In psychotherapy, attachment and trauma are not abstract concepts—they are felt realities that enter the room through the body, the relational field, and the therapist-client interaction. From the perspective of neuroaffective developmental psychology [1], both attachment and trauma are seen as embodied processes that unfold across three interconnected levels of functioning: the autonomic – arousalregulating and sensing level, the limbic – emotional level, and the prefrontal – selfcontrol and emotional intelligence systems. This article offers an adjunct to the article Dances of connection: Neuroaffective development in clinical work with attachment (2015). It is a brief sketch of how psychological trauma and attachment patterns interact, and how these dynamics show up in therapy. The neuroaffective approach helps clinicians work not only with what clients say, but with how they regulate, feel and relate moment to moment.
