Well attached children make us feel comfortable around them, expresssing emotions authentically and interacting in a reciprocal manner. Not so with children with attachment difficulties. Parents of kids with attachment disorders are traumatized, fragile and working very hard to stay afloat; they are scared, weary, worried, and may feel desperate. Does this sound like you? Does your child:
• Have a history of abandonment, neglect, abuse, and/or multiple placements?
• Indiscriminately seek affection from strangers (i.e., pseudo-attachments)?
• Have anti-social behaviors (eg. lies, steals, manipulates, destructive, cruel, aggression)?
• Show a lack of authenticity and empathy?
• Show a lack of physical affection and closeness?
• Have poor eye contact?
• Have problems with learning, attention, and self-regulating?
• Have abnormal eating and elimination patterns (e.g., wetting, soiling, hoarding food)?
At the Attachment Institute of New England we help traumatized kids with attachment issues:
• Treatment typically requires 10 to 14 two-hour sessions with two therapists
• Primary caretakers attend each session, frequently holding their child on their lap to promote physical intimacy.
• Therapists already involved with the family are encouraged to participate.
• Multiple therapies are used including cognitive-behavioral, psychodynamic, family therapies, biofeedback, and EMDR.
• Primary caretakers are offered specialized educational and support groups.
