Diana Fosha
- The Transforming Power of Affect: A Model for Accelerated Change (2000)
- AEDP: The Transforming Power of Affect in Healing Trauma (2021)
- Focus on healing-oriented affects
- Emphasis on dyadic regulation and co-creation of safety
Diana Fosha is an American psychologist and the originator of Accelerated Experiential Dynamic Psychotherapy (AEDP), a therapeutic model that integrates attachment theory, emotion theory, and experiential techniques to facilitate healing from trauma and foster secure attachment. Her work emphasizes the transformative power of affect and the importance of dyadic regulation in the therapeutic relationship.
Biography
Fosha's career has been dedicated to developing and disseminating AEDP as a distinct approach to psychotherapy. Her work builds upon a foundation of attachment theory, interpersonal psychoanalysis, and emotion-focused therapy, integrating insights from neuroscience and trauma studies.
Education and Early Career
Fosha's early training included a strong grounding in traditional psychodynamic approaches. However, she became increasingly interested in the role of emotion in therapeutic change and the potential for accelerating the healing process. This led her to explore experiential therapies and attachment theory, which significantly shaped the development of AEDP. She was influenced by Habib Davanloo's intensive short-term dynamic psychotherapy (ISTDP) and Susan Johnson's Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT).
Institutional Affiliations
Fosha is the founder and director of the AEDP Institute, an organization dedicated to training therapists in AEDP and promoting research on its effectiveness. The AEDP Institute offers workshops, seminars, and certification programs for therapists around the world. She is also a clinical supervisor and consultant, and she has taught at various universities and training centers.
Key Turning Points
A key turning point in Fosha's career was her recognition of the limitations of traditional psychodynamic approaches in addressing trauma. She observed that many clients struggled to access and process their emotions, leading to impasses in therapy. This led her to develop AEDP as a more active and experiential approach that focuses on facilitating emotional processing and fostering secure attachment. Another significant development was her integration of insights from neuroscience, particularly the work of Antonio Damasio, Stephen Porges, and Jaak Panksepp, which provided a scientific basis for the importance of emotion and the therapeutic relationship in healing trauma.
Engagement with Psychoanalysis
Fosha's engagement with psychoanalysis is complex. While AEDP draws on some psychodynamic principles, it also departs from traditional psychoanalytic approaches in several key ways.
- **Integration of Attachment Theory:** AEDP places a strong emphasis on attachment theory, viewing secure attachment as a primary goal of therapy. This contrasts with some traditional psychoanalytic approaches that focus more on intrapsychic conflict and the interpretation of unconscious material.
- **Focus on Emotion:** AEDP prioritizes the direct experience and processing of emotion, particularly healing-oriented affects such as joy, gratitude, and compassion. This contrasts with some traditional psychoanalytic approaches that emphasize intellectual insight and the interpretation of defenses.
- **Active Therapeutic Stance:** AEDP therapists take a more active and engaged stance than traditional psychoanalysts. They actively co-create a safe and secure therapeutic relationship, facilitate emotional processing, and help clients integrate their experiences.
- **Relation to Freud and Lacan:** Fosha's work is more directly influenced by attachment theory and interpersonal psychoanalysis than by the theories of Freud or Lacan. However, AEDP shares with psychoanalysis a focus on the importance of early experiences and the unconscious.
Theoretical Contributions
Fosha's primary theoretical contribution is the development of AEDP as a distinct approach to psychotherapy. AEDP is based on several key principles:
The Transformative Power of Affect
Fosha argues that affect is not simply a symptom of underlying pathology but a powerful force for healing and transformation. AEDP aims to help clients access and process their emotions in a way that leads to new insights, new experiences, and new ways of relating to themselves and others.[1]
Dyadic Regulation and Co-Creation of Safety
AEDP emphasizes the importance of the therapeutic relationship as a source of safety and regulation. The therapist actively co-creates a secure attachment bond with the client, providing a safe space for emotional exploration and processing. This dyadic regulation helps clients to regulate their own emotions and to develop a more secure sense of self.[2]
Metatherapeutic Processing
AEDP incorporates a process called "metatherapeutic processing," in which the therapist and client reflect together on the therapeutic process itself. This helps clients to become more aware of their own emotional experiences and to develop a deeper understanding of how therapy works.
Transformance
Fosha introduces the concept of "transformance" to describe the innate drive towards healing and growth that she believes is present in all individuals. AEDP aims to activate this transformance drive by creating a therapeutic environment that fosters safety, connection, and emotional processing.
Clinical and Institutional Work
Fosha's clinical and institutional work has been primarily focused on developing and disseminating AEDP.
- **Training Activities:** Fosha has trained thousands of therapists in AEDP through workshops, seminars, and certification programs offered by the AEDP Institute.
- **AEDP Institute:** Fosha founded the AEDP Institute as a central hub for AEDP training, research, and community building. The institute provides resources for therapists and clients interested in AEDP.
Influence and Legacy
Fosha's work has had a significant impact on the field of psychotherapy, particularly in the treatment of trauma. AEDP is now practiced by therapists around the world, and it has been shown to be effective in treating a variety of psychological problems. Her emphasis on the transformative power of affect and the importance of the therapeutic relationship has influenced other approaches to psychotherapy as well. Her integration of attachment theory, emotion theory, and neuroscience has helped to bridge the gap between these different fields and to provide a more comprehensive understanding of the healing process.
Key Works
- The Transforming Power of Affect: A Model for Accelerated Change (2000): This book presents the theoretical foundations of AEDP and provides a detailed description of the therapeutic process.
- AEDP: The Transforming Power of Affect in Healing Trauma (2021): This book offers a comprehensive overview of AEDP, including its theoretical principles, clinical techniques, and research findings.