Introduction to Attachment Disorder

Welcome to the course and thankyou for your purchase.  Brief overview of the course and introduction.  Please remember to keep in touch!

Task:  How would you define Attachment and Attachment Disorder? Why?

In this lecture we look at famous quote from Dr Sigmund Freud about the importance of the attachment with the "mother".  We discuss whether this focus on the mother/child attachment is as relevant today?  What about other primary carers such as the father, step-parent, foster carer, adoptive parent etc etc?  What do you think? Why?

In this lecture we look at the seminal works of psychologists such as John Bowlby and the idea that human babies and infants across large parts of the animal kingdom are somehow hard-wired to develop a close attachment with the mother.  Is it relevant and useful to compare attachment within the human species with what tends to happen (in many cases) across the animal kingdom?  Can we base our own theories of attachment on what we observe in chimpanzees for example? How and why?

Here we look at why attachment is important between babies/children and the primary care givers (as you may have gathered by now - the primary caregivers are often not the traditional mother or father figure).  Attachment and the close bond we develop with primary carers helps us with the creation of a cognitive schema, a kind of mental template for living in the world and includes: what is OK? and What is not OK?, our moral compass begins with this attachment.

In this lecture we begin to look at circumstances in a child's life that might prevent a successful attachment from developing?  References are made to abuse and neglect of children in this video.

Is there a vital time period during which the attachment must develop in the early period of a child's life?  How? Why? (Task)  You are asked to have a think about the findings of a piece of research related to the development of attachment.

We move on to look at who can help form an attachment with the child and what kind of circumstances helps the development of attachment, specifically, what kind of experiences help attachment to form and develop.

In this lecture we explore more of the circumstances and experiences in early childhood that prevent an attachment forming and more specifically, play a part in the development of attachment disorders.  We look at examples where this is known to have occurred in Romanian Orphanages, where babies and young children were extremely neglected and is some cases abused.  Reference is made to neglect and abuse of children, but no graphic descriptions.

We begin to look at RAD (Reactive Attachment Disorder) What it is, How it Develops? and How it is Diagnosed by professionals.  RAD has a wide range of adverse psychological and behavioural symptoms for the child/young person which can develop into problems in adulthood too if left untreated or unresolved.

Here we continue to look at the circumstances that are known to play a part in the development of Reactive Attachment Disorder.    We also develop the understanding of how RAD shows itself in terms of behavioural and psychological symptoms of the child/young person.

Here we look at the main 3 types of attachment: secure, ambivalent and insecure attachment and how each of these impact on the child, the young person and later on, the adult.  The development of problematic attachment (as outlined in this lecture) is based on the assumption that the child does not receive psychological intervention or perhaps successful attachment at a later stage, perhaps with an alternative primary carer.

In this lecture we begin to look, crucially, at what kind of treatments have been shown to be effective in the treatment of Attachment Disorder and specifically Reactive Attachment Disorder.  Note that only a selection of treatments and interventions are explored here and the list is not exhaustive.  The author has focused primarily on those interventions for which there is ample scientific evidence of their effectiveness.

Here we continue to explore the treatments and interventions that are known to be effective in treating Attachment Disorder.  Guidance for staff working in the sector is also provided.

In this course video, two experienced professionals engage in a thoughtful two-way conversation exploring the key themes and practical issues related to this topic. The discussion is designed to provide additional insight, reflection, and real-world perspective to support your learning throughout the course.

This video is a brief promotion for one of my most popular courses on Udemy; Introduction to CBT (Cognitive Behavior Therapy)

In this concluding podcast-style session, we revisit the key themes and insights explored throughout the Attachment Disorder course. Through an informal and reflective conversation format, this lecture summarises the main concepts, clinical observations, behavioural patterns, developmental influences, and practical approaches discussed across the programme. It is designed to help consolidate learning, reinforce understanding, and encourage broader reflection on attachment-related difficulties in children, adolescents, and adults.