AEDP stands for Accelerated Experiential Dynamic Psychotherapy.

 AEDP acknowledges the perennial wisdom that it is love that heals us. This more than anything else is what drew me to AEDP. It speaks to my heart as well as my intellect. It is an important pillar in the foundation of the work I do.

It is also the very precise guidelines it gives on how to best make use of that love that gives it it’s strength. As we all know from our own experiences, just loving or caring for someone is not always enough. There needs to be skill and wisdom, too. 

The strength of AEDP to me is in how it takes the research showing how important the therapeutic relationship is to the outcome of psychotherapy very seriously. In fact, the relationship and how it can be used to heal is at the core of AEDP theory and methodology.

 Developed by Diana Fosha, Ph.D., it borrows from and has roots in many disciplines: attachment theory, affective neuroscience, body-focused approaches, and transformational studies.(Fosha, 2001)

 Our behavioral, emotional, and mental patterns get set early in life through our relationships with caregivers and other family members. How we view ourselves and others, our underlying core beliefs about ourselves and the world, are imprinted in our psyches, brains, and bodies through these experiences. (Siegel, 1999)

 Because these patterns are developed in relationships, they are best healed within that context as well. Our brains and bodies are wired for health and growth. Neuroscientists call this neuroplasticity when referring to the brain.

Diana Fosha has labeled the psychological correlate transformance (Fosha, 2008). AEDP seeks to capitalizes on this capacity by providing you with new, emotionally corrective experiences that stimulate new growth. This can only happen if there is a genuine caring relationship between us.

 I studied AEDP from 2008 until I was certified in 2012. I was the first certified therapist in New Mexico and brought Diana Fosha to Santa Fe in 2012 to begin training other therapists in this modality because I believe so strongly in its healing power.

I studied AEDP for Couples, as well, with David Mars who developed it in the San Francisco Bay Area.

References

Fosha, D. (2000b). The transforming power of affect: A model of accelerated change. New York: Basic Books.

Siegel, D., The Developing Mind, The Guilford Press, 1999.

Fosha, D. (2008). Transformance, recognition of self by self, and effective action. In K. J. Schneider, (Ed.) Existential-integrative psychotherapy: Guideposts to the core of practice, pp. 290-320. New York: Routledge.  from the get-go.