Mental health articles

Application to attachment disorders Where an attachment disorder is evident, specialist intervention is required from an experienced clinician. There is relatively scant evidence on effective treatment for established attachment disorders. Issues of intervention are frequently raised in situations where children with adverse early attachment experiences are placed with alternative carers and continue to have difficulties with basic trust and intimacy. Carers often describe these children as avoidant, provocative and sometimes behaving in ways that undermine the relationship. Some children and adolescents with histories of severe abuse and attachment disruption have been seen as unable to tolerate close relationships and to be ‘unplaceable’ within alternate family settings. These children may respond well to more structured and less emotionally intensive care as in group or residential facilities. In all situations of persistent attachment disturbance the issue of parenting capacity and risk to the child must be considered

Tags: attachment, disorder