Doris D’Hooghe is a speaker at the IAC 2026 Leuven, Belgium

This workshop introduces Unseen Attachment Trauma (UAT) as a novel and often overlooked dimension of attachment trauma. UAT arises when a caregiver is persistently psychologically unavailable, marked by chronic deficits in sensitivity and responsiveness that are essential for the formation of safe attachment. Because UAT is characterized by relational unavailability rather than overtly harmful behaviors, it remains unrecognized mainly within current diagnostic and clinical frameworks.

Dissociation is reconceptualized through three complementary lenses: a trauma etiological model, a relational model, and a developmental model. From a trauma-etiological standpoint, dissociation is viewed as a natural protective response to overwhelming or prolonged stress. Within the concept of UAT, an unavailable caregiver is considered a traumatic event, and it has become increasingly clear that what did not happen—namely, the caregiver’s absence—is often more critical than overt abuse.

Seen through the relational lens, dissociation is understood as an adaptive response to caregiver unavailability, producing fragmented relational development. Dissociation emerges within the attachment relationship itself. In the early stages of attachment, the organization of the attachment system becomes distorted, resulting in a dysfunctional attachment system that underlies relational dissociative reactions, expressed as unsafe attachment styles.

Viewed through the developmental lens, caregiver unavailability is understood to interrupt the child’s developmental pathways, with each disrupted developmental area giving rise to its own form of dissociative reaction. The relational, bodily, neurobiological, emotional, cognitive, and moral areas each generate development-specific adaptations aimed at maintaining attachment. These partial solutions aim to prevent the collapse of the overall system.

This reconceptualization, including the UAT perspective, positions dissociation not as a symptom cluster to be removed but as a developmentally appropriate response to an unsafe attachment relationship. Clinically, it calls for a shift from symptom management toward recognizing, understanding, and repairing relational trauma rooted in caregiver unavailability.