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

Frank Maria Fischer

doi:doi:10.11648/j.ajp.20210703.18

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

Frank Maria Fischer

Published in American Journal of Pediatrics (Volume 7, Issue 3)

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), 2024. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

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

References

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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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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

Frank Maria Fischer

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

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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

Copy | Download

@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}
}

Copy | Download

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  -

Copy | Download