Creating Attachment: The Expressive Therapies as a Multisensory-Relational Modality to Foster Secure Attachment

Authors

  • Rami Eckhaus Ono Academic College
  • Melissa Hedlund Nelson Endeavor Health Medical Group

Keywords:

expressive therapies, art therapy, dance/movement therapy, music therapy, drama therapy, attachment

Abstract

This article explores the use of expressive therapies as a multisensory-relational treatment approach that furthers the therapeutic process in reworking insecure attachment. We aim to shed light on how expressive therapies can rework insecure attachment schemas into secure attachment schemas. A theoretical review of the expressive therapies and their impact on fostering secure attachment is presented. Two case studies illustrating the use of expressive therapies in practice are discussed in the context of attachment. We highlight how the expressive artistic realm not only allows for the expression of unmet needs, often too difficult to verbalize, but also operates as a nourishing medium that may amalgamate the lesions of the past into a secure attachment blueprint.

Author Biographies

Rami Eckhaus, Ono Academic College

Rami Eckhaus, PhD, DMT (he, him, his) is Individual and Couples Psychotherapist and Professor, Masters Expressive Therapies Program, Ono Academic College, Kiryat Ono, Israel (ramieck@gmail.com).

Melissa Hedlund Nelson, Endeavor Health Medical Group

Melissa Hedlund Nelson, PhD, LCPC, ATR-BC, SEP, CADC (she, her, hers) is Clinical Supervisor, Endeavor Health Medical Group, Naperville, IL, USA, and Board Chair, The Light of The Heart, Yorkville, IL, USA (mhedlund@thelightoftheheart.org).

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Published

2024-05-10

How to Cite

Eckhaus, R., & Hedlund Nelson, M. (2024). Creating Attachment: The Expressive Therapies as a Multisensory-Relational Modality to Foster Secure Attachment. Reflections: Narratives of Professional Helping, 30(2), 23–39. Retrieved from https://reflectionsnarrativesofprofessionalhelping.org/index.php/Reflections/article/view/2045

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