Reassessing Attachment Theory in Child Welfare

This book offers analysis of both the use and limitations of attachment theory as a basis for decision-making and planning in child welfare practice. It explores controversies relating to the increasing presence of ‘attachment disorder’ diagnoses as part of child welfare assessments and the arguments for and against the use of attachment specific therapies for children in care. It poses some important questions for child welfare students and practitioners, managers, policy-makers and academics across the fields of law, psychology, psychiatry and social work. It calls for a new pedagogy of relational child welfare which while appreciating the various attachment styles which children may exhibit, also understands them in the main as useful observations which can inform but should not determine professional interventions.