The EMP from an attachment perspective-how to use the EMP to work with attachment defenses, promote

Abstract

This workshop focuses on teaching how to use the Early Memories Procedure (EMP, Bruhn, 1992) to explore clients’ attachment defenses, gain insights into their emotional functioning and promote therapeutic change. The Early Memories Procedure (EMP, Bruhn, 1992) is a time and cost-efficient assessment technique that can be used both during a psychological evaluation or in the course of therapy. This test offers a powerful window into the clients’ attachment world, because it elicits memories about clients’ main sources of pain, internal conflicts and coping strategies. Through the EMP, the assessor can explore hypotheses about the clients’ attachment wounds and their defenses. The information gathered through the EMP can thus be an invaluable complement within a multi-method evaluation of clients' attachment history.

This workshop is both practical and experiential. After an initial lecture on attachment defenses, attendees will learn how to identify the most common attachment defenses in the memories produced during the EMP and how to connect these defenses to the different insecure attachment internal working models (Dismissing, Preoccupied, and Unresolved/Dysregulated). In the spirit of promoting self-compassion and of acknowledging the clients’ resilience, particular attention will be given to the adaptive value of attachment defenses and how they are key to cope with specific life circumstances despite the emotional struggles these defenses also create. The experiential component of the workshop includes the possibility for participants to self-administer the EMP and reflect individually on their own attachment defenses during the course of the workshop.

To showcase the flexibility of the EMP for different clients, early memories of clients who are second-generation immigrants in the United States will be discussed in depth to illustrate the function of attachment defenses as a way to cope with the challenges the clients faced growing up, such as being raised in a country unfamiliar to their parents, having to code-switch between different cultures, and struggling to feel accepted. In addition, early memories of assessment clients with a diverse background will be used as examples to illustrate a variety of attachment defenses.

Further, strategies will be presented that can be used during the EMP process to help clients develop a more integrated view of the self in relation to others and move towards a more secure attachment representation. Adult and adolescent EMP protocols will provide participants with the opportunity to see specific examples of early memories, as well as practice conducting clinical work on the memories from an attachment perspective.

Speakers

Filippo Aschieri | European Center for Therapeutic Assessment, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Milano; Therapeutic Assessment Institute

Serena Messina | Private Practice, Austin, Texas

Diane Santas | Independent Practice and Assistant Clinical Professor, UC Berkeley

Goals & Objectives

1. To demonstrate how to employ the Early Memories Procedure within a multi-method and culturally sensitive assessment
2. To illustrate the main attachment defenses and how they align with the three different insecure attachment models (Dismissing, Preoccupied, Unresolved/Dysregulated)
3. To demonstrate how to employ the memories that clients produce during the EMP to create hypotheses about the clients’ attachment history and attachment defenses
4. To describe strategies that can be used during the EMP process to foster clients’ insights into their attachment history and promote a more secure narrative about the self
5. To discuss the value of attachment defenses as early adaptations to environmental stress. To highlight this point, the memories of second-generation immigrants and clients with a diverse background will be explored, with particular attention to how individual, family, cultural, and societal factors intersect within the emotional functioning of these clients.