Fast and gentle relief in just 90 seconds - Interesting results for Wiring Affect with ReAttach (W.A.R.A.)

VOERENDAAL, Netherlands, Aug. 18, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- A recent pilot study suggests that W.A.R.A. is an effective and ultrafast transdiagnostic intervention reducing negative affect. This research was published in this month's issue of scientific open-access Journal Heliyon. W.A.R.A. is a 90-second intervention aimed at gently processing negative affect (unpleasant feelings). During W.A.R.A., the therapist uses the basic techniques of ReAttach: external arousal regulation, activation of sensory integration, and associative learning.

ReAttach and W.A.R.A. are developed by Paula Weerkamp-Bartholomeus. She is currently conducting her doctoral research at the Maastricht University, Department of Psychiatry and Neuropsychology, under the supervision of Prof. dr. Thérèse van Amelsvoort.

ReAttach and W.A.R.A.

ReAttach is a new, short-term, and systemic intervention for children, adolescents, and adults suffering from mental health problems such as psychological trauma, attachment issues, psychosomatic complaints, or developmental disorders. Practice-based research has shown that ReAttach reduces psychological stress and sensory over-responsivity and can activate personal growth (for instance, resilience).

W.A.R.A. is an exercise used explicitly by ReAttach therapists in patients with sensory over-responsivity, chronic pain, or chronic emotional dysregulation.

More effective than distraction

The published study compares the effect of W.A.R.A. on negative affect (N.A.) to distraction in 101 patients with various psychological complaints. Distraction is an effective strategy to reduce unpleasant feelings of young children. W.A.R.A. proved to be significantly more effective for regulating N.A. Although premature, the first results of the pilot study are encouraging.

W.A.R.A. as an online first-aid intervention

Weerkamp-Bartholomeus says that W.A.R.A. is an intervention that could be used by ReAttach therapists remotely (such as during a video call). Due to the need for social distancing resulting from the outbreak of COVID-19, she studied the efficacy of W.A.R.A. remote training on N.A. and compared it to W.A.R.A. when offered face-to-face by a ReAttach therapist. Without prejudice to the  results of this second pilot, she indicates that W.A.R.A. seems to provide the potential of a first-aid psychological intervention.

Training

ReAttach Academy offers accredited ReAttach training for professionals within GGZ (Mental Health Care), Jeugdzorg (Youth Care), VG-sector (sector for Mental Disabilities), and Paramedische Zorg (Paramedical Care). The quality of these training courses is safeguarded by the ReAttach Therapy International Foundation.

Further information is available from the websites reattachacademy.com, reattachfoundation.com, and jrtdd.com (Journal for ReAttach Therapy).

Publication:

Weerkamp-Bartholomeus, P., Marazziti, D., Chan, E., Srivastava, A., van Amelsvoort, T. (2020). Randomized comparison of W.A.R.A. (Wiring Affect with ReAttach) versus distraction: A pilot study assessing the efficacy of an ultrafast transdiagnostic intervention. Heliyon 2020;6(8):e04660. doi.org/10.1016/j.heliyon.2020.e04660