On the one hand, it has been rated as a severe and engrossing clinical disease; on the other hand, there is no clear consensus or protocol in defining and assessing it. Much about it still remains to be understood.
The most popular form of therapy for children with attachment disorders is 'holding therapy'. 'Holding therapy' describes a form of intervention that consists of close physical contact with one or more therapists. The child is held across the lap of one or two therapists, whilst touch and eye contact between child and therapists are encouraged strongly through the session. Although 'holding' is supposed to provide the child with the care and security that she missed during her developmental years, and although it is also thought to be the way to break through to the child, and perhaps contain the child's distress or frustration, considerable controversy surrounds the practice. There has been no empirical evidence that this therapy works; it is seen as intrusive, insensitive and therefore counter-therapeutic. In the U.S.A. alone, six reported deaths have been traced to this system either due to therapists...
However, not much is known about how to advise parents to deal with their foster or adopted children's ongoing reluctance to associate with them. Several interventions have also been developed for these children who have been rejected by their peers, but the same problem seems to exist: there is no accepted treatment for children with attachment disorder patterns, and much of their conduct and the reason for its perseverance remains an enigma.
Sources
Carter, C. (1998). Neuroendocrine perspectives on social attachment and love. Psychoneuroendocrinology, 23, 779-818
Chisholm, K. (1998). A three-year follow-up of indiscriminate friendliness in children adopted from Romanian orphanages. Child Development, 69, 1092-1106.
O'Connor, T. & Zeanah, C. (2003). Attachment disorders: Assessment strategies and treatment approaches. Attachment…
