Counseling for Attachment Wounding

Ideally in childhood our caregivers are able to meet our physical and emotional needs. When our emotional needs (safety, connection, love, attunement) are not met, we develop attachment wounds. Because we are children, we cannot understand our caregivers' struggles and we naturally blame ourselves for this. We may feel unsafe in the world, not good enough, like there's something wrong with us, incapable, etc. We may have to focus all of our efforts on getting our emotional needs met by pleasing, changing who we are, hiding our emotions, or becoming smaller in order to hide or larger in order to be seen. If we do all of this, and still our needs aren't met, we are likely to shut down/dissociate, run away, or fight. These are normal responses to dysfunctional environments. However, as adults who no longer live in these environments, we have the opportunity to heal these wounds.