Date of Award
Spring 5-19-2018
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
MCM - MA Clinical Mental Health Counseling
Department
Expressive Therapies
Advisor
Elizabeth Kellogg
Abstract
Treatment strategies for school age children with disorganized attachment are not well established. This population exhibits a range of difficulties in social relationships and self-regulation. Additionally, children with disorganized attachment generally rely on defense mechanisms and present with other comorbid conditions, adding to the complexity of treatment. This paper explores current research and theories about disorganized attachment and then, on the basis of evidence provided throughout this paper, proposes the concept of attunement needs in relation to working with children with disorganized attachment. The attunement needs described in this paper, derived from the literature, include safety/security, control/power, consistency, affective release, and unconditional attachment. This paper describes expressive arts therapy as a treatment option for disorganized attachment, and proposes several considerations for structuring sessions with this population based on attunement needs.
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Recommended Citation
Paley, Jayne, "How Can the Attunement Needs of Children with Disorganized Attachment Styles Be Supported Through Expressive Arts Therapy?" (2018). Expressive Therapies Capstone Theses. 12.
https://digitalcommons.lesley.edu/expressive_theses/12
Included in
Art Therapy Commons, Child Psychology Commons, Dance Movement Therapy Commons, Music Therapy Commons
Rights
The author owns the copyright to this work.
