We are born with a Core Self, the innate capacity for love. But when the world we meet is traumatizing, we respond by rejecting and condemning ourselves, creating a Wounded Self built on false beliefs about the worth of the self and its place in the world.
Core Self Reclamation Therapy (CSRT) is a relationally bold new form of therapy devoted to undoing the structure of the Wounded Self so that the Core Self can be reclaimed. CSRT is based upon the fundamental belief that the deepest source of human suffering is caused not by traumatic experience itself, but rather by the self-destructive meanings we take in about ourselves and the world at large in the wake of traumatic experience. Using targeted, specialized interventions, the CSRT therapist pierces and melts the entrenched defenses and toxic shame states that keep patients stuck in self-hatred and suffering. Standing in on behalf of the patient’s Core Self, the CSRT therapist deftly guides the patient back to their birthright of love.
The model has its roots in memory reconsolidation research, affective neuroscience, attachment theory, and mother-infant intersubjectivity research. CSRT is also inspired by other clinical models, including Accelerated Experiential Dynamic Psychotherapy (AEDP), Somatic Experiencing (SE), Intensive Short-Term Dynamic Psychotherapy (ISTDP), Eriksonian Hypnosis, and Nancy Napier’s parts work.
