Attachment-Focused Family Therapy

Attachment-focused family therapy (AFFT), developed by Daniel Hughes, is a relationship-centered model of family treatment whose goal is to facilitate the relationships between parents and their children, using the theories and research of attachment and intersubjectivity as its guide. AFFT models itself on the reciprocal, contingent interactions that characterize the relationship between parent and infant or young child. The initiatives and responses of therapist, parent, and child create a reciprocal dialogue that has both affective and reflective components. The dialogue communicates acceptance, not evaluation, and generates an open and engaged attitude common to a person who is safe, rather than that of someone who is defensive. Within this dialogue, affective states are being coregulated, new meanings of relationships and events are being cocreated, and more ...