version: UK | USA | International

Understanding Disorganized Attachment

Understanding Disorganized Attachment

Theory and Practice for Working with Children and Adults

David Shemmings and Yvonne Shemmings

Paperback: £19.99 / $32.95

2011, 234mm x 156mm / 9.25in x 6in, 240pp
ISBN: 978-1-84905-044-9, BIC 2: JMC JKS

add to cart
  • description |
  • reviews |
  • contents |

Disorganized attachment, the most extreme form of insecure attachment, can develop in a child when the person who is normally meant to protect them is a source of danger. This usually leads to 'fear without solution' and the effects can be lasting and damaging.

This book is a comprehensive and accessible text on disorganized attachment. It outlines what it is, how it can be identified and the key causes, including neurological, biochemical and genetic explanations. Factors that contribute to disorganized attachment are covered including unresolved loss and trauma, and the behaviour of caregivers. The authors also discuss evidence-based interventions to help families and carers as well as how to work with adults to prevent or minimize its occurrence. To root the theory in practice and to illustrate real-life examples of disorganized attachment case vignettes are included.

With an authoritative research base, this accessible text will be invaluable to practitioners and academics in the fields of social care, psychology, counselling and allied health professions as well as undergraduate and postgraduate students.

Blog posts

Understanding Disorganized Attachment – An Interview with David Shemmings and Yvonne Shemmings

9 March 2011

"Although child protection professionals help keep many children safe – and it’s important to remember that the UK has one of the lowest rates of child homicide at the hands of their carers – nevertheless, they sometimes bring the wrong families into the system while missing others - not because they lack skill but as a result of gaps in our knowledge about what leads to maltreatment."