Kathryn Seifert – Children and Families with Attachment & Trauma Problems: The Latest Developmental and Systems Approaches

Outline

Overview

• Child Development & Attachment
  1. Core concepts of child development and how they are affected by trauma
  2. Vital functions of secure attachment
  3. Major symptoms of disrupted attachment

Assessment

• Children
  1. 6 symptom categories
  2. Traumatized brain
  3. 3 attachment patterns
  4. Holistic assessment practices
  5. Assessing development
• Parents
  1. Awareness of emotional and environmental triggers
  2. Marital relationships and co-parenting
  3. Parenting attitudes and competencies
  4. Parent mental health and stability
• Family System
  1. Structure—family systems work
  2. Ongoing patterns
  3. Support systems
  4. Stressors and stress management

Treatment

• Focus of Intervention
  1. Child
  2. Family relationships
  3. Community systems
  4. Rules, roles and boundaries
• Integration of Interventions
  1. Family therapy
  2. CBT and skill building involving parents and schools
  3. Longevity and relationships
  4. Story-telling and psycho-drama—healing trauma by changing the end of the story
  5. Movement and rhythm
  6. Building confidence and competence
• Applications
  1. Foster care
  2. Departments of Social Services and Juvenile Services
  3. Acute care and residential treatment programs
  4. Outpatient settings with multiple agency involvement
• Facilitate the Healing Process
  1. The trauma cycle—fight, flight and freeze
  2. Unfreezing
  3. Relaxing and reducing fear and arousal responses
  4. Corrective developmental experience
  5. Creating attachment
  6. Using structure attunement and empathy
• Therapeutic Methods
  1. 4 attachment cycles that can occur in the first year of life
  2. Rapport
  3. Commitment
  4. Building relationship
  5. Inner child metaphor
  6. Family systems therapy
  7. Building reciprocity
  8. Moral development
  9. Multimodal approaches and longevity
• Parenting
  1. 4 aspects of providing a secure base
  2. Reinterpreting child’s behavior
  3. Facilitating 4 competencies—knowledge, skills, judgment and self-control
  4. 3 steps to remaining calm and composed
  5. Creating a sense of belonging
  6. Reducing and managing family conflicts
  7. Creating a healing environment