Seminar 5: University of Bristol

29 May 2015

Theme: Mental health and attachment processes in adolescents and young adults

 

Keynote speakers:

Kids Company Urban Academy Bristol and the challenges young disadvantaged people face

Rob Wright, Kids Company, Bristol

Rob will talk about Kids Company generally and Kids Company Bristol in particular. He will describe some of the key challenges faced by their clients and Kids Company’s approach to supporting them. 

 

Attachment theory as framework for mental health interventions in children and adolescents

Dr Guy Bosmans, University of Leuven, Belgium

Insecure attachment, or children and adolescents’ inability to trust on the availability of parents as sources for support, has been identified as an important, transdiagnostic risk factor in the development of emotional and behavioral problems. Consequently, it seems reasonable to assume that the attachment context is a critical factor in success of mental health interventions.

The current presentation will uncover the mechanisms that explain the links between insecure attachment and the development of emotional and behaviour problems to provide a framework for attachment-based mental health interventions. Building on this framework, an overview will be offered on successful and experimental attachment-based treatment approaches.