Attachment Intro 2

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Attachment Therapy Theory and Practice

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Transcript of Attachment Intro 2

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Attachment Therapy

Theory and Practice

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Attachment Theory• John Bowlby Introduced the “Attachment Behavior System”This system has the primary and immediate responsibility for

regulating infant safety in the environments of evolutionary adaptedness….it leads the infant to continually monitor the physical and psychological accessibility of attachment figures.

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Attachment Theory

• Mary Ainsworth- “The Strange Situation”

• “The Strange Situation”- Widely replicated experiment that studied infants’ interactions with their primary caregivers.

Identified infant attachment behaviors1. Seeking proximity2. Secure base3. Flight to attachment figure

The most important factor in the child’s developing psychological is not whether he/she has become attached, but how the attachment to the primary figure has become organized.

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Two Broad Categories of Attachment

• SecureInfant feels confident about the predictable response of the caregiver.

• InsecureInfant feels anxious about the unpredictable responses of the caregiver.

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Types of Insecure Attachment

• Insecure-Preoccupied “Sometimes my caregiver meets

my needs, but sometimes not, so I am anxious and will cling to her/him for reassurance.”

Insecure-Avoidant“My security needs won’t be met, so I won’t look to my caregiver for reassurance. This would mean risking rejection.”

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Insecure-Disorganized“I have so much anxiety over my caregiver’s inconsistent (and sometimes threatening) responses, that I will seek out safety from anyone who looks like they might meet my needs.”

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What Causes Insecure Attachment?• Unpredictable Caregiving• Frightening or Dangerous Caregiving• Unresolved States Within the Caregiver

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Attachment is BIOLOGICAL!Attachment actually shapes many biological systems within the body.

• Brain mass, volume, and functioning• Autonomic Nervous System• Heart• Respiration• Endocrine System• Immune System

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How are Brains Made?

•Internal Working Models•Experience•Attention• Use of Body

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THE GROWTH OF AN ATTACHMENT SYSTEM

The explosion of right brain growth during the first two years of life is the basis of the attachment system. Right brain functions include:• Imagery• Sound• Smells• Movement• Affect• Sensation• Sense of Self in Space• Metaphor

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Attachment theorists maintain that models

of attachment develop initially in

childhood relationships with

parents and serve as prototypes for later

relationships.

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Adult Attachment

• Mary Ainsworth (1991)– “There is a seeking to obtain an

experience of security and comfort in the relationship with the partner.”

– Romantic Partners can help each other develop secure attachment.

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Attachment-Focused Family Therapy

Safety Attunement Magnification Co-regulation Reflection

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• PACE Model of Parenting – Playfulness– Acceptance – Curiosity– Empathy

The PACE parenting model rests on the principle that home should be a sanctuary…a safe haven for all. The rights of all members of the home, children and adults, deserve respect. The development of each person is encouraged without hurting the development of another.

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Allan Schore…

“The essential biological purpose of intersubjective communications in all human interactions, including those imbedded in the psychobiological core of the therapeutic alliance, is the regulation of right-brain/mind/body states.” (2005)

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OnTrack’s Attachment ProgramRationale: Research overwhelmingly show that children removed from their parents and placed in “better” environments fare worse than those who remain with their families of origin, however flawed they may be.

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OnTrack’s Attachment Program

Goals: Build parenting capacities Reduce attachment trauma Reduce intergenerational transmission of attachment-related disorders Reduce out-of-home placement of at-risk children

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OnTrack’s Attachment Program

Interventions: Individual and Parent/Child assessment. Attachment-focused family therapy. Individual Therapy Parent/child attachment coaching. Psychoeducation in attachment for parents in treatment.

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Tools

• AAI –Adult Attachment Inventory

• BAA-Brief Attachment Assessment

• Piccolo Assessment• CRI-Crittendon Relationships

Inventory

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Opportunities for Change

Interagency Collaboration• Community partners working together towards the goal of reunification• Recognition of common goals

Systemic Change

Recognition of Common Goal• Community partners recognize that we are all here to help children and families succees• Foster parents mentoring bio parents• Honoring bio parents’ cultural, social, and religious traditions when the plan is to return to parent

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End

Program Contact information :Elizabeth Fisher, OnTrack, Inc. (541)772-1777 ext. 53