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Attachment-Based Therapy for Addiction and Trauma in Children and Adolescents

Received: 23 June 2021     Accepted: 21 July 2021     Published: 27 July 2021
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Abstract

This article is about why children and adolescents with traumatic experiences are particularly at risk of becoming severely addicted. It addresses the question of why it is so difficult for them to feel safe in therapeutic relationships. It will be examined to what extent the epidemiology of addiction, trauma, and attachment disorder provides evidence as to whether there is a significant relationship among the disorders that contributes to the complicated and lengthy nature of therapy for adolescents who have become severely addicted. It will describe how the reward system, attachment system, and anxiety-stress system (limbic system) interact at the neurobiological level. As a result of the study, it is shown that the role of the reward system in understanding the development of dependence cannot be understood neurophysiologically without the role of attachment and anxiety-stress. One conclusion from this is that this relationship should be taken into account therapeutically in order to be able to expand the spectrum of therapeutic intervention options and to be able to make the therapy of severe dependence disorders in adolescence more successful. Methodologically, two levels of description are compared here: On the first level, the neurobiological research findings are presented as the connection between addiction, trauma and attachment; on the second level, the significance of the research findings for therapeutic practice is concretely described and empirically demonstrated on the basis of a case report. In conclusion, it is shown that understanding the neurobiological function of the implicit memory systems of reward, attachment, and anxiety/stress has a central importance for the further development of addiction therapy for dependent adolescents.

Published in American Journal of Pediatrics (Volume 7, Issue 3)
DOI 10.11648/j.ajp.20210703.18
Page(s) 130-136
Creative Commons

This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.

Copyright

Copyright © The Author(s), 2021. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Adolescents, Addiction, Trauma, Dissociation, Ego-State-Disorder, Therapy, Attachment Disorder, Neurobiology

References
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[4] Bowlby J (1995): Attachment: Historical roots, theoretical concepts, and clinical relevance. In: Sprangler G, Zimmermann P (eds.): The attachment theory. Stuttgart: Klett-Cotta.
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[6] Dohrenwend BP (1998): Adversity, stress and psychopathology. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
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Cite This Article
  • APA Style

    Frank Maria Fischer. (2021). Attachment-Based Therapy for Addiction and Trauma in Children and Adolescents. American Journal of Pediatrics, 7(3), 130-136. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajp.20210703.18

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    ACS Style

    Frank Maria Fischer. Attachment-Based Therapy for Addiction and Trauma in Children and Adolescents. Am. J. Pediatr. 2021, 7(3), 130-136. doi: 10.11648/j.ajp.20210703.18

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    AMA Style

    Frank Maria Fischer. Attachment-Based Therapy for Addiction and Trauma in Children and Adolescents. Am J Pediatr. 2021;7(3):130-136. doi: 10.11648/j.ajp.20210703.18

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  • @article{10.11648/j.ajp.20210703.18,
      author = {Frank Maria Fischer},
      title = {Attachment-Based Therapy for Addiction and Trauma in Children and Adolescents},
      journal = {American Journal of Pediatrics},
      volume = {7},
      number = {3},
      pages = {130-136},
      doi = {10.11648/j.ajp.20210703.18},
      url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajp.20210703.18},
      eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ajp.20210703.18},
      abstract = {This article is about why children and adolescents with traumatic experiences are particularly at risk of becoming severely addicted. It addresses the question of why it is so difficult for them to feel safe in therapeutic relationships. It will be examined to what extent the epidemiology of addiction, trauma, and attachment disorder provides evidence as to whether there is a significant relationship among the disorders that contributes to the complicated and lengthy nature of therapy for adolescents who have become severely addicted. It will describe how the reward system, attachment system, and anxiety-stress system (limbic system) interact at the neurobiological level. As a result of the study, it is shown that the role of the reward system in understanding the development of dependence cannot be understood neurophysiologically without the role of attachment and anxiety-stress. One conclusion from this is that this relationship should be taken into account therapeutically in order to be able to expand the spectrum of therapeutic intervention options and to be able to make the therapy of severe dependence disorders in adolescence more successful. Methodologically, two levels of description are compared here: On the first level, the neurobiological research findings are presented as the connection between addiction, trauma and attachment; on the second level, the significance of the research findings for therapeutic practice is concretely described and empirically demonstrated on the basis of a case report. In conclusion, it is shown that understanding the neurobiological function of the implicit memory systems of reward, attachment, and anxiety/stress has a central importance for the further development of addiction therapy for dependent adolescents.},
     year = {2021}
    }
    

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  • TY  - JOUR
    T1  - Attachment-Based Therapy for Addiction and Trauma in Children and Adolescents
    AU  - Frank Maria Fischer
    Y1  - 2021/07/27
    PY  - 2021
    N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajp.20210703.18
    DO  - 10.11648/j.ajp.20210703.18
    T2  - American Journal of Pediatrics
    JF  - American Journal of Pediatrics
    JO  - American Journal of Pediatrics
    SP  - 130
    EP  - 136
    PB  - Science Publishing Group
    SN  - 2472-0909
    UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajp.20210703.18
    AB  - This article is about why children and adolescents with traumatic experiences are particularly at risk of becoming severely addicted. It addresses the question of why it is so difficult for them to feel safe in therapeutic relationships. It will be examined to what extent the epidemiology of addiction, trauma, and attachment disorder provides evidence as to whether there is a significant relationship among the disorders that contributes to the complicated and lengthy nature of therapy for adolescents who have become severely addicted. It will describe how the reward system, attachment system, and anxiety-stress system (limbic system) interact at the neurobiological level. As a result of the study, it is shown that the role of the reward system in understanding the development of dependence cannot be understood neurophysiologically without the role of attachment and anxiety-stress. One conclusion from this is that this relationship should be taken into account therapeutically in order to be able to expand the spectrum of therapeutic intervention options and to be able to make the therapy of severe dependence disorders in adolescence more successful. Methodologically, two levels of description are compared here: On the first level, the neurobiological research findings are presented as the connection between addiction, trauma and attachment; on the second level, the significance of the research findings for therapeutic practice is concretely described and empirically demonstrated on the basis of a case report. In conclusion, it is shown that understanding the neurobiological function of the implicit memory systems of reward, attachment, and anxiety/stress has a central importance for the further development of addiction therapy for dependent adolescents.
    VL  - 7
    IS  - 3
    ER  - 

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Author Information
  • Psychiatry for Children and Adolescents, Kinderkrankenhaus Auf Der Bult Hannover, Hannover, Germany

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