Attachment Theory in Clinical Work with Children Bridging the Gap between Research and Practice

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 state-of-the-art knowledge on attachment and translates it into practical guidelines for therapeutic work. Leading scientist-practitioners present innovative strategies for assessing and intervening in parent#xE2;#xAC;#x1C;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.

David Oppenheim, PhD, is Associate Professor of Psychology at the University of Haifa, Israel, and Associate Editor of Infant Mental Health Journal. He has been involved in attachment research for more than 20 years, focusing on the importance of secure, emotionally open parent-child relations for children's development and mental health. Dr. Oppenheim has also studied how secure attachments are fostered by parental insightfulness into the child's inner world, and has applied attachment concepts and methods in research on clinical populations. He is actively involved in lecturing and writing on the clinical applications of attachment. Douglas F. Goldsmith, PhD, is a practicing psychologist and Executive Director of The Children\u2019s Center, in Salt Lake City, Utah, which specializes in the treatment of families with infants, toddlers, and preschoolers. His work focuses on the assessment and treatment of attachment problems, and he has published several articles regarding the application of attachment theory to clinical practice. Dr. Goldsmith holds adjunct faculty appointments in the Departments of Educational Psychology, Psychology, and Psychiatry at the University of Utah.

I. Clinical Use of Attachment Research Assessments 1. Constructing a Relationship Formulation for Mother and Child: Clinical Application of the Working Model of the Child Interview, Charles H. Zeanah 2. Keeping the Inner World of the Child in Mind: Using the Insightfulness Assessment with Mothers in a Therapeutic Preschool, Nina Koren-Karie, David Oppenheim, and Douglas F. Goldsmith 3. Intervening with Maltreated Children and Their Adoptive Families: Identifying Attachment-Facilitative Behavior, Miriam Steele, Jill Hodges, Jeanne Kaniuk, Howard Steele, Debra D'Agostino, Inga Blom, Saul Hillman, and Kay Henderson 4. The Role of Caregiver Commitment in Foster Care: Insights from the This Is My Baby Interview, Mary Dozier, Damion Grasso, Oliver Lindhiem, and Erin Lewis 5. Parental Resolution of the Child's Diagnosis and the Parent–Child Relationship: Insights from the Reaction to Diagnosis Interview, David Oppenheim, Smadar Dolev, Nina Koren-Karie, Efrat Sher-Censor, Nurit Yirmiya, and Shahaf Salomon II. Attachment Theory and Psychotherapy 6. Attachment and Trauma: An Integrated Approach to Treating Young Children Exposed to Family Violence, Amy L. Busch and Alicia F. Lieberman 7. The Circle of Security Project: A Case Study—\u0022It Hurts to Give That Which You Did Not Receive,\u0022 Bert Powell, Glen Cooper, Kent Hoffman, and Robert Marvin 8. Challenging Children's Negative Internal Working Models: Utilizing Attachment-Based Treatment Strategies in a Therapeutic Preschool, Douglas F. Goldsmith 9. Disorganized Mother, Disorganized Child: The Mentalization of Affective Dysregulation and Therapeutic Change, Arietta Slade