What is AEDP?

AEDP is an experiential therapy model that focuses on:

• creating safety and connection in the therapeutic relationship

• helping you access core emotions (not just talk around them)

• transforming painful experiences through supportive, real-time processing

• strengthening resilience, self-compassion, and secure attachment

Rather than analyzing emotions from a distance, AEDP helps you feel them in a grounded way—so your nervous system can “update” what it learned in moments of distress, loss, or relational injury.

AEDP is often a great match for people who want therapy that feels human, deep, and change-oriented, without being harsh or confrontational.

Who benefits from AEDP therapy?

AEDP therapy can be helpful if you’re experiencing:

• Anxiety, panic, or chronic overwhelm

• Depression, numbness, or feeling disconnected from yourself

• Trauma and complex trauma (C-PTSD)

• Attachment wounds, relational trauma, or difficulty trusting

• Grief (including complex or ambiguous), or life transitions

• Shame, self-criticism, perfectionism

• Burnout, over-functioning, or high-achieving pressure

• Relationship patterns you can’t think your way out of

• A longing for deeper connection—with yourself or others

AEDP is also helpful when you’ve tried therapy before and felt like it stayed too cognitive or surface-level.

What an AEDP session feels like:

AEDP is active and collaborative. It can include talking, but also slowing down enough to notice what’s happening right now.

In sessions, your therapist may:

• track emotion as it shows up in your body (tight chest, shaky hands, heaviness)

• gently help you stay with feelings long enough for them to move and shift

• reflect what they notice (in a warm, attuned way)

• support you in experiencing emotions with safety, not overwhelm

• highlight moments of change and resilience as they occur

AEDP is not about pushing you to “go there” before you’re ready. It’s about building the conditions where your system can process what it’s been carrying and feel different on the other side.

Why AEDP works:

Many symptoms are protective responses:

• anxiety tries to keep you prepared

• shutdown tries to keep you safe

• tension tries to protect your boundaries

• perfectionism tries to keep you from being hurt

AEDP helps you be with the underlying emotional truths—grief, fear, longing, relief, love—while supported by a steady relationship. That support is often the ingredient that makes deep change possible.

AEDP in Raleigh + across NC

We’re based in Raleigh and offer:

• In-person therapy in the Raleigh area

• Telehealth across North Carolina

When you contact us, we’ll help you find a clinician trained in the modalities that are most aligned with your goals.

FAQs about AEDP:

Is AEDP the same as EFT?

AEDP and EFT are both emotion-focused and attachment-informed, but AEDP has its own structure and emphasis, especially around experiential processing and tracking transformation in real time.

Do I need to be “in touch with my emotions” to do AEDP?

Not at all. Many clients begin AEDP feeling numb, disconnected, or unsure what they feel. That’s okay, AEDP can help you reconnect safely, step by step.

Will AEDP make me feel worse before I feel better?

Sometimes therapy brings feelings closer to the surface, but we work in a regulated way so you’re not overwhelmed. A good AEDP process supports stability and depth.

Ready to begin?

If you’re looking for AEDP therapy in North Carolina, we’d love to help you find the right fit.