What is Attachment?
At birth, babies are born with a built-in genetic code for attachment behavior and sensitivity to human attachment figures. It is imbedded in our genes to feel the need for protection and to attach to our primary caregivers. During the first years of life our experiences influence how we learn to cope with stress / distress, the way we understand ourselves and relate to self, others, and the world around us. We learn from the first days of our lives what do we need to do to stay physically close to our primary caregivers. The quality of our attachment relationships developed in the early years has an impact on our mental and physical health, as children as well as adults. The science has shown that the quality of attachment impacts our lives in many ways, with some of them mentioned below:
- Emotion regulation, stress and coping, resilience in response to adversity, including parent separation
- Confidence and a robust sense of self
- Autonomy and agency
- Language skills, communication clarity
- Exploration and competent problem solving
- Cooperative, enthusiastic, and competent interactions with adults and other children
- Pretend play
- Empathy and attunement to others
- Trust in and commitment to relationships – capacity to feel honestly sorry and make repairs”
[Carol George, 2024 AAP – Attachment Patterns Training]
The attachment behaviour patterns we learned from early years become models of our parent-child relationships, as well as models of relating to our adult attachment partners, like spouses. In other words, the way in which we were parented shows up in all attachment relationships later on in life, with our own children as well as with our partners.
What is a Brief Attachment Focused Assessment?
The clinicians at The Willow Centre are trained to assess the quality of attachment for children 4-12 years old, adolescents and adults. This can be conducted as a Brief Attachment Focused Assessment, as well as part of comprehensive psychological assessments or during psychotherapy.
The Brief Attachment Focused Assessment typically involves:
- One session (1-1.5 hours) of short clinical interview and administration of the attachment procedure.
- Verbatim transcription of the audiotape or videotape recorded during the administration.
- Scoring of the transcription – performed by reliable clinician.
- One session (1.5 to 2 hours) of summary, feedback and recommendations.
Upon request, the clinician can also provide a summary letter which can be used to enhance exploration and reflection during psychotherapy sessions, especially when the patient is enrolled in psychotherapy or psychological assessment or mental health evaluation either at our Centre or with clinicians from the community – additional fee applies for the letter preparation.
What Are the Benefits of a Brief Attachment Focused Assessment?
The Brief Attachment Focused Assessment is recommended in, but not limited to, the following circumstances:
- Part of individual psychotherapy for children, adolescents and adults.
In the case of children’s psychotherapy, we recommend that parents also conduct an attachment assessment for themselves to enhance their understanding of the attachment dynamics within the parent-child relationship as well as the dynamics of co-parenting. This can be administered as part of the initial informal psychotherapeutic assessment or when psychotherapy is not progressing as expected.
It is our collective experience that knowledge of own’s attachment status, psychological defenses and attachment behaviours used in various circumstances, as well as learning about the presence of attachment trauma markers, can facilitate faster progress and increased insight, and gives more room for change and healing. - Part of couples therapy.
- As part of a comprehensive psychological assessment or mental health evaluation.
- Part of family planning for new parents or parents to be to enhance the understanding of the attachment dynamics within the parent-child relationship as well as the dynamics in the co-parenting relationship.
Brief Attachment Focused Assessment by age:
For children 4 to 12 years old the test used is the Attachment Doll Play Procedure. The child will have free play responses to story prompts that introduce attachment topics. The administration, with only the child and the administered in the room, will be videotaped, transcribed and coded for classification.
For adolescents and adults, the test used is the Adult Attachment Projective. The assessor will present a set of simple pictures and asks the client to create stories based on what they see. The administration is audiotaped and followed by transcription and coding for classification.
How Much Does a Brief Attachment Focused Assessment Cost?
Fees are typically $1050.00 [and include 3 hours – at $250 per hour – with the clinician for intake, administration and feedback, and the fee for coding which currently is approximately $300.]