The Attachment Center at Evergreen, Inc. began more than twenty three years ago for the purpose of treating children with Attachment Disorder.

Attachment Disorder results when there is a serious interruption of the bonding cycle during the early critical stages of life, conception through the first 26 months. This may be due to difficult pregnancy or birth, substance abuse during pregnancy, maternal stress or trauma, separations from primary caretakers, abuse, neglect, maternal depression or other mental illness, frequent change of caretakers, foster care, adoption, parents with inadequate parenting skills or unrelieved pain of child due to chronic illness.

Children with Attachment Disorder do no learn to trust, they become oppositional, angry and often dangerous to themselves and others. They are unable to give and receive affection in a healthy way. They lack cause and effect thinking and frequently do not develop a conscience. Being in control of everyone and everything has become a survival technique. As a result, they will not allow themselves to be parented. They suffer from one of the most difficult emotional and behavioral conditions. Society is seeing an increase in the number of children with Attachment Disorder. If left untreated, these children have the potential for tremendous damage -- for themselves, for others, and for society -- we are all affected by this in some way.

Symptoms

Inability to give and receive affection in a real way

Lack of eye contact on parental terms, indiscriminate affection with strangers

Marked control problems; extreme defiance and anger

Destructive to self, others, animals, material things, accident prone

Manipulative, superficially "charming"

Stealing

Hoarding or gorging food

Preoccupation with fire or gore

Lack of impulse control and cause and effect thinking

Learning and speech disorders

Lack of conscience

Lying about the obvious

Poor peer relationships

Persistent nonsense questions and incessant chatter

Inappropriately demanding and clingy

Parents appear hostile and angry

Most of these children have been through many different types of therapy which have proved to be ineffective for them. Most traditional therapy is based upon mutual trust and respect and the ability to form a therapeutic relationship. It also depends upon emotional honesty. These are not qualities of the Attachment Disordered child. In fact, these children have been described by others as "extremely poor candidates for therapy."

At the Attachment Center at Evergreen, Inc., we would define the terms Attachment Therapy and Holding Therapy in the following manner:

The term Attachment Therapy describes a wide range of therapeutic processes, which may include inner child work, reparenting, cognitive restructuring, holding, psychodrama (role playing), among others. The goal is to help a child develop the capacity to trust and love, and by doing so to live a happy and productive life. The term Holding Therapy describes a process of physical containment by utilizing nurturing holds to facilitate connection between therapist and child, and to provide a safe environment for exploration of feelings and confrontation of behavior.

At The Attachment Center at Evergreen, we use a cradling, across-the-lap hold, much the same way you would hold an infant in your arms. This helps to facilitate many of the key components of bonding: eye contact, touch, movement, and smiles.

The therapy provided at The Attachment Center has evolved over the years, as new therapeutic methods have proven successful. All therapy occurs within a safe and nurturing environment by skilled and competent therapists, and at no time is the child put in any position for possible physical jeopardy.

Professional, highly trained therapeutic parents help the child learn to live and love in a healthy family environment. The goals of treatment are to help children with Attachment Disorder, and their families, find more effective ways to meet their needs. Therapy occurs on multiple levels -- cognitive, affective, behavioral, interpersonal and spiritual. Each child is unique. A thorough assessment of the child within her/her family forms the basis for an individual treatment plan. This assessment includes social history, psychological testing, medical assessment, family assessment, review of previous treatment, psychiatric evaluation, etc.

Treatment involves:

Validation of child's feelings

Identification of feelings, encouragement of appropriate and safe expression of those feelings

Education as to origin of feelings

Resolution of early trauma through revisiting the circumstances, reframing the trauma, healing the trauma, empowering the child to grow beyond the trauma

Working through grief and loss issues

Cognitive restructuring of faulty thinking pat- terns, attitudes, and perceptions.

Increasing child's self control abilities

Reshaping behavior to more appropriate and socially acceptable levels

Enhancing child's self esteem

Helping child to develop positive sense of identity

Improving social interaction patterns by focusing on respect for others and reciprocity in relationships

Helping child to develop thoughtful decision making skills

Helping child to accept responsibility for his/her own behavior

Helping child to develop the capacity for joyful play

Helping child to experience and accept loving, nurturing care

Helping parents learn effective parenting techniques that shape behavior while nurturing the child

Helping parents identify and alter negative parents-child interaction patterns

Helping parents resolve their own issues of grief and loss

Although this therapy is sometimes intense, it is sensitive to the child and to the family. Both the child and the family are respected and care for. Self-defeating behaviors are confronted. Individuals are asked to work very hard to face the difficult issues which perpetuate these self-defeating behaviors. Confrontation and intensity are important parts of the therapeutic process, but the process includes so much more. The therapeutic process experienced through The Attachment Center at Evergreen, is loving, nurturing, respectful, empowering and effective. No harmful or potentially harmful techniques are utilized.

We find this treatment to be highly effective when used by trained professionals in a clinical setting, with specific children.

© The Attachment Center at Evergreen