transforming echoes

With Annie Brook

Our earliest questions, asked by the body and the pre-verbal brain are:

Is the world safe?
Will I survive?
Will you keep me safe?
Can I trust you to meet my basic needs?

These questions get answered in split-second assessments by the nervous system as we go through our earliest experiences and we develop attachment patterns accordingly. While these dynamics represent the best choice we have at the time, they don’t necessarily serve us for the rest of our lives and can hinder a life lived to the full.

This course is designed to give us an insight into the impact our earliest experiences can have on the way we bond, and how attachment wounds can be healed. The last course module is dedicated to the particular situation of adoption and to how the shock of abandonment can be repaired.

Annie Brook is a Body-Mind Centering teacher, therapist and author who has been working with individuals and families for over 40 years. Annie understands families, development and health, and has learned to help those in the most difficult situations, such as abused foster children, adopted children and their families and gang youth.

In this course, Annie provides theoretical background, case studies and short practices covering:

earliest foundations of attachment
human relationship dynamics
adoption and attachment
how to unwrap shock patterns
how to heal attachment wounds
how to develop healthy self-attachment

Early impressions last a life time unless they are addressed. Infant overwhelm due to experiences such as C-section or other obstetrical interventions, prematurity, overly long labour, postnatal depression of the mother, infant surgeries etc. create protective response habits and attachment issues.

This module looks into the profound impact of early impressions and precognitive memories on the nervous system and behavior, emphasising the importance of addressing these foundational experiences for personal healing and growth. Through therapeutic techniques, individuals can access and process these early memories to foster healing, integration, and a stronger connection between mind and body.

Early Impressions Shape Behaviour
Early impressions, even those that are precognitive, can significantly influence the development of the nervous system and behavioural patterns. These impressions can shape an individual's responses and coping mechanisms throughout life.

Hidden Story of Birth
The birth story is often the "hidden story" because it often remains untold and unacknowledged. Addressing this story is crucial for understanding and resolving early traumas and protective responses.

Accessing Precognitive Memory
Precognitive memories can be challenging to access because they are often linked to survival instincts and primal responses. These memories can be deeply ingrained and affect how individuals adapt and cope with life experiences.

Integration of Self
The process of integrating early memories into one's sense of self is crucial for healing. This integration helps individuals develop a coherent personal narrative and address any underlying traumas or protective responses that may be hindering their growth.

Neuroplasticity and Change
The neuroplasticity of the brain allows for the reorganization and shifting of early imprints. This capability is essential for personal transformation and healing, as it enables individuals to change habitual patterns and responses.

Participatory Healing
Participatory healing involves actively engaging with implicit memories as they surface. This process allows individuals to understand and integrate these memories, leading to emotional and cognitive resolution.

Impact of Birth Trauma
Birth trauma, such as cord wrap or premature birth, can have lasting effects on an individual's emotional and physical well-being. These early experiences can manifest as protective responses or behavioural patterns in adulthood.

Self-Attack Thinking
Self-attack thinking is a protective mechanism that originates from chaotic early experiences. It provides a sense of control and existence during overwhelming situations but can become maladaptive in adulthood.

Body-Based Tools for Healing
The use of body-based tools, such as movement and emotional regulation, is essential for healing early traumas. These tools help individuals connect with their physical sensations and emotions, facilitating the integration of early memories.

Satisfaction Cycle
The satisfaction cycle is a developmental process that helps individuals feel fulfilled in life. It involves movement and the ability to reach, take, hold, pull, and absorb, which are fundamental for emotional and physical satisfaction.

This module explores the complexities of attachment theory, focusing on how early experiences shape adult behaviours and relationships. It delves into various attachment styles—anxious, ambivalent, avoidant, and controlling—and offers practical insights for therapists working with clients to address attachment-related issues.

Annie emphasises the importance of self-awareness and self-care in managing attachment dynamics, both for individuals and professionals in the field.

Attachment and Self-Regulation:
Annie discusses how attachment is fundamentally about orienting through the body and senses, emphasizing the importance of self-regulation in managing stress and tension.

Impact of Early Trauma on Attachment:
Early traumatic experiences, such as difficult births or post-birth separations, can significantly impact an infant's attachment dynamics, leading to challenges in self-regulation and relational behaviours.

Nervous System Reversal and Lymphatic Flow:
The concept of "nervous system reversal" is introduced, where trauma can freeze the lymphatic system, disrupting sensory-motor processing and leading to a freeze response.

Healing Through Adult Self-Awareness:
Healing from attachment wounds involves adults reaching back to their inner child with compassion and understanding, rather than reverting to default habits formed during early attachment dynamics.

Attachment Styles in Adult Relationships:
Different attachment styles, such as anxious, ambivalent, avoidant, and controlling, manifest in adult relationships and can be addressed by understanding and resolving the underlying unmet needs.

The Role of the Therapist in Attachment Work:
Therapists must be aware of their own attachment styles and countertransference to effectively support clients without becoming entangled in their dynamics.

Using Play and Role-Play in Therapy:
The use of stuffed animals and role-playing in therapy can help externalize and address attachment issues, making them more manageable for both the client and therapist.

The Protection Game:
The "Protection Game" is a therapeutic technique involving stuffed animals to simulate protective and nurturing behaviors, helping clients understand and practice safety and protection dynamics.

Addressing Anxious Attachment in Couples:
Anxious attachment in couples can lead to one partner constantly tracking the other, creating a stressful environment that stifles the relationship.

The Importance of Self-Care in Therapy:
Therapists are encouraged to practice self-care and maintain awareness of their own activation during sessions to avoid becoming overwhelmed or entangled in the client's issues.

The imprint from having been given up for adoption can follow an individual around like a shadow. Even if a child was adopted as early as at birth, they will hold the fear of being abandoned, as this imprint is stored in their brain. Especially if a child has experienced pre-adoption adversity, their ability to securely bond can be challenged to various degrees.

In this final course module, you will learn about the adoption imprint which may come with not just fear of being both loved and given away but also a set of “bad baby” beliefs. Annie explains how ‘spatial shock’ can be repaired and feelings of being unsafe in the surrounding space be overcome.

Fear of Abandonment:
Even children adopted at birth can carry a deep-seated fear of abandonment, which is imprinted in their brains. This fear can manifest in various ways throughout their lives.

Spatial Confusion:
Adopted children often experience s’patial shock’ due to the abrupt change in their environment, which can affect their ability to relax and trust their new surroundings.

Power Dynamics in Adoption:
Certain power dynamics can arise in adoptive families, where children may test their adoptive parents due to underlying fears and insecurities.

Sensory Adaptations:
The nervous system of adopted children adapts to the sensory environment of their birth mothers, and the transition to a new family can be perplexing, especially if it involves a new language or culture.

Healing Through Sensory Repair:
Healing from adoption trauma involves sensory repair and addressing spatial confusion to help individuals feel stable and secure in their new environments.

Parental Training and Support:
Adoptive parents often need training and support to understand and meet the unique needs of their adopted children, including how to handle the child's emotional outbursts.

The Adoption Arousal Cycle:
The concept of the "adoption arousal cycle" explains how children go through phases of fear, escalation, and conflict with their parents, followed by repair and reconciliation.

Empowering Adopted Individuals:
Helping adopted individuals realise their own power and worthiness is crucial in healing their emotional wounds and overcoming feelings of inadequacy.

The Role of the Adoptive Mother:
The adoptive mother often faces challenges and feelings of inadequacy, as she is constantly tested by the child's fears and insecurities.

Conception through IVF:
Annie briefly touches on the context of IVF and the similarities with adoption in terms of questioned self-worth.

Entry/intermediate level
Three 60 minute classes
Power Point Presentations
Practical Exercises
Q and A with presenter
Life time access to recordings
Certificate of Attendance on request

who can this benefit

practitioners working with babies, children and families
professionals interested in the field of pre- and perinatal psychology
professionals working with adopted children and their parents
parents and caregivers
adoptive parents
anyone wishing to gain an insight into early life experiences and attachment

learning outcomes

Gain an understanding of the nature and importance of earliest experiences relative to attachment
Learn about attachment dynamics and the healing of disruptive patterns
Gain an insight into the impact of separation and abandonment in the case of adoption and how this shock can be healed

£70

One off payment

Includes :

Access to live course
Life Time access to recordings

£199/yr

Billed annually

Includes :

access to live course
life Time access to recordings
Access to all our Live and Recorded classes for 1 year
Access to Monthly Support Groups
20% discount on all other courses

Who we are

Our vision is to inspire curiosity in the way we see birth, and we wish to provoke authentic, comprehensive, continuous, creative and challenging learning experiences.

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info@ourbirthjourney.com

Three part course

transforming echoes

How to Repair and Heal Disruptive Early Attachment Events

Annie Brook

COURSE CONTENT

module one

How We Are Born Echoes Through Our Life

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Module two

Attachment Dynamics

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module three

Adoption Challenges

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