Nurturing Attachments combines the experience and wisdom of parents and carers with that of professionals to provide support and practical guidance for foster and adoptive parents looking after children with insecure attachment relationships.
It gives an overview of attachment theory and a step-by-step model of parenting which provides the reader with a tried-and-tested framework for developing resilience and emotional growth. Featuring throughout are the stories of Catherine, Zoe, Marcus and Luke, four fictional children in foster care or adoptive homes, who are used to illustrate the ideas and strategies described. The book offers sound advice and provides exercises for parents and their children, as well as useful tools that supervising social workers can use both in individual support of carers as well as in training exercises.
This is an essential guide for adoptive and foster parents, professionals including health and social care practitioners, clinical psychologists, child care professionals, and lecturers and students in this field.
Section 1: Attachment Theory. 1. Overview of Attachment Theory. 2. Attachment Theory: Caregiving and Its Impact on Attachment and Exploration. 3. Attachment Theory: Patterns of Attachment. 4. Difficulties in Development: The Impact of Loss and Trauma. 5. Parenting Children with Attachment Difficulties. Experiencing Relationships as Secure. 6. Parenting and Patterns of Attachment. Section 2: A Model for Parenting the Child with Difficulties in Attachment Relationships: Providing a Secure Base. 7. Introduction to the Model and Creating a Secure Base. 8. Empathy and Support from the Secure Base. 9. Attunement and Empathy. 10. Protecting the Family Atmosphere and the Development of Emotional Regulation. 11. Creating a Feeling of Belonging for the Child. 12. Looking after Yourself. Section 3: A Model for Parenting the Child with Difficulties in Attachment Relationships: Building Relationships and Managing Behaviour. 13. Helping the child to enjoy being part of the family. 14. Learning to Parent with PACE and Building Relationships with Stories. 15. Providing Structure and Supervision. 16. Managing Confrontation and Coercive Interactions. 17. Thinking, Feeling and Behavioural Choices. 18. Managing Special Difficulties: Lying, Stealing and Self Harm. 19. Conclusion. References. Glossary. Reading list. Subject index. Author index.
