Childhood attachment refers to the bond that develops between a young child and their primary caregiver. The attachment between a parent or primary caregiver and a child serves as a model for how a child will approach relationships throughout their lives. 

When a caregiver or parent consistently doesn’t meet their child’s basic emotional needs, the child may develop an attachment disorder. Signs of an attachment disorder are often noticed when a child struggles to emotionally connect with parents and other caregivers in their life. 

Child attachment disorders can significantly impair a child’s social and cognitive development, making it difficult to form healthy relationships throughout their lives. Children with attachment disorders may also struggle to develop a positive sense of self, and may have a difficult time regulating their emotions. 

The good news is that appropriate therapy can effectively treat attachment disorders, helping children form secure and healthy relationships throughout their lives. 

Our team of trained therapists at Handel Behavioral Health offer comprehensive and individualized treatment for attachment disorders in Massachusetts. With a combination of therapy, parenting skills, and medication when necessary, individuals with attachment issues can learn to develop secure attachments, improve their emotional regulation, form a stronger sense of self, and enhance their relationship skills. 

To start working with one of our trained therapists for attachment disorders online in Massachusetts or in-person from our offices in Amherst, Franklin, West Springfield, Wilbraham, or Natick, contact us today at (413) 343-4357 or request an appointment online.

We will delve deeper into attachment disorders, including signs of attachment disorders, types of attachment disorders, and treatment for attachment disorders in the sections that follow.

What are Attachment Disorders?

Attachment disorders are conditions that disrupt the formation of secure emotional bonds, making it difficult for a person to form and maintain relationships.

Healthy attachments are rooted in secure emotional bonds that foster a sense of trust, safety, and emotional security. 

When a child doesn’t receive a continuous, secure, and intimate bond with their primary caregiver, attachment issues may develop. 

Childhood abuse or neglect, inconsistent caregiving, and institutional settings or foster care can disrupt the development or secure attachment bonds between caregivers and their children, resulting in significant challenges in forming and maintaining healthy relationships.

Types of Attachment Disorders:

The DSM-5 specifically identifies two types of attachment disorders in children: Reactive Attachment Disorder (RAD) and Disinhibited Social Engagement Disorder (DSED). 

Reactive Attachment Disorder (RAD): Children with RAD typically attempt to remove themselves from social interactions as they see relationships as unsafe. Children with RAD often become withdrawn, unresponsive, and excessively independent.

The DSM-5 Criteria for RAD:

1. Repetitive pattern of emotionally withdrawn behavior toward caregivers. For instance, the child may not seek comfort when in distress or not respond to their caregiver’s attempts to comfort them.
2. Consistent social and emotional issues, such as: a lack of responsiveness to others, an absence of positive reactions during social interactions, or frequent episodes of irritability, sadness, or fearfulness, even in safe environments.
3. The caregiver consistently doesn’t meet their child’s emotional needs for comfort, affection, and stimulation. There also may be repeated changes in primary caregivers, impacting the child’s ability to form secure attachments.
4. No clinical diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder.
5. The child must be over nine months of age.

Disinhibited Social Engagement Disorder (DSED): Children with DSED may be highly sociable and overly friendly, beyond the boundaries of typical social interactions. Children with DSED may also be extremely friendly to strangers, potentially putting them at risk for dangerous interactions and situations. 

The DSM-5 Criteria for DSED:

1. Consistent pattern of the child actively approaching and engaging with unfamiliar adults with little or no hesitation. The child may use overly familiar verbal or physical behavior, display a low tendency to check back with their primary caregiver, and demonstrate a willingness to go with an unfamiliar adult without hesitation.
2. The child has experienced a consistent pattern of inadequate care such as persistent social neglect or deprivation, repeated changes in primary caregivers, or atypical settings that make forming secure attachments challenging.
3. Symptoms include not only impulsivity (characteristic of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder) but also disinhibited social behavior. 
4. The child must be over nine months of age.

What Does Treatment for Attachment Disorders Involve?

Our team of therapists offer individualized and evidence-based treatment for attachment disorders for children and their primary caregivers. We offer several types of therapy for attachment disorders, including: 

1. Play Therapy: An important part of a child’s positive development. Play therapy allows the therapist or a caregiver to operate on the child’s level and understand the child’s behaviors and interactions in relationships through play.
2. Art Therapy: Many trained therapists use art and creativity to aid the parent and the child with difficult emotional processes. Your therapist at HBH might find art helpful in better understanding the relationship between the parent and child.
3. Talk Therapy: A communication-based method to address, diagnose, and treat concerns related to emotions, thinking, and behavioral patterns. Therapists at HBH have found talk therapy successful for patients dealing with traumatic life events or traumatic childhoods.
4. Medications: If a child has a co-occurring condition, such as anxiety disorder, attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder or mood disorder, medications for those conditions can be administered and may improve the DSED or RAD symptoms.
5. Behavioral Management: An effective form of attachment disorder treatment, behavioral management can help parents or caregivers focus on the quality of their interactions with their child. Behavioral management strategies might involve helping parents communicate appropriate behavioral expectations and consequences to their children.

Start Working With a Therapist for Attachment Disorders in Massachusetts:

Attachment wounds in early childhood can make it difficult to form secure relationships, as well as leave unhealthy relationships throughout an individual’s life. 

Fortunately, our team of trained therapists at Handel Behavioral Health have the tools and knowledge to effectively treat attachment disorders, helping individuals form and maintain healthy relationships throughout their life. 

Our therapists will help individuals with an attachment disorder learn to become more aware of their emotions, behaviors, and attachment patterns, as well as how these patterns influence their relationships. They will learn how to strengthen their relationships, as well as form a stronger sense of self. If necessary, individuals may also work with a trained psychiatrist or psychiatric mental health nurse practitioner to reduce the symptoms of co-occurring conditions, such as anxiety or depression.

To start working with one of our therapists for attachment disorders online in Massachusetts or in-person from our offices in Amherst, Franklin, West Springfield, Wilbraham, or Natick, contact us today at (413) 343-4357 or request an appointment online.

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