Attachment-based therapy (children)
Attachment-based therapy applies to interventions or approaches based on attachment theory, originated by John Bowlby. These range from individual therapeutic approaches to public health programs to interventions specifically designed for foster carers. Although attachment theory has become a major scientific theory of socioemotional development with one of the broadest, deepest research lines in modern psychology, attachment theory has, until recently, been less clinically applied than theories with far less empirical support. This may be partly due to lack of attention paid to clinical application by Bowlby himself and partly due to broader meanings of the word 'attachment' used amongst practitioners. It may also be partly due to the mistaken association of attachment theory with the pseudo-scientific interventions misleadingly known as attachment therapy. The approaches set out below are examples of recent clinical applications of attachment theory by mainstream attachment theorists and clinicians and are aimed at infants or children who have developed or are at risk of developing less desirable, insecure attachment styles or an attachment disorder.
Psychotherapy and social action model
The psychotherapy and social action model was initially proposed by Sue Holland, a psychotherapist with a background in community action. Holland developed this framework in 1980 following her experience working with women coping with psychological disorders at a housing estate in West London. At this estate, Holland observed the psychological difficulties experienced by women, noticing that their mental health was fundamentally tied to the social and economic obstacles they encountered as females in their society. In addition, Holland took issue with the way Depression (mood) was being treated at the shelter, believing that individualized treatment, especially with the use of psychotropic medication, was not successfully addressing the root of the dysfunction for these women. Instead, Holland posited a pathway from individual treatment to sociopolitical action that empowered women to deal with their mental dysfunction both privately and socially. As such, the psychotherapy and social action model is rooted in the ideals of both traditional psychotherapy and feminist empowerment.