Relationship Dynamics & Attachment Styles

Our recent EFT-based one-day workshop was an empowering and immersive experience that integrated frameworks from attachment theory, relationship dynamics and neuroscience. Our focus was on experiential learning, grounded in the principle that while the mind can comprehend concepts, the body must engage with them to transform knowledge into wisdom. Participants engaged with their relationship histories and patterns, creating a rich tapestry of insights, vulnerability, connection, and practicing new ways of relating.

We also had the opportunity to present at the Seven Sisters Festival in Victoria, offering over 200 women a powerful taste of understanding their attachment patterns, the “Pursuer-Distancer” Dynamic, and how to short-circuit this dance, and open to new possibilities for engaging and bonding safely.

Participants were guided through a variety of individual, partner, and group processes and reflections. This included a nurturing intervention that invited the women to connect with their Inner Child, which illuminated the unconscious links between early life attachment experiences and current relationship patterns.

Together the group cultivated a safe space for communal sharing of personal stories and connections. This communal sharing fostered a sense of belonging and validation, allowing participants to feel seen and heard. The emotional depth of these interactions often led to moments of collective empathy, where laughter and tears intertwined, reinforcing the importance of human connection in the healing process.

A highlight of the workshop was a demonstration of the pursuer-distancer cycle through a role-play by the facilitators and subsequent joining in by the participants. This live enactment allowed participants to witness and experience themselves in their respective attachment positions, illustrating both the dynamics of defensiveness and the potential for positive interactional cycles. By experiencing the interplay between the pursuer’s longing for connection and the distancer’s need for space, participants gained valuable insights into their own relational patterns. This experiential exercise served as a powerful reminder of how dynamics can shift and transform through awareness, vulnerability, and deeper understanding of underlying core wounds.

Overall, the workshop was a rich blend of theory, experiential learning, and emotional connection. Through meditation, Inner Child dialogues, and exploring the dynamics of the pursue-distancer cycle, participants navigated both the challenges of defensiveness and the potential for repair and deep connection. The shared experience of many tears and laughter reinforced the importance of community and healing in the journey toward healthier relationships.

We left the workshop with a renewed sense of passion for the work we offer as EFT therapists and workshop facilitators. We are thrilled to be offering our 1-day workshop again for women on the 13th of April 2025. Please visit this link to find out more and to secure your place: https://www.trybooking.com/CXMMW.

 

Written by Christina von Cohausen and Eleni Neville