Methods
BABY BONDING is based on an attachment-oriented approach and is rooted in the concept of Emotional First Aid (Emotionellen Ersten Hilfe, EEH). My professional expertise and working methods are further enriched by knowledge from prenatal and baby therapy as well as my medical background.
Emotional First Aid (Emotionellen Ersten Hilfe, EEH)
At the centre of my work is the approach of Emotional First Aid. It focuses on supporting the bond between parents and child. Emotional First Aid uses both conversational and body-oriented methods. My expertise is additionally complemented by insights from prenatal and baby therapy and my medical training.
The method of Emotional First Aid is based on attachment-oriented and body-psychotherapeutic approaches. It was developed by Thomas Harms, a psychologist and body psychotherapist from Bremen. The foundations of the method include findings from modern body psychotherapy, neuroscience, attachment research, and trauma therapy.
Basic Bonding supports you and your child during stressful situations or developmental stages, helping you move toward more closeness, safety, confidence, and a strengthened relationship. With a neurophysiological understanding of how bonding works and how stress processes interact with bonding ability, you gain access to new perspectives and effective strategies.
Even in situations that seem hopeless, experience shows that often very little is needed to overcome the difficulties. I am happy to support you and your child with your individual questions and challenges. We set the priorities together according to your situation. You receive valuable guidance on how to lovingly support your crying child. The regulation of your own stress system and strengthening of your self-confidence are central elements, allowing you to accompany your little one more securely. With breathing regulation and visualisations, your bonding capacity is deepened. Your resources are strengthened, and you are supported according to your needs.
“The development of a secure attachment between parents and child is a wonderful foundation for a healthy personality of a child.”
Karl Heinz Brisch
This method also addresses the early resolution of emotional blockages in the child that may have arisen from difficult or overwhelming experiences before, during, or after birth.
Gentle bodywork helps stabilise the child, regulate their nervous system, and create optimal conditions for healthy development. In the professionally guided expression processes of the child, new neural connections can be formed, providing the basis for your child to fully unfold their potential.
Emotional First Aid is highly effective regardless of age, during pregnancy, after birth, especially in infancy, toddlerhood, and childhood, but also in adulthood.
Bonding (Attachment)
Since the 1950s, it has been scientifically proven that children, in addition to physical basic needs such as food and care, also have vital psychological needs that are essential for healthy development. The most fundamental emotional need is the need for a secure attachment.
Attachment research has shown how far-reaching the positive effects of a successful parent–child bond are. A secure attachment greatly influences how a child feels within themselves, how they move through the world, form relationships, solve problems later in life, and how they seek or accept help — in short, how they stand in life (Grossmann, K. 2004).
Attachment is a process, not a single event. Under optimal conditions, the bond between parents and child unfolds naturally. The physiology of our body is programmed to provide all necessary hormones and processes for this. A healthy bond can feel profoundly moving — or quietly beautiful and subtle. Sometimes small stress factors, uncertainties, or sudden unexpected events can disrupt this process more than one would expect. It is never about guilt or doing something wrong. Just as powerful as bonding is, it can also be sensitive to certain influences.
“By attachment we mean the emotional bond that one person forms with another specific person, connecting them across space and time.”
John Bowlby
According to Bowlby, founder of attachment theory, attachment is “an invisible, long-lasting emotional bond that connects a person to a specific individual regardless of space and time” (Bowlby, J. 1969). The term bonding refers to the emotional connection from mother or father to the baby. Attachment refers to the emotional bond from the child to the parent (Klaus & Kennell, 1983). How consciously a woman connects to her developing baby during pregnancy strongly influences how bonding unfolds during this prenatal time. A particularly meaningful moment in this process is the birth, the transition into this earthly world, where parents meet their baby face-to-face for the very first time. The expression of successful bonding in these initial encounters can be compared to the process of “falling in love.”
Not every developmental stage carries the same meaning for bonding. Biologically, the inner bond is the strongest and most important attachment a person forms. In babies and young children, attachment is essential for survival. Their wellbeing depends on whether an adult can adequately respond to their physical, and especially emotional, needs. Newborns rely entirely on the success of this relationship. A child must attach to a primary caregiver. Above all, attachment provides safety and protection. In older children, secure attachment becomes the foundation for learning and psychosocial development.
I am happy to support you in strengthening and nurturing the bond with your child, honouring everything you have experienced together.