Family Trauma, Addiction, Abandonment and cPTSD: Healing Through RTR and Psychodrama

Описание: This video is part of a series exploring attachment trauma, Adult Children of Addiction, psychodrama and Relational Trauma Repair (RTR). These experiential methods help move trauma out of the body and into integration through role play, timelines, and relational repair. up with addiction often requires children to become emotionally adult far too soon. When a parent is absent—physically or emotionally—due to addiction, children frequently step into the role of caretaker, managing not only the household but the emotional climate of the family. Over time, this reversal of roles can feel like abandonment and becomes a form of relational trauma, even when the parent is still present.
Many children come to believe, often without words, that they were not worth staying for. These early experiences shape deep attachment trauma that can linger into adulthood, leaving behind painful cognitive distortions such as “no one will stay,” “I can’t get it right,” or “I’ll leave before I get left.” What once helped the child survive a traumatic environment can later interfere with intimacy, trust, and a sense of safety in relationships.
In this video, Dr. Tian Dayton explores how psychodrama and the social atom, often called family sculpturing, help Adult Children of Addiction and Family Trauma externalize these early relational trauma patterns, see them clearly, and begin to reorganize them. By mapping family dynamics and bringing the body and emotions into the healing process, these experiential methods allow adult children to process trauma, grieve what was lost, challenge long-held cognitive distortions, and develop new internal templates for connection.
Healing is not about erasing the past, but about understanding the trauma you adapted to—and discovering how those same strengths can support not just survival, but growth, connection, and thriving.