Abstract
During this workshop, we will explore Unseen Attachment Trauma (UAT) and its profound influence on relational development. D'Hooghe (2018) conceptualized UAT as a form of trauma that may not be immediately obvious. The traumatic event may not show visible signs, making it hard for the person experiencing it or those around them to perceive it. UAT emphasizes the role of an unavailable caregiver as a traumatic event. The physical and psychological availability of the caregiver is paramount in fostering a safe attachment relationship. The child's reliance on the caregiver for safety, fulfillment of needs, and overall development, combined with the inescapability of the situation, determines the severity of the consequences for the child. The caregiver's unavailability is a prerequisite for creating an unsafe attachment style. An unsafe attachment style is considered a dissociative reaction to relational development. The unresolved attachment trauma history of a caregiver can affect the quality of the caregiver-child relationship and lead to various insecure attachment styles. These styles include anxious/preoccupied, avoidant/dismissive, and disorganized/fearful-avoidant. A caregiver with unresolved trauma can identify with an internal part, the Death Mother archetype, which is a negative aspect of the mother archetype described by Jung in 1916. The Death Mother archetype encompasses hate, aggression, death, and seduction and includes the Murderous Mother and the Murdered Mother, elaborated by D'Hooghe and Brack. When these death-oriented aspects manifest in attachment interactions, they can be destructive, threatening, and horrifying for the child, resulting in psychic death. These experiences can lead to the child developing a Thanatos attachment style when they integrate these death experiences. Thanatos is a concept from Greek mythology that personifies death. A Thanatos attachment style is a death-themed relationship between a child and an internal part of their mother that is both murdered and murderous. A Thanatos attachment style involves self-sabotage, illness, hate, and suicide ideation, driving children to engage in behaviors that reflect these destructive patterns. It is associated with the unconscious drive towards dissolution and annihilation. In a Thanatos attachment style, the child experiences a pervasive sense of death and lifelessness from which they cannot escape. The attachment style developed during childhood persists into adulthood and significantly influences how individuals engage with others. This style influences how people seek or avoid intimacy, handle conflict, and approach relationships. These themes of mortality and destruction influence how individuals relate to others and themselves within relationships. The workshop will help reveal and understand a Thanatos attachment style. It will explain in depth the consequences on a personal and relational level. The workshop will also explore how a Thanatos attachment style plays a crucial role in the emergence of violence, conflict, and war.

Potential to Distress: Yes