What Is Core Self Reclamation Therapy (CSRT)?

Core Self Reclamation Therapy (CSRT) is an experiential, attachment-focused model of psychotherapy that heals trauma by transforming the self-condemning meanings it leaves behind — not just the painful events themselves.

We are born with a Core Self — the innate capacity for love. When the world we meet is traumatizing, we respond by rejecting and condemning ourselves, building a Wounded Self out of false beliefs about our worth and rigid survival rules that once protected us but now keep us imprisoned. CSRT is devoted to undoing that structure so the Core Self can be reclaimed.

Using targeted interventions, the CSRT therapist pierces and melts entrenched defenses and toxic shame states, standing boldly on behalf of the client's Core Self. The therapist does not position themselves as the primary healing agent; instead, CSRT empowers clients to become their own healer — guiding them back to their birthright of love.

The model is grounded in memory reconsolidation research, affective neuroscience, attachment theory, and mother–infant intersubjectivity research. CSRT is also informed by other clinical models, including AEDP, Somatic Experiencing, ISTDP, Ericksonian hypnosis, and Nancy Napier's parts work.