What is SAI?

 ​SAI.  Enabling Self Regulation and Co-Regulation.  Developed by Eadaoin Breathnach

When children and adults experience abuse or serious neglect this impacts on their capacity to deal with stressful situations and to self- regulate. These adverse experiences can start in the womb and continue through childhood and into adulthood unless a safe and caring holding is established for them to process these traumas. There is a tendency to stay in a protected state of fight, flight, freeze, cut out or shut down and therefore to remain in a hyper vigilant state of fear. The ability to “filter out” background sounds and sights and sensory experiences is impeded. Therefore there is a propensity to be sensory defensive, as the sensory systems have become sensitised to the possibility of danger.

Children develop protective/defensive behaviours in order to survive their attachment experience.

In SAI the first requirement is to establish regulation of arousal states i.e. to shift from the Autonomic Nervous System bias of either freeze dissociation or flight fight responses. I use a just right combination of up regulating and down regulating exercises to assist the modulation of the senses. These experiences lead to higher level sensory, emotional and cognitive functioning.

The following supports are offered.

  • Sensory Attachment Intervention Assessment for Children
  • Just Right State Children’s Programme
  • Just Right State Adults’ Programme
  • Response to Distress Consultation for Adults

Also by exploring the engagement of the Child and Adult together  a deeper insight into what might lie hidden may be revealed.

“It is a joy to be hidden and a disaster not to be found”  D.W, Winnicot