We help young people, adults and families build strong positive relationships.
Having a traumatic experience can affect how we bond with other people.
WHAT CAUSES ATTACHMENT DIFFICULTIES?
The first few years of life are crucial for us all. During this time, to help us survive and thrive, our brain develops in response to the caregiving environment we are born into.
We learn how to relate to our main caregiver, and this relationship creates the foundations for our model for life- our rules, assumptions, thoughts and feelings about ourselves, others and the world.
If our caregivers aren’t able to provide the foundations for us to build positive attachments as children or adults, this can influence how we interact with people.
THE IMPACT OF ATTACHMENT DIFFICULTIES
Attachment difficulties can have a wide-ranging effect on all areas of a child’s functioning. Even if adopted, or fostered, or if the caregiver has recovered from a trauma (or mental health difficulty), the child may continue to think, feel or behave as though they are in their old situation.
Some adults, because of their childhood experience, may find it difficult to build positive relationships with a partner.
TREATING ATTACHMENT DIFFICULTIES
We support children, adults and families with a range of attachment difficulties. For children, we will often recommend attachment therapies informed by Theraplay © and Dyadic Developmental Psychotherapy (DDP). We also use therapeutic story work and Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing (EMDR).
We work to increase a sense of safety, whilst helping the individual to regulate their emotions and connect emotionally with their carers/ partners. Later in the therapeutic work we help the person to process early traumas and losses. We also support caregivers to deliver sensitive, attuned and effective care. Please visit our therapy page for more information.