in AEDP is to encourage the emergence of new and healing experiences through the in-depth processing of difficult emotional and relational experiences.

Intense emotional experience and suffering are part of being alive; they are also—if properly regulated—the pathways to resources and resilience. But when these experiences, bad or good, threaten to overwhelm us, we need others to help us regulate them. Being alone with unbearable emotions is at the root of psychopathology. When relationships fail to help regulate what is too much to bear alone, people resort to defensive strategies. Long-term reliance on these defenses disrupts growth and development, blocks access to adaptive resources, and contributes to the pain and difficulties that lead people to seek treatment. In AEDP, our goal is to be together with our patients as they process intense emotional experiences which were previously feared, be they painful or joyful.