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

by Daniel A. Hughes

$37.20

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Author: Daniel A. Hughes

Publisher: Jason Aronson, Inc.

Paperback:
ISBN 10: 0765702371
ISBN 13: 978-0765702371

With the unmistakable authority of a clinician, Dan Hughes builds a stirring story around the composite figure of Katie—a fragmented, tormented, isolated little girl in foster care whose terror, shame, rage and despair drive her to deeds like lacing the family hamburger with her own feces—in order to expose the tragedy of the attachment-impaired child.

The author also affirms and demonstrates the possibility of transformative intervention. Allison is the confident, compassionate, and controversial therapist who diagnoses and treats Katie's profound attachment disorder. Jackie is the therapeutic foster mother who fights to create a lasting bond with Katie by applying Allison's blend of affective attunement and effective discipline.

Dr. Hughes speaks in both popular and clinical voices as he animates Katie's demoralizing but eventually reparative odyssey through more homes than any child should have to live in, drawing on his decades of experience with foster and adopted youngsters, their families, and the professionals who support them. Building the Bonds of Attachment: Awakening Love in Deeply Troubled Children is richly webbed with commentary on the dynamics of that odyssey, and also on the separate and tandem roles of case manager, therapist, and parent-surrogate.

Review

A courageous, innovative, and clinically sensitive work, Building the Bonds of Attachment illustrates the process of repairing children who have been severely damaged by abuse and neglect. In quasi-novel format, Daniel Hughes focuses on one girl's struggles within the foster care system; by portraying her inner world, he enables us to understand and empathize with the dynamics of reactive attachment disorder. Hughes's approach to treatment comes alive, thanks to the interweaving of narrative with a wealth of clinical information. (Karen B. Walant)

Dr. Hughes intersperses insightful commentary with the story of one child's difficult journey through foster care and therapy following early neglect and abuse. Readable and compelling, this book will be a valuable resource for foster and adoptive parents and for therapists dedicated to helping unattached children recover. (Laurie C. Miller)

Though recognition of attachment disorder and its tragic consequences has increased, treatment continues to be arduous and profoundly discouraging. Building the Bonds of Attachment offers clinicians a sturdy framework and practical strategy for facing these overwhelming cases. Perhaps even more importantly, it will enlighten, affirm, and buoy the adoptive parents, foster families, caseworkers, and teachers who accompany the children on their courageous and daunting journey toward attachment. (Richard Bromfield)

Daniel Hughes conveys the inner life of poorly attached children and offers a sound and comprehensive clinical approach to the difficult task of bringing out the child's full humanity. This important contribution to the clinical literature has the added bonus of being as riveting a page-turner as any novel. (Ellen F. Wachtel)

About the Author

Daniel A. Hughes, Ph.D., is a clinical psychologist in Waterville, Maine, where he specializes in child abuse and neglect, attachment, foster care, and adoption. He provides consultation to family services programs and also to therapists, case managers, and parents struggling with the treatment of attachment deficits in children. Dr. Hughes is the author of Facilitating Developmental Attachment: The Road to Emotional Recovery and Behavioral Change in Foster and Adopted Children.