Enhancing Attachment and Reflective Parenting in Clinical Practice

Book excerpt: How can clinicians help vulnerable young families overcome barriers to secure, reciprocal, and joyful parent–infant relationships? This book provides a flexible framework for promoting reflective parenting "from the ground up." Described are effective ways to support safety and self-regulation in parents with histories of trauma and adversity, giving them a stronger foundation for seeing, hearing, and connecting to their children. The book distills principles of the influential Minding the Baby (MTB) home visiting program, as well as contemporary attachment and mentalization research. Vivid case material illustrates therapeutic strategies that can be used with parents and children in any clinical context. End-of-chapter "Questions for Clinicians" help readers apply the concepts discussed, with special attention to developing their own reflective capacities.