Understanding Disorganized Attachment

Disorganized attachment, the most extreme form of insecure attachment, can develop in a child when the person who is meant to protect them becomes a source of danger. This book provides a comprehensive text on disorganized attachment.

Disorganized attachment, the most extreme form of insecure attachment, can develop in a child when the person who is normally meant to protect them is a source of danger. This usually leads to 'fear without solution' and the effects can be lasting and damaging. This book is a comprehensive and accessible text on disorganized attachment. It outlines what it is, how it can be identified and the key causes, including neurological, biochemical and genetic explanations. Factors that contribute to disorganized attachment are covered including unresolved loss and trauma, and the behaviour of caregivers. The authors also discuss evidence-based interventions to help families and carers as well as how to work with adults to prevent or minimize its occurrence. To root the theory in practice and to illustrate real-life examples of disorganized attachment case vignettes are included. With an authoritative research base, this accessible text will be invaluable to practitioners and academics in the fields of social care, psychology, counselling and allied health professions as well as undergraduate and postgraduate students.

The concluding chapter reflects on the key issues addressed, considers the deeper philosophical implications of current work in the field, and identifies pivotal directions for future investigation."--BOOK JACKET.

“Over a decade after its publication, one book on dating has people firmly in its grip.” —The New York Times We already rely on science to tell us what to eat, when to exercise, and how long to sleep. Why not use science to help us improve our relationships? In this revolutionary book, psychiatrist and neuroscientist Dr. Amir Levine and Rachel Heller scientifically explain why some people seem to navigate relationships effortlessly, while others struggle. Discover how an understanding of adult attachment—the most advanced relationship science in existence today—can help us find and sustain love. Pioneered by psychologist John Bowlby in the 1950s, the field of attachment posits that each of us behaves in relationships in one of three distinct ways: • Anxious people are often preoccupied with their relationships and tend to worry about their partner's ability to love them back. • Avoidant people equate intimacy with a loss of independence and constantly try to minimize closeness. • Secure people feel comfortable with intimacy and are usually warm and loving. Attached guides readers in determining what attachment style they and their mate (or potential mate) follow, offering a road map for building stronger, more fulfilling connections with the people they love.

In this volume, leading authorities provide a state-of-the-art examination of disorganized attachment: what it is, how it can be identified, and its links to behavioral problems and psychological difficulties in childhood and beyond. The editors offer a fresh perspective on disorganized attachment, not as a characteristic of the infant or child but as the product of a dysregulated and disorganized parent–child relationship. They present cutting-edge research and exemplary treatment approaches. With attention to the subjective experiences of both mothers and children, the book shows how focusing on the caregiving system can advance research and clinical practice.

Assessing Disorganized Attachment Behaviour in Children lays out an evidence-based model for working with and assessing children with disorganized attachment and their adult carers: families whose extreme, erratic and disturbing behaviour can make them perplexing and frustrating to work with. The model is designed to identify key indicators and explanatory mechanisms of child maltreatment: disorganized attachment in the child, a parent's unresolved loss or trauma, disconnected and extremely insensitive parenting, and low parental mentalisation. The book also outlines ways of assessing children for disorganized attachment and carer capacity, and proposes interventions. Accessible and practical, this book is essential reading for child protection professionals.

"Permanently stop fear and anxiety from smothering the way you live your life, and stop settling for relationships that aren't right for you. Written by a behavioral relationship expert, Overcoming Insecure Attachment provides actionable steps on how to overcome insecure attachment styles and the problems they spawn with self-value, self-awareness and self-responsibility. Going beyond what traditional attachment theory books focus on, readers will follow eight proven steps that they can customize and organize in the way that best suits their unique needs, all the while being bolstered and championed by Tracy Crossley's friendly, bold tone"--Publisher's website.

Do you find it difficult to maintain a successful romantic relationship? Does your partner exhibit contradictory behaviours in intimate relationships, stating such things as: "I hate you, don't leave me"? Statements that alternate between stickiness and detachment? Do you nobly strive to grow the relationship, but have been stuck in the same spot for months or years? Attachment styles are the way we connect with other people. They are generally developed by infants and further refined by children, adolescents, and adults. Later, particularly in romantic relationships, people with disorganised attachment styles often experience fear and anxiety when forming intimate relationships and suffer from a negative self-image and extremely harmful internal dialogue. They often feel intense loneliness due to a sincere desire for a genuine connection, but the stress and fear response connected to that desire causes them to act erratically, pushing away the potential connection. People who exhibit attachment disorganisation swing from two biological drives whenever the opportunity to attack in life presents itself: the need to belong (to love and connect with others) and the need to survive (to protect themselves). You may already have started a family with someone with this kind of attachment and undertaken enormous efforts to try to make it all work, out of love for your partner, for the family and for the children. (as well as for your own happiness!). I recommend that you read this book if your partner appears to: · Be unable to regulate emotions. · Exhibits a strong fear of being hurt/rejected/abandoned by loved ones. · Be a chronic and anxious watcher. · Appears to have low self-determination: a sense of not having an impact on the world. · Feel ineffective and helpless in life. · Feel unlovable, inadequate, or unworthy. · Have difficulty bonding, opening up and trusting others. · Show contradictory behaviour in intimate relationships, making statements such as: "I hate you, don't leave me!". · Alternate between stickiness and detachment. Not everyone wants or has time to physically sit down with a couple counsellor. They are often not prepared for this specific type of attachment, so I can quickly advise you to throw the relationship away and enter into another, simply saying that they don't love you. (Although sometimes it's not quite like that!). Instead, you might feel: · Empty and confused when you are close to him/her. · You feel like an invader in her life and constantly side-lined. · bewildered by the compulsive requests for closeness. · Like you know that there is something wrong and you feel that somehow it is your fault. · As if you are playing a constant game of "hide and seek" in this relationship. · Insecure and unworthy of love. In fact, research suggests that people with borderline personality disorder [also] exhibit a disorganised attachment style. They badly need closeness but fear rejection, and exhibit contradictory mental states and behaviours. If you do not intervene soon, couples in which there is a person with disorganised attachment will end up having to settle for a relationship made up of distances, approaches and misunderstandings, all the way up to the complete destruction of the relationship. Everything that has been built together will have been in vain. Fortunately, with the right information, it is possible to unlearn bad attachment habits and over time, acquire the skills and reassurance, support and continued safe, positive and trusting relationships that truly help to heal the trauma. Understanding the wounds of attachment is the best gift you can give to your relationship to finally make your intimacy grow.