Lifespan Integration
A timeline-based psychotherapy approach that uses a repeated guided timeline exercise to help resolve trauma and attachment patterns.
Lifespan Integration, developed by Peggy Pace, uses a repeated timeline exercise as its central technique: with a therapist's guidance, you move through a series of memory cues spanning your life, from early experiences to the present, repeating the sequence multiple times within a session. The repetition itself is thought to help the nervous system "catch up" to the fact that time has passed and the past is not still happening, which can be particularly helpful for early or preverbal experiences that are hard to access through talking. It's a gentler, less confrontational approach than some other trauma therapies, without requiring detailed verbal narration of difficult events.
A gentle, repetition-based method that uses your own life timeline to support healing.
What to expect: A session involves your therapist guiding you through a repeated sequence of memory cues, brief prompts spanning key points across your life, moving through the same timeline multiple times within the session. You're not required to verbally describe difficult memories in detail, the process works largely through the repetition itself. Sessions can feel calm and internally focused rather than emotionally intense, though some people do have strong reactions.
Good fit for: You're drawn to a gentler approach that doesn't require detailed verbal trauma narration, You suspect early or preverbal experiences are part of what you're working with, You're comfortable with a somewhat unconventional, less talk-based process
Explore for: Early or preverbal experiences that feel hard to access or describe through talk, Wanting a gentle, non-confrontational approach to trauma or attachment work, A sense that parts of you feel stuck at an earlier point in your life, Difficulty with therapies that require detailed verbal recounting of painful events
Not the right fit if: You prefer well-established, extensively researched approaches, Lifespan Integration's evidence base is still developing, You want a highly structured, protocol-driven treatment with a defined session count
How to choose a practitioner: Ask about their specific training and certification in Lifespan Integration Ask them to walk you through what a session actually looks like before you begin Clarify their experience with your specific concern, especially early or developmental trauma
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