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....

An expert clinician brings attachment theory into the realm of parenting skills. Attachment security and affect regulation have long been buzzwords in therapy circles, but many of these ideas—so integral to successful therapeutic work with kids and adolescents— have yet to be effectively translated to parenting practice itself. Moreover, as neuroscience reveals how the human brain is designed to work in good relationships, and how such relationships are central to healthy human development, the practical implications for the parent-child attachment relationship become even more apparent.

Here, a leading attachment specialist with over 30 years of clinical experience brings the rich and comprehensive field of attachment theory and research from inside the therapy room to the outside, equipping therapists and caregivers with practical parenting skills and techniques rooted in proven therapeutic principles.

A guide for all parents and a resource for all mental health clinicians and parent-educators who are searching for ways to effectively love, discipline, and communicate with children, this book presents the techniques and practices that are fundamental to optimal child development and family functioning—how to set limits, provide guidance, and manage the responsibilities and difficulties of daily life, while at the same time communicating safety, fun, joy, and love. Filled with valuable clinical vignettes and sample dialogues, Hughes shows how attachment-focused research can guide all those who care for children in their efforts to better raise them. ....

"This book shows how to work successfully with emotional and behavioral problems rooted in deficient early attachments. In particular, it addresses the emotional difficulties of many of the foster and adopted children living in our country who are unable t"...