Treating Attachment Disorders: From Theory to Therapy [Hardcover]

Karl Heinz Brisch MD (Author), Kenneth Kronenberg (Translator)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 1572306815 | ISBN-13: 978-1572306813 | Publication Date: July 15, 2002 | Edition: Translated

Attachment theory and research have greatly enhanced our understanding of the role of parent-child relationships in the development of psychopathology. Yet until now, little has been written on how an attachment perspective can be used to actively inform psychotherapeutic practice. In this invaluable work, Karl Heinz Brisch presents an attachment-oriented framework for assessing and treating patients of all ages. Rich, extended case examples form the core of the book. Demonstrated are the ways attachment-oriented interventions can effectively be used to treat a wide range of patients: couples trying unsuccessfully to conceive, women with severe postpartum depression, children and adolescents with behavioral and emotional disturbances, adults with relationship difficulties and work problems, and others. Applications in short- and long-term psychotherapy are discussed, as well as use of the model in such other contexts as prevention in infant mental health, family therapy, and group work. A vital resource for practitioners, this book is also a compelling text for graduate-level psychotherapy courses.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"This book should be required reading for clinicians and graduate students involved in working with or learning about children and families beset by attachment disorders. While numerous other works review attachment disorders, this outstanding book goes a step further, navigating an easily accessible path into the multifaceted domain of psychodynamic treatment. Evocative case studies are used to illustrate attachment-oriented therapy and how it may be successfully applied across the lifespan."--Howard Steele, PhD, Attachment Research Unit, University College London, UK; Editor, Attachment & Human Development

"In this much-needed book, the first of its kind, Brisch brings attachment theory into the consulting room. Through many moving case vignettes, he shows us how he uses countertransference to understand and treat each patient in unique and sensitive ways. In his discussion of childhood and adolescent pathology, Brisch makes clear his conviction that children need both a secure base and the opportunity to explore the world outside the immediate attachment figures. His discussion of an amazing variety of cases illuminates how the dynamics of family interaction have to be understood and treated to relieve children of often crippling symptoms. The way Brisch works with children and families is truly remarkable: he is never intrusive or coercive, but intervenes in sensitive, compelling, and effective ways. Practitioners and trainees in child psychotherapy and parent-infant psychotherapy programs should find this book especially invaluable."--Anni Bergman, PhD, Postdoctoral Program in Psychotherapy and Psychoanalysis, New York University; Program for the Study and Treatment of Parents, Infants and Toddlers, New York Freudian Society

"This book couldn't be more timely. After three decades of developmental research establishing the importance of attachment processes in emotional regulation and stress responsiveness, therapists of many orientations are pondering how to apply these findings in the treatment of psychiatric disorders. Previous books relating attachment theory to clinical concerns have been heavily theoretically and research-based, with little for the practicing clinician to grab hold of and use. In contrast, Brisch squarely takes on the challenge of articulating for the practicing clinician how attachment concepts can inform clinical process, as 'lived' in the immediacy of the clinical hour. Using a dazzling array of case material from infancy to adulthood, he illustrates the breadth of application of attachment concepts in clinical work and draws out the subtle recentering of clinical stance that can result from an attachment perspective. By bringing attachment concepts into the center of the therapeutic encounter, Brisch's volume opens a rich clinical-theoretical dialogue with both object relations theory and cognitive-behavioral approaches. This clinical debate will surely occupy and enrich all of us for the rest of the decade."--Karlen Lyons-Ruth, PhD, Department of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School

"Dr. Brisch presents an outstanding overview of attachment theory and research, a highly informative discussion of attachment disorders across the lifespan, and an insightful presentation of attachment-oriented psychotherapy. This excellent volume will appeal to professionals from a multitude of disciplines involved with the diagnosis and treatment of attachment disorders."--Byron Egeland, PhD, Institute of Child Development, University of Minnesota

About the Author

Karl Heinz Brisch, MD, is a child and adolescent psychiatrist and psychotherapist, as well as an adult psychiatrist and neurologist; a training psychoanalyst at the Psychoanalytic Institute; and head of the Department of Pediatric Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy at the Children¿s Hospital at the Ludwig-Maximilians-University of Munich, Germany. Dr. Brisch¿s primary research is on the development of infants and children with high-risk conditions and the development of attachment and its disorders. He has led longitudinal research projects on attachment disturbances and early psychotherapeutic interventions. He is a member of the World Association of Infant Mental Health and of the Society for Research in Child Development.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 294 pages
• Publisher: The Guilford Press; Translated edition (July 15, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1572306815
• ISBN-13: 978-1572306813
• Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 6 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #942,581 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Treating Attachment Disorders, October 5, 2009

By 

C. Gustin (Berkeley, CA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

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This review is from: Treating Attachment Disorders: From Theory to Therapy (Paperback)

I work with traumatized children. Many of the children I work with have attachment issues. This is an excellent book about the subject. It first informs the reader about Attachment Theory and how it is used, reviews and compares other theories and shows how they are used and how they don't work well with attachment issues, gives you many practical examples of infants, school age children and adolescents with attachment issues and how these are treated. I highly recommend it.

11 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Best book on the subject, July 9, 2008

By 

Dr. John Laughlin (Glenn Dale, MD) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

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This review is from: Treating Attachment Disorders: From Theory to Therapy (Paperback)

This is the best written book on the subject I have read. It was a joy to read and very informative about attachment theory and attachment diorders. The author presens dozens of cases from all age groups showing the application of attachment theory to psychotherapy and psychoanalys.

28 of 48 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars ATTACHMENT & DETACHMENT DISORDERS FROM CHILDHOOD TRAUMA, May 15, 2004

By A Customer

This review is from: Treating Attachment Disorders: From Theory to Therapy (Hardcover)

I strongly recommend this book for anyone seeking to find help with troubling relationship issues and learning more about relationship attachment and detachment. Other related topics are, identity issues, self-esteem issues, addictions, mood disorders and reoccurring unresolved anger.

Excellent compliments to this book are: The Angry Heart: Overcoming Borderline and Addictive Disorders: An Interactive Self-Help Guide by John Santoro and Ronald Cohen; Living with the Passive-Aggressive Man by Scott Wetzler; The Narcissistic Family: Diagnosis and Treatment by Stephanie Donaldson-Pressman and Robert Pressman; Emotional Blackmail: When People in Your Life Use Fear, Obligation and Guilt to Manipulate You by Susan Forward and Donna Frazier; Understanding the Borderline Mother: Helping Her Children Transcend the Intense, Unpredictable and Volatile Relationship by Christine Ann Lawson; Children of the Self-Absorbed: A Grown-Up's Guide to Getting Over Narcissistic Parents by Nina Brown; Toxic Coworkers: How to Deal with Dysfunctional People on the Job by Alan Cavaiola and Neil Lavender.