Accelerated Experiential Dynamic Psychotherapy (AEDP)
What Is AEDP?
Accelerated experiential dynamic psychotherapy (AEDP) is a method of psychotherapeutic treatment that focuses on healing and inner transformation. Therapists specializing in AEDP are trained to set their patients at ease and develop a close trusting relationship to guide their patients through their emotional responses to trauma, helping to awaken any untapped resources within them.
According to the AEDP Institute, the goal of AEDP is “to help our patients—and ourselves—become stronger at the broken places. By working with trauma, loss, and the painful consequences of the limitations of human relatedness, we discover places that have always been strong, places that were never broken.”
First developed for formal practice in 2000, AEDP has been an ever-growing and changing model for psychotherapeutic treatment for more than two decades. AEDP was developed by American psychologist Diana Fosha, Ph.D. to foster growth and transformation by working through emotional experiences and providing clients a safe place to express their feelings.
Four basic pillars outline the methods of AEDP:
01
Faith in the client’s ability to heal into their True Self
02
The power of making the client feel seen and understood
03
Break through defenses to access the deepest levels of wounding
04
Awaken a newfound capacity for trust and emotional exploration without fear
All practitioners of AEDP will follow these basic pillars throughout treatment. By showing faith in the client’s abilities and validating the emotions they express, it becomes possible to walk the client through their emotions in a safe environment to rid them of any fears associated with expressing or experiencing emotion while helping them feel more comfortable entrusting their feelings with others.
Who Does AEDP Help?
AEDP is designed for anyone who has experienced some level of emotional trauma, whether it be the loss of a loved one or a scarring experience from the past. Those who suffer from anxiety, depression, or general distress may also find healing through AEDP. Essentially, there are no exact guidelines as to who may be eligible for this treatment. Rather, anyone who feels any amount of emotional suffering or has difficulty with expressing their emotions may want to consider AEDP as a possible method to help work through past trauma or simply uncover an inner capacity for trust that was previously hidden.