Attachment Therapy

Attachment counseling is designed to treat children and to educate parents of children who exhibit signs of an attachment disorder.  Attachment counseling offers help to parents of children who have serious issues that seem unsolvable.

Two trained therapists’ team together to provide attachment therapy.   Attachment therapy is an integrated approach that uses elements of cognitive behavioral, object relation, family and psychodynamic therapy to facilitate child parent-bonding.  In conjunction with these therapies, holding therapy is used to establish a safe place with safe people with whom the child can safely talk about and experience the painful issues of the past.

The program seeks to “jump start” the attachment cycle aborted as the result of the child’s earlier trauma.   The program believes it is essential to break through barriers of trauma before a child can develop healthy interpersonal relationships built on trust.  In the treatment setting, the therapist and parents are clearly in control and it is common for them to hold the child in their laps to facilitate eye contact, focus and attachment.  Holding the child provides opportunity for corrective emotional experience with regard to nurturing.  Attachment counseling aims to begin the attachment and healing process for the child and the adoptive or current family

Signs of Reactive Attachment Disorder

  • Failure to thrive syndrome
  • Excessively clingy and whiny
  • Persistent, frequent tantrums sometimes  escalating beyond the child’s control
  • Unable to occupy self in  a positive way without  involving others
  • Intolerant of separation from primary  caretaker’s exception child’s terms.
  • Indiscriminate display of affection, sometimes  to strangers
  • Problems of speech development or motor  coordination could be considered accident  prone
  • Hyperactivity evident
  • Feeding problems
  • Lack of eye contact
  • Refuses affection pushes parent away unless the  child is in control of how and when affection is received
  • Destructive to self, others and material things,  seems to enjoy hurting others
  • Cruelty to animals
  • Stealing
  • Lying about the obvious
  • No impulse control
  • Learning lags, underachieves at  school
  • Lack of cause and effect thinking.  Surprised when others are upset by his  or her actions
  • Poor peer relationship
  • Preoccupation with fire or gore
  • Sexual acting out, may act sexually provocative  with peers or adults