Product Description

Over fifty years ago, John Bowlby and Mary Ainsworth’s research on the developmental psychology of children formed the basic tenets of attachment theory.
And for years, following these tenets, the theory’s focus has been on how children develop vis-à-vis the attachments—whether secure or insecure—they form with their caregivers.

In the therapy room, this has meant working with individuals one-on-one, with the therapist assuming the role of the attachment figure in order to provide a secure base for treating clients’ problems that arose from troubled interpersonal relationships in childhood.

Here, Daniel A. Hughes, an eminent clinician and attachment specialist, is the first to expand this traditional model, applying attachment theory to a family therapy setting. Drawing on more than 20 years of clinical experience, Hughes presents his comprehensive, effective, and accessible treatment model for working with all members of a family—not simply the individual in question—to recognize, resolve, and heal personal and family problems using principles from theories of attachment and intersubjectivity.

Beginning with an overview of attachment and intersubjectivity—the twin theories from which he forms his treatment plan—Hughes carefully outlines, chapter by chapter, the core principles and strategies of his family-based approach. He elaborates on the need to develop and maintain PACE (playfulness, acceptance, curiosity, and empathy)—the central therapeutic stance of attachment-focused family therapy—and supplies tips and sample dialogues for implementing this position. The importance of fostering affective/reflective (a/r) dialogue is covered in detail, as well as helping families to manage shame, understand and embrace the break-and-repair cycle of their interactions, and explore and resolve childhood trauma. Also discussed are the more procedural issues of how to incorporate parents into therapeutic conversations, when and how to question them on their own attachment histories, and how to “be” with children.

Grounded in the fundamental principle of parents facilitating the healthy emotional development of their children, Attachment-Focused Family Therapy is the first book of its kind to offer therapists a complete manual for using attachment therapy with families. Extensive case studies, vignettes, and sample dialogues throughout clearly demonstrate how Hughes’s model plays out in the therapy room. By showing therapists how to create a bond of psychological safety and intersubjective discovery with parents and caregivers, Hughes reveals how they, in turn, can bring about similar experiences of safety and discovery for their children. .

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #32584 in Books
• Published on: 2007-05-17
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 288 pages

Features

• ISBN13: 9780393705263
• Condition: NEW
• Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
• Click here to view our Condition Guide and Shipping Prices

Review
[A]n engrossing and helpful explication of the nuts and bolts of what goes right and wrong with relationships from the earliest days of our childhoods. (New Therapist )

About the Author
Daniel A. Hughes, PhD, is a practicing psychotherapist, consultant, and trainer specializing in attachment therapy and childhood trauma. He is also the author of Attachment-Focused Family Therapy.

Customer Reviews

Highly recommended!!
This book demonstrates how Dan Hughes has evolved his style over the years. An extremely compassionate and skilled healer, he writes with simplicity and clarity to share the theory behind his work as well as the specific skills to replicate it (Though it isn't easy!!). Dan's work can applied in therapy with all populations, and is a must read in working with parents and children.

Good Clinical Resource on Family Intervention
Increasingly, there is a trend away from individual approaches to child therapy to focus more on the family. This is especially true in the treatment of children with disrupted attachment patterns, as is common with foster and adopted kids, for example. Drawing upon theory, clinical experience, and case examples, Hughes emphasizes that intervention with families should be playful, curious, and empathic. Hughes also emphasizes the importance of the therapist 'resonating' with what is happening in the treatment.

Many of the concepts and approaches discussed in this book are familiar to those of us who work with foster and adopted children and their families. If you are new to these concepts, this book will broaden your understanding, but it requires a shift in mindset and approach from that of typical child psychology.

Well-written, and USEFUL for the therapist
I attended a training by Dan Hughes years ago and was very inspired and impressed. This book gives the therapist the real 'flavor' of Hughes' work with attachment disordered children and their families. Humor, empathy, and "finding the words" for the child are used in a way that keeps the focus on the child-mother connection. Many others talk about keeping the focus on that connection...Hughes shows you how to do it. Highly recommended!