Attachment therapy, also known as holding therapy, Z-therapy or many other terms, has been growing in popularity since the 1970's.
It is based on highly unconventional psychological ideas and has not been shown to be effective in treating any disorder.
Unfortunately its proponents continue to encourage parents to use this method on "problem" children, and children continue to suffer as a result.
The basic theory driving this practice is the belief that a child who frequently misbehaves or throws tantrums is suffering from a pathological inability to form a healthy bond with his or her parents, particularly the mother.
This disability is termed by AT fans as an attachment disorder or AD (which is not to be confused with a Reactive AD as defined by the DSM-IV-TR).
An AD is supposedly caused by a suffered trauma, which can supposedly occur in early childhood, during birth, or even during a difficult conception.
This idea that children can be psychologically affected by the experience of birth, or even pre-natal events, is not consistent with any current scientific understanding of childhood development.
The solution to this disorder, according to practitioners of this therapy, is to create a cathartic experience that will bring the child back to the point of his or her original trauma.
If the painful experience in question occurred when the child was born, the therapy may even consist of an attempt to re-create childbirth by, for example, having the child force his or her way out of tightly held sheets.
After the child is allegedly brought back to an infantile state after reliving the original painful event, he or she will then be nurtured either by a parent or by the person administering treatment.
During this time, soothing noises, kind words, and even bottle feeding are supposed to build up a healthy bond between the patient and practitioner.
Even if the person offering this nurturing is not the actual mother, fans of this theory argue that the newly built relationship can then be transferred to the parents.
The main problem with this practice is not the unfounded psychological ideas or even the nurturing period, as bizarre as it may seem to outsiders.
The inherent dangers lie within the so-called cathartic treatment, in which patients are deliberately provoked into a rage.
Defenseless children as young as toddlers have been subjected to painful holds, severe restriction of movement, abusive and threatening language, beatings, belittling, and even being sat on by adults.
These episodes, which can last for hours, typically must be repeated often before the "patient" is "cured.
" Dozens of children have died from this treatment, and countless others have been affected for the rest of their lives.
It is based on highly unconventional psychological ideas and has not been shown to be effective in treating any disorder.
Unfortunately its proponents continue to encourage parents to use this method on "problem" children, and children continue to suffer as a result.
The basic theory driving this practice is the belief that a child who frequently misbehaves or throws tantrums is suffering from a pathological inability to form a healthy bond with his or her parents, particularly the mother.
This disability is termed by AT fans as an attachment disorder or AD (which is not to be confused with a Reactive AD as defined by the DSM-IV-TR).
An AD is supposedly caused by a suffered trauma, which can supposedly occur in early childhood, during birth, or even during a difficult conception.
This idea that children can be psychologically affected by the experience of birth, or even pre-natal events, is not consistent with any current scientific understanding of childhood development.
The solution to this disorder, according to practitioners of this therapy, is to create a cathartic experience that will bring the child back to the point of his or her original trauma.
If the painful experience in question occurred when the child was born, the therapy may even consist of an attempt to re-create childbirth by, for example, having the child force his or her way out of tightly held sheets.
After the child is allegedly brought back to an infantile state after reliving the original painful event, he or she will then be nurtured either by a parent or by the person administering treatment.
During this time, soothing noises, kind words, and even bottle feeding are supposed to build up a healthy bond between the patient and practitioner.
Even if the person offering this nurturing is not the actual mother, fans of this theory argue that the newly built relationship can then be transferred to the parents.
The main problem with this practice is not the unfounded psychological ideas or even the nurturing period, as bizarre as it may seem to outsiders.
The inherent dangers lie within the so-called cathartic treatment, in which patients are deliberately provoked into a rage.
Defenseless children as young as toddlers have been subjected to painful holds, severe restriction of movement, abusive and threatening language, beatings, belittling, and even being sat on by adults.
These episodes, which can last for hours, typically must be repeated often before the "patient" is "cured.
" Dozens of children have died from this treatment, and countless others have been affected for the rest of their lives.
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