Talk Therapy

Marythemom: This does not work well for kids with attachment issues. They tend to triangulate (manipulate people against their parents). Traditional therapists start therapy by establishing a bond/ developing a rapport with their new client... this isn't going to happen with kids with RAD. If anyone establishes a relationship with them, it needs to be a parent! We wasted years in talk therapy with Bear.

Differences Between Attachment Therapy and Traditional Therapy

By Arleta James, MA

ATTACHMENT THERAPY	TRADITIONAL THERAPY
"Fix the Foundation"	"Build the House" on a cracked foundation.
Family is the primary healing resource. If we trust the family with the child, then we should trust the family with the child's history.	Child is seen alone by professional. Information is not always shared with the family.
Parents set behavioral goals.	Child assists in behavioral goal setting.
Corrective Attachment Parenting	Token Economies
"Giving Child the Words". Not talking about the child's issues says, "What happened to you is so bad that even we grown-ups can't talk about it". It is less traumatizing to talk about the child's issues than to let the child live with the issues.	Wait for the child to talk about issues.
Quick to switch to different strategies.	Continue with more of the same.
"Heal the Pathology"	"Diagnose and Medicate"
Limited use of auxiliary services. Wraparound often takes the child away from the family. Too many adults are involved in the child's life who are on a different page, working on behavioral goals without working on issues, often providing rewards the parents are not in favor of, the least skilled people provide the most amount of services (i.e., TSS).	Overuse of Auxiliary Services.