This book will be of use to social workers, therapists and parents striving to assist poorly attached children. It is a narrative, composite case study of the developmental course of one child. The author blends attachment theory, research and trauma with general principles of parenting and family therapy to develop a solid model for intervention. It will prove a practical guide for all adults trying to help high-risk youth.
An invaluable resource for students and professionals as well as parents, this text offers a composite case study of one child's development following years of abuse and neglect. Blending theory and research into a powerful narrative, Hughes offers effective strategies for facilitating attachment in children who have experienced serious trauma.
Troubled children need special parenting to build attachments and heal from trauma. This book provides a parenting model that parents and carers can follow to incorporate love, play, acceptance, curiosity and empathy into their parenting. These elements are vital to a child's development and will help children to feel confident, secure and happy.
Scientists from different disciplines, including anthropology, psychology, psychiatry, pediatrics, neurobiology, endocrinology, and molecular biology, explore the concepts of attachment and bonding from varying scientific perspectives.
Today's parents are constantly pressured to be perfect. But in striving to do everything right, we risk missing what children really need for lifelong emotional security. Now the simple, powerful "Circle of Security" parenting strategies that Kent Hoffman, Glen Cooper, and Bert Powell have taught thousands of families are available in self-help form for the first time.ÿ You will learn:ÿ *How to balance nurturing and protectiveness with promoting your child's independence.ÿ *What emotional needs a toddler or older child may be expressing through difficult behavior. *How your own upbringing affects your parenting style--and what you can do about it.ÿ Filled with vivid stories and unique practical tools, this book puts the keys to healthy attachment within everyone's reach--self-understanding, flexibility, and the willingness to make and learn from mistakes. Self-assessment checklists can be downloaded and printed for ease of use.
Theraplay?a pioneering application of attachment theory to clinical work—helps parents learn and practice how to provide the playful engagement, empathic responsiveness, and clear guidance that lead to secure attachment and lifelong mental health in their children. This third edition of the groundbreaking book Theraplay shows how to use play to engage children in interactions that lead to competence, self-regulation, self-esteem, and trust. Theraplay's relationship-based approach is uniquely designed to help families facing today's busy and often chaotic lifestyle challenges form joyful, loving relationships.
An expert clinician brings attachment theory into the realm of parenting skills. Attachment security and affect regulation have long been buzzwords in therapy circles, but many of these ideas—so integral to successful therapeutic work with kids and adolescents— have yet to be effectively translated to parenting practice itself. Moreover, as neuroscience reveals how the human brain is designed to work in good relationships, and how such relationships are central to healthy human development, the practical implications for the parent-child attachment relationship become even more apparent. Here, a leading attachment specialist with over 30 years of clinical experience brings the rich and comprehensive field of attachment theory and research from inside the therapy room to the outside, equipping therapists and caregivers with practical parenting skills and techniques rooted in proven therapeutic principles. A guide for all parents and a resource for all mental health clinicians and parent-educators who are searching for ways to effectively love, discipline, and communicate with children, this book presents the techniques and practices that are fundamental to optimal child development and family functioning—how to set limits, provide guidance, and manage the responsibilities and difficulties of daily life, while at the same time communicating safety, fun, joy, and love. Filled with valuable clinical vignettes and sample dialogues, Hughes shows how attachment-focused research can guide all those who care for children in their efforts to better raise them.
Walking readers through the core brain systems involved in caregiving and the various types of blocked care that can occur, readers learn how to harness their brain chemistry to master emotional regulation, strengthen reflective capacities, expand attunement, and remain mindful.
Over fifty years ago, John Bowlby and Mary Ainsworth’s research on the developmental psychology of children formed the basic tenets of attachment theory. And for years, following these tenets, the theory’s focus has been on how children develop vis-a-vis the attachments—whether secure or insecure—they form with their caregivers. In the therapy room, this has meant working with individuals one-on-one, with the therapist assuming the role of the attachment figure in order to provide a secure base for treating clients’ problems that arose from troubled interpersonal relationships in childhood. Here, Daniel A. Hughes, an eminent clinician and attachment specialist, is the first to expand this traditional model, applying attachment theory to a family therapy setting. Drawing on more than 20 years of clinical experience, Hughes presents his comprehensive, effective, and accessible treatment model for working with all members of a family—not simply the individual in question—to recognize, resolve, and heal personal and family problems using principles from theories of attachment and intersubjectivity. Beginning with an overview of attachment and intersubjectivity—the twin theories from which he forms his treatment plan—Hughes carefully outlines, chapter by chapter, the core principles and strategies of his family-based approach. He elaborates on the need to develop and maintain PACE (playfulness, acceptance, curiosity, and empathy)—the central therapeutic stance of attachment-focused family therapy—and supplies tips and sample dialogues for implementing this position. The importance of fostering affective/reflective (a/r) dialogue is covered in detail, as well as helping families to manage shame, understand and embrace the break-and-repair cycle of their interactions, and explore and resolve childhood trauma. Also discussed are the more procedural issues of how to incorporate parents into therapeutic conversations, when and how to question them on their own attachment histories, and how to “be” with children. Grounded in the fundamental principle of parents facilitating the healthy emotional development of their children, Attachment-Focused Family Therapy is the first book of its kind to offer therapists a complete manual for using attachment therapy with families. Extensive case studies, vignettes, and sample dialogues throughout clearly demonstrate how Hughes’s model plays out in the therapy room. By showing therapists how to create a bond of psychological safety and intersubjective discovery with parents and caregivers, Hughes reveals how they, in turn, can bring about similar experiences of safety and discovery for their children.
Attachment research has tremendous potential for helping clinicians understand what happens when parent–child bonds are disrupted, and what can be done to help. Yet there remains a large gap between theory and practice in this area. This book reviews what is known about attachment and translates it into practical guidelines for therapeutic work. Leading scientist-practitioners present innovative strategies for assessing and intervening in parent–child relationship problems; helping young children recover from maltreatment or trauma; and promoting healthy development in adoptive and foster families. Detailed case material in every chapter illustrates the applications of research-based concepts and tools in real-world clinical practice.
