Trauma, Attachment, and Couple Conflict

 Earn 3 CE Contact Hours

This workshop lays the foundation for trauma-informed couples therapy through an exploration of different types of trauma, including acute, chronic, complex, developmental, relational, and intergenerational trauma. Participants will examine how trauma has been conceptualized within the psychological field—from Freud’s controversial seduction theory, through the limited use of PTSD diagnoses, to the delayed recognition of relational trauma and attachment-based injuries.

Grounded in attachment theory and relational perspectives, the workshop will explore how early attachment experiences shape personality development, emotional regulation, conflict patterns, and relational functioning in adulthood. Clinicians will learn to identify different attachment styles and better understand how attachment “blueprints” influence intimate relationships and couple dynamics.

The session concludes with an analysis of attachment styles and conflict responses in the film Malcolm & Marie, helping participants apply trauma-informed and attachment-based concepts to real-world relational interactions and couples therapy practice.

Learning Objectives:

By the end of this workshop, participants will be able to:

• Differentiate between acute, chronic, complex, developmental, relational, and intergenerational trauma.
• Summarize key developments in the psychological field’s understanding of trauma, including PTSD, relational trauma, and attachment theory.
• Identify the major adult attachment styles and explain how attachment patterns influence conflict, emotional regulation, and relational functioning in couples.
• Apply attachment-informed concepts to the assessment and understanding of couple conflict and relational dynamics.

Who Should Attend:

Mental health professionals, therapists, social workers, counselors, and clinicians who work with couples, trauma, and relational dynamics. This workshop is especially valuable for clinicians interested in attachment theory, trauma-informed couples therapy, and understanding how early relational experiences shape adult conflict and intimacy patterns.

Meet Melorra:

Melorra Sochet is a seasoned psychotherapist, supervisor, and faculty member at Adelphi University who specializes in couples therapy, trauma, and relational psychoanalysis. She is certified in and supervises clinicians in Emotionally Focused Couples Therapy (EFT) and Emotionally Focused Individual Therapy (EFIT). She has also completed advanced training in Relational Life Therapy, Internal Family Systems (IFS), and EMDR, and integrates these modalities in her work with individuals, couples, and families.

Ms. Sochet has worked in outpatient substance use treatment programs and community mental health centers, and has been in private practice for the past 17 years. During the pandemic, she was invited to create a column on couple relationships and emotional resilience. Her writing can be found in Keeping It Together on Psychology Today.

Before becoming a psychotherapist, Ms. Sochet worked in public interest law and policy in New York and Washington, D.C., including leadership roles in city government, civil rights, child advocacy, and nonprofit organizations. She draws on this experience in helping clients navigate competitive, high-pressure, and sometimes traumatic professional environments.

Ms. Sochet holds degrees from New York University Silver School of Social Work, Northeastern University School of Law, and Columbia College.