Understanding attachment and trauma

What do we mean by 'attachment'?

Attachment is an emotional bond with another person. British psychologist John Bowlby believed that the earliest bond formed with a primary caregiver, usually the mother, has a tremendous impact that continues throughout life. Bowlby and later Attachment theorists proposed that infants are born with an innate drive to form attachments.

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Why does attachment matter?

There's an undeniable link between the quality of care an infant receives and their ongoing emotional, social and even physical development. Researchers have found that attachment patterns established early in life can lead to a number of outcomes. 

Infants, for example, who have received loving and consistent care and are more securely attached tend to develop stronger self esteem and better self-reliance as they grow older. As developing children they tend to be more independent, perform better in school, have successful social relationships, and experience less depression and anxiety.  

By contrast, infants who have experienced their caregiver as inconsistent, abusive or neglectful can develop insecure attachment patterns, which can have a negative impact on the child’s emotional and social wellbeing. Troubled children may have had many changes in the people who look after them and find it hard to trust adults. They may believe that parents aren’t safe and can’t always be turned to for comfort and help. They may develop insecure attachments and try to stop their new parents from becoming emotionally close to them.

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What do we know about childhood trauma?

Childhood trauma generally refers to the traumatic experiences that occur to children aged 0-6. Because infants' and young children's reactions may be different from older children's, and because they may not be able to verbalize their reactions to threatening or dangerous events, many people assume that young age protects children from the impact of traumatic experiences. A growing body of research has established that young children may be affected by events that threaten their safety or the safety of their parents/caregivers. These traumas can be the result of intentional violence – such as child physical or sexual abuse, neglect, domestic violence or the sudden loss of a parent/caregiver.
 
When a child experiences a trauma that teaches them that they cannot trust or rely on that caregiver, they are likely to believe that the world around them is a scary place and all adults are dangerous. This makes it incredibly difficult to form relationships throughout their childhood, including with peers their own age, and into the adult years. Because the trauma occured when the children were so young they had not developed the language or emotional regulation to express their overwhelming feelings of fear and anxiety and their inner emotional life is expressed through a range of often coercive and manipulative behaviours designed to keep their parents and caregivers either involved or at arms length. 

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What is the theory behind attachment-based therapy?

Attachment-based therapy (ABT) is a type of family therapy which aims to help a parent and a child repair ruptures in their relationship and work to develop or rebuild an emotionally secure relationship.

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In our sessions, the therapist becomes a temporary attachment figure, assuming the functions of a nurturing parent. This may be for the child or for the parents. When parents are feeling overwhelmed by their children’s expressed behaviour they too need to be nurtured and understood. The therapeutic relationship is central to the work we do at Families Empowered. The model of ABT that we use is Dyadic Developmental Psychotherapy (DDP).

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What is Dyadic Developmental Psychotherapy (DDP)?

DDP has been developed by Dan Hughes over the past twenty years. It is based on a theoretical understanding of attachment and intersubjective relationships and the impact of developmental trauma. 

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This form of psychotherapy was originally developed as an intervention for children who have experienced emotional trauma, abuse or neglect, as a result of chronic early maltreatment within the caregiving relationship. When these children are then placed in homes later in life with loving and devoted caregivers, they are sometimes unsure about what to make of this kind of nurturing. Conflict and maladaptive patterns of behavior tend to play out and prevent healing from taking place in their new environments. The primary goal of DDP is to support these children in developing the ability to maintain attachment-based relationships with parents and caregivers. 

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DDP therapists work to rebuild and repair the relationship by teaching the parents a trauma-informed parenting approach that responds to the unique circumstances of their children. Children are also taught emotion regulation, how to trust their parents, and new ways of understanding of their life experiences. DDP addresses both of these processes simultaneously in order to facilitate a trusting and secure relationship between parent and child.
 
The conversations and interactions (verbal and non-verbal) within the therapy room are all based upon PACE. This means that the therapist will be Playful, Accepting, Curious and Empathic throughout. 

Learn more about DDP and the DDP therapeutic process.