How do you know if your child has attachment problems? A primer of attachment issues for parents can be found at http://www.attach-bond.com/ The site also includes frequently asked questions about attachment and childhood symptoms of attachment problems.

When Children Don't Bond with Parents:

This article from the American Psychological Association gives an overview of attachment therapies. Some of the issues regarding DSM IV definitions of attachment disorder are discussed. http://www.apa.org/monitor/jun97/disorder.html

ATTACh

is a group of parents and professionals interested in promoting education regarding attachment and bonding issues. They are an international coalition of people committed to attachment issues. Greg Keck, attachment therapist who wrote Adopting the Hurt Child (a must-read book for potential adoptive parents of older children), is president of this organization. http://www.attach.org/

Dan Hughes, Ph.D.

of Waterville, ME is an attachment therapist extraordinaire. He does training for attachment therapy in addition to psychotherapy. Email him at: dhughes@pivot.net. To read an excerpt from his chapter, Parenting a Poorly Attached Child, in the upcoming book, International Adoption: Challenges and Opportunities, edited by Lois Hannon and Thais Tepper (available in July, 1998 via http://www.pnpic.org), Click Here.

A Brief Overview of Bowlby's Attachment Theory

Bowlby, the father of attachment theory, is discussed along with attachment from an evolutionary point of view. http://www.caen.it/psicologia/spa_emjc.htm

Theraplay

is a wonderful way to promote attachment with your newly adopted child. It is a short-term, therapist-directed, play therapy for children and their parents. Theraplay is designed to enhance attachment, raise self-esteem, improve trust in others and create joyful engagement.
Further, it is based on the natural patterns of healthy interaction between parent and child, and is personal, physical and fun. There are scientific studies to support its use. To visit the Theraplay website, go to: http://www.theraplay.org/
To participate in a study being conducted in Chicago using Theraplay to promote attachment in internationally adopted children, write to Margot Mahan at Mayhem999@aol.com.

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