pepperidge, attachment therapy for us didn't entail holding, rebirthing or any of that stuff (I believe it's now illegal in most states) nor has it ever. I never saw the need to completely break a child's spirit in that nature AND it doesn't help a child to "trust" an adult caregiver in my humble opinion.
We started out small ~ nurturing things. Games that included kt & wm having to make eye contact & listen to husband & myself. Mother, May I immediately comes to mind. husband & I were taught to "reparent". So I did a great deal of rocking allowing kt (wm was too cool) to drink from a bottle or use a nook. Essentially husband & I were filling in gaps that were missed from birth to 6 years of age.
Spent many therapy sessions on calming & then teaching self calming; used a great deal of parts language. Much of the therapy included puppets, dolls, etc that changed from one thing to another. A tadpole into a frog, an egg into chicks (really cute toys), yet that toy was one in the same ~ basically teaching the tweedles a sense of self. Many attachment disordered children have no little or no sense.
It all came down to nurturing & teaching the tweedles to give up their need to self parent. I'll be honest we still do attachment/adoption/trauma based therapy with kt & wm.
It's a long arduous journey & it's hit or miss. Sometimes the disorder is far too ingrained & a difficult child cannot let go of his/her need to self parent. They never learn to trust an adult caregiver. (wm is pretty much in this spot).
I've given you some ideas & yet have kept it as general as possible to protect my twins. I hope this helps. If you have any specific questions feel free to PM me.
I'm never happy when any mental health professional steps outside the bounds to do more than they are qualified to do. I've never met anyone in a public school qualified to diagnose, treat, or even really talk about attachement issues! Geez....
