Developmental psychology
Attachment theory, originally developed by John Bowlby, focuses on the importance of open, intimate, emotionally meaningful relationships. Attachment is described as a biological system or powerful survival impulse that evolved to ensure the survival of the infant. A child who is threatened or stressed will move toward caregivers who create a sense of physical, emotional and psychological safety for the individual. Attachment feeds on body contact and familiarity. Later Mary Ainsworth developed the Strange Situation protocol and the concept of the secure base.
Attachment-based therapy (children)
This is a parent education and psychotherapy intervention developed by Glen Cooper, Kent Hoffman, Robert Marvin, and Bert Powell designed to shift problematic or 'at risk' patterns of attachment – caregiving interactions to a more appropriate developmental pathway. It is stated that it is explicitly based on contemporary attachment and congruent developmental theories. Its core constructs are Ainsworth’s ideas of a Secure Base and a Haven of Safety (Ainsworth et al. 1978). The aim of the protocol is to present these ideas to the parents in a user-friendly, common-sense fashion that they can understand both cognitively and emotionally. This is done by a graphic representation of the child's needs and attachment system in circle form, summarising the child's needs and the safe haven provided by the caregiver. The protocol has so far been aimed at and tested on preschoolers up to the age of 4 years.