Narration of the Experience of Emotional Deprivation Disorder and Affirmation Therapy

Psychiatrists Anna Terruwe and Conrad Baars wrote of emotional deprivation disorder (EDD) and identified the challenges of the disorder. This article presents the specifics of what one individual with EDD experienced and how affirmation therapy (AT) was helpful. The patient is an educated, professional, middle-aged woman who shares her experiences of woundedness and healing, which helps her to make sense of her life experiences. A discussion of some events that led to the manifestation of EDD in her life, how it affected the fullness and quality of her life, especially without appropriate therapy, and a brief overview of affirmation therapy as perceived by the patient are presented. Following the major narratives of her life experiences and her therapy, a brief exploratory analysis of the content and context of her narration is provided. Her story provides excellent insight to those of us in the mental health field about what caused EDD in this patient's life and how affirmation therapy helped her to heal the wounds that caused her to develop EDD and to develop the fuller quality of life that she now enjoys.