New Book

The book I co-edited with a colleague, Attachment Parenting: Developing Connections
and Healing Children, will be published in early 2010. The book has a number of chapters on topics such as sensory-integration, activities for parents, theory, use of media and other subjects that parents and therapists will find useful.


The pervasive effects of maltreatment on child development can be repaired when parents use effective, empirically validated, and evidence-based methods. This book describes a comprehensive approach to parenting that discusses a variety of issues including attachment, trauma, neuro-psychological impairments, sensory-integration, and treatment approaches as well as the use of media, play, and narratives to create connections. Professors teaching family-therapy, child-welfare, and child-treatment courses will find the book a good adjunct text.

People who live or work with children who have histories of maltreatment or institutional care, complex trauma, or disorders of attachment. Parents, psychologists, social workers, mental health professionals, child welfare staff, residential treatment program staff, and educators will find this book of value. In addition, those who teach classes in child welfare, family therapy, and the treatment of children will find the book to be a useful adjunctive text.



This book describes a comprehensive approach to parenting children. Grounded in attachment theory, this book will give parents, therapists, educators, and child welfare and residential treatment professionals the tools and skills necessary to help children who have a history of neglect, abuse, orphanage care, or other experiences that may interfere with the normal development of attachment between parent and child. The approach is rooted in Dyadic Developmental Psychotherapy, which is an evidence-based, effective, and empirically validated treatment for complex trauma and disorders of attachment.

The book provides practical and immediately usable approaches and methods to help children develop a healthier and more secure attachment. The book covers a wide range of topics. The first few chapters will appeal to professionals who work with parents. These chapters describe the basic principles of this approach. The book then moves on to discuss how to select a therapist and who to expect from a comprehensive evaluation. The chapter on logistics will be particularly valuable for parents and residential treatment staff. This chapter provides detailed suggestions for everything from how to organize the child's room, schools concerns, and problem solving. The chapters on sensory-integration, art therapy for parents, narratives, and Theraplay give parents specific therapeutic activities that can be done at home to improve the quality of the child's attachment with the parent. Other chapters on neuropsychological issues, mindfulness, and parent's use of self will help parents directly. The two chapters by parents on their story and what worked for them provide inspiration to parents and demonstrate that there is hope. Finally, the book ends with a comprehensive chapter on resources for parents and a summary of various professional standards regarding attachment, treatment, and parenting.

Overall, this comprehensive book covers a broad range of topics that are of concern to parents who raise and others who work with children with difficult histories, trauma, and disorders of attachment.