Building the Bonds of Attachment: Awakening Love in Deeply Traumatized Children

by Daniel A. Hughes

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Author: Daniel A. Hughes

Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers

Paperback:
ISBN 10: 1442274131
ISBN 13: 978-1442274136

A highly accessible resource for students and professionals as well as parents, Building the Bonds of Attachment presents a composite case study of one child’s developmental course following years of abuse and neglect. Weaving theory and research into a powerful narrative, Hughes offers effective methods for facilitating attachment in children who have experienced serious trauma. The text emphasizes both the specialized psychotherapy and parenting strategies often necessary in facilitating a child's psychological development and attachment security. Hughes steps through an integrated intervention model that blends attachment and trauma theories with the most current research as well as general principles of both parenting and child and family therapy. Thoughtful and practical, the third edition provides an invaluable guide for therapists and social workers, students in training, and parents.

Updates to the Third Edition include:

Coverage of the greater preparation given to both the therapist and parent before the onset of the treatment and placement based on our understanding of how the attachment histories of both the parents and therapists impact their engagement with the child
Introduction of the concept of blocked care to better understand the challenges of raising a traumatized child with attachment difficulties
Introduction of the classification of developmental trauma that is now commonly used to describe the challenges faced by children such as Katie
Expanded coverage of intersubjectivity with demonstrations throughout the book as to its impact on the development of the child
Stronger development of the therapeutic and parenting stance of PACE (playful, accepting, curious, empathic) since this has become a strong organizing principle for training both therapists and parents using the dyadic developmental psychotherapy (DDP) model
Updated examples of the components of DDP (affective-reflective dialogue, follow-lead-follow, interactive repair, deepening the narrative) and a discussion of the ties between DDP and new research in interpersonal neurobiology

Review

The third edition of Building the Bonds of Attachment should be vital reading for as many parents and parents-to-be as possible, not only for foster and adoptive parents. If far more parents read this book and put its teachings to practice, we would start to have a warmer, kinder world. With often breath-taking beauty, Dan Hughes conveys how connection with reflective, warm, playful, emotionally regulated attachment figures can heal children who’ve been so badly psychologically scarred. It’s a story about a little girl who trusts no one, who only knows relationships as being about power and control. She has developmental trauma disorder and presents with very extreme and challenging behavior. The new edition offers a wealth of the richest PACE examples, from one moving interaction to another until we see this little girl melt, and learn to trust and love for the very first time. Professionals and parents alike cannot fail to learn so much through the book’s powerful narrative about the crucial relational experiences that all children need in order to thrive. (Dr. Margot Sunderland, Director of Education and Training at the Centre for Child Mental Health London)

I use this book for a course I teach on Child Treatment in our MSW program. I also recommend the book to all of my master students in their advanced practice course with individuals and groups. One of the tremendous strengths of the book is its underlying ability to help guide the reader through the critical thinking process. What constitutes abuse and neglect? What are the far-reaching consequences of profound emotional and physical neglect? How does one evaluate attachment therapy? Is this working? The use of the storytelling places the critical thinking within a unique context and helps guide developing practitioners to a better understanding of very difficult principles. No matter the expertise of the reader, there is something to learn in this text, which makes the book highly valuable over time. I encourage my students to read the book at different stages of their career to maximize their understanding of attachment and the dyadic developmental psychotherapy. (Victoria A. Fitton, Michigan State University)

Katie’s story triggers strong emotions from graduate students. My students cannot wait for the next chapter and often read ahead. (Mark Beischel, Peru State College)

The ‘Katie book’, as it is fondly called by those who have read it over the years, has captured the hearts of many people. Dan masterfully uses the story of Katie to explain and illustrate the DDP model and how it is applied both in parenting and therapy. Now, in this 3^rd edition, Dan has brought the story up-to-date with new thinking and discoveries he has made in the intervening time. The ideas of blocked trust and blocked care are here illustrated in a way which conveys understanding and compassion for the children and parents affected by these difficulties. Many of us, who have known our own ‘Katie’s’ and struggled with the challenges that they present, will draw hope and inspiration from this updated edition of Building the Bonds of Attachment.’ (Kim Golding)

Building the Bonds of Attachment is a must-read for foster carers, adopters, social workers, and therapists who seek to understand how early trauma impacts the minds and hearts of children, and how they as care providers can help. Through the story of Katie, Dan Hughes shows us how dyadic developmental psychotherapy (DDP), his deeply compassionate approach to therapy and therapeutic parenting, can help children learn to trust and to discover connections that heal. This third edition brings the latest learning in neurobiology and integrates this research with DDP and PACE, illustrating how to facilitate safety in relationships and create an environment in which children and young people can begin to feel safe to trust and make use of the help that is on offer to them. (Deborah Page, Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services)

About the Author

Daniel A. Hughes, PhD, is a clinical psychologist who specializes in child abuse and neglect, attachment, foster care, and adoption. He actively trains other therapists in the model of treatment known as Dyadic Developmental Psychotherapy, both within the United States and in other countries.

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Building the Bonds of Attachment: Awakening Love in Deeply Traumatized Children