Product Description

Katie, an abused, neglected, and poorly attached child, spent the first years of her life with parents who cared little about her. As a result she is an angry, unhappy, and manipulative kid. Is there any hope for her to grow up and become a healthy and happy adult? In BUILDING THE BONDS OF ATTACHMENT Dr. Daniel Hughes follows Katie through her life with abusive birth parents and many foster homes, showing how therapeutic parenting combined with specialized therapy can heal negative effects of reactive attachment disorder and transform children like Katie into happy, content, and caring people.

BUILDING THE BONDS OF ATTACHMENT is the second edition of a bestselling book for parents of children with reactive attachment disorder as well as for social workers and therapists. Masterfully-written and engaging, BUILDING THE BONDS OF ATTACHMENT, blends attachment theory and research, and trauma theory with general principles of both parenting and child and family therapy in developing a model for intervention. This book is a must-have practical guide for the adult—whether professional or parent—who endeavors to help poorly attached children.

The second edition of this widely popular book presents the many changes in the intervention model over the past 8 years. These include many changes in both the psychotherapist's and parent's interventions. The attachment history of the adults is made more relevant. There is greater congruence between attachment theory and research and the interventions being demonstrated.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #37591 in Books
• Published on: 2006-08-28
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 272 pages

Review
...clear-headed, practical, clinically sound book. -- Michael Trout, author of The Jonathon Letters, Director of The Infant-Parent Institute, Inc

A must-read for all adoptive and foster parents and the professionals who work with them. -- Nancy Verrier, adoptive mother, psychotherapist, and the author of The Primal Wound and Coming Home To Self

This is a must-read book that will have a profound influence on the whole field of treatment of troubled children. -- Phyllis B. Booth, M.A., LCPC, LMFT, RPT/S

From the Publisher
SPEICAL FEATURES: --Comprehensive model of treatment for high-risk, traumatized, children and youth --Application of attachment theory and research for psychotherapy and parenting --Narrative format for a detailed description of the model and interventions --Applicable for both professional and lay readership

About the Author
Daniel A. Hughes, Ph.D., is a clinical psychologist who specializes in child abuse and neglect, attachment, foster care, and adoption. He resides in Maine and actively trains other therapists in the model of treatment known as Dyadic Developmental Psychotherapy, both within the United States and in other countries.

Customer Reviews

I devoured this book!
This book was so interesting and readable, I read it from cover to cover in a day. I'm not a foster parent, I'm a teacher, but I have dealt with emotionally disturbed children in my classroom (in fact, I'm dealing with one this year). This book gave me so much insight into why these children act the way they do. Now I understand why they have such a need to be in control of everything, why they will do destructive things with seemingly no motive whatsoever (breaking their favorite toys, destroying their favorite books, etc.) Now I understand why things always get worse just as they seemed to be getting better. Most importantly, now I understand why these kids can't handle praise and rewards, and why those stupid behavior modification programs the administrators and counselors always suggest always seem to make the problem worse. Thank you Daniel A. Hughes!

A Lovely Story, A Terrific Modality, How Many Have Resources
Although I was immensely moved by this book, and found the ideas presented thoughtful and compelling, there is a bit of Cinderella-esque fantasy involved. Most certainly Dr. Hughes illustrates the picture and the drama of the unattached child in a clear and concise manner, I would caution parents and would be parents, however, that within the confines of the foster care system, these therapeutic families and incredibly skilled therapists are not usually the norm.It would be my hope that one day every child be afforded the resources available to the fictional Katie Harrison. In the meantime, it does give foster and adoptive parents a roadmap to follow. And although there are cautionary statements throughout the book to indicate that these methods are not always successful, the hope is something to celebrate.Lastly, I hope people recognize that this child is not quite seven when she reaches her therapeutic foster placement and that with each passing year, the task in teaching children how to attach becomes greater. I highly recommend this book as a supplement to a more extensive library on attachment issues.

An answer to my prayers!
This is a must have book for anyone dealing with attachment disorder. I have read it over and over and learned something substantial each time. After about 6 months of failed attempts to find a therapist trained to work with my four year old daughter and I, I finally bought this book and dove in. I have been doing therapy with my daughter for about two months as described in the book and now we have a budding new relationship. A reciprocal one. She is beginning to love and trust. This is the missing peice of the puzzle. It makes sense.