On 25 January 2022 we will replay Éadaoin Bhreathnach’s recorded session describing her integrative approach to developmental trauma. Éadaoin is an occupational therapist who has developed Sensory Attachment Intervention (SAI), a unique approach to OT work by incorporating, among other models, the Dynamic Maturational Model of Attachment and Adaptation (DMM). Éadaoin’s session one year ago, in January 2021, ended up being 3 hours, our longest ever, and a phenomenal experience. Her perspectives on somatic experience and working with people who have experienced attachment trauma at an immediate and physical level are useful for any helping professional. We captured 70 minutes of that session on video and will replay the whole recording. After the video we will take any questions.
The following week, 1 February 2022, Éadaoin and her colleague Nick Smith will host a live session presenting a case study using SAI. Éadaoin will describe her new model and approach to memory systems. Her views on using an attachment approach to OT work inspired Dr. Patricia Crittenden to include “body talk” into the DMM model of memory system function. Éadaoin has updated her memory system model and she will explain it.
Éadaoin presented her SAI model at the 2018 conference for the International Association for the Study of Attachment (IASA). Here is a link to the comprehensive SAI paper she provided for her presentation.
Kasia Kozlowska, an Australian pediatrician, has also incorporated OT and DMM perspectives into her with Functional Somatic Symptoms. We will replay her session in February or March, so keep an eye out for that notice.
Éadaoin and Kasia have been contributors the DMM Coffee House series on somatic experiences and attachment.
Session details
Date: Tuesday, 25 January 2022 (live, partially recorded)
Length: 90+ minutes
Price: Free
Host/Facilitator: Éadaoin Bhreathnach and Nick Smith
Platform: Zoom meeting
Session for: Any professional interested in DMM attachment theory and science. Invite your colleagues.
Sponsor: Conflict Science Institute
Contact: Conflict Science Institute for Zoom link invitation
Éadaoin Bhreathnach
Éadaoin is an Occupational Therapist & Attachment Counsellor and visiting Lecturer at the University of Roehampton M.Sc. Attachment Studies Course. Éadaoin is involved in collaborative research with academics and clinically based Occupational Therapists, exploring the impact of Developmental Trauma on sensory processing, attachment patterns, and stress patterns. She has been doing sensory attachment therapy work for over 40 years. She is the developer of the Sensory Attachment Intervention model, and creator of the Sacred Gang children’s book.
Nick Smith
Nick Smith is a Sensory Attachment Intervention trainer.
The Sacred Gang – children’s books describing attachment patterns
Éadaoin has worked for over forty years on the impact of attachment trauma and sensory processing leading to the development of her model Sensory Attachment Intervention. She is the author of The Scared Gang series that helps children to recognise their own survival and attachment patterns through The Scared Gang characters. These books are widely used as a therapeutic tool by professionals working in the field of Attachment Trauma. Her latest publication The Scared Gang Are Asked to Tell is a resource pack to enable narrative work and emotional regulation.
For parenting tips from the SAI team, see this free PDF