Corrective attachment episodes in attachment-based family therapy: the power of enactment.

Corrective attachment episodes, therapeutic enactments designed to increase openness and trust between young adults and their parents, are the purported primary change mechanism in attachment-based family therapy. This study examined whether sequences of therapist interventions, young adults' productive emotional processing, and parental behaviors thought to reflect corrective attachment episodes were characteristic of good versus poor outcome cases. Thirty conjoint attachment sessions were analyzed using the THEME algorithm. Results revealed that only in good outcome cases were there four-step sequences hypothesized to facilitate attachment. One sequence began with the therapist focusing on the young adult's primary adaptive emotions, followed by the young adult's productive emotional processing of their vulnerable emotions, followed by the therapist empathizing with and validating the parent, followed by parents' expressions of warmth toward their young adult. The second sequence began with the therapist focusing on the young adult's unmet attachment needs, followed by the young adult productively processing their vulnerable emotions, followed by the parent expressing a willingness to fulfill their young adult's attachment needs, followed by parents' expressions of warmth toward their young adult. Findings provide an empirically-based clinical map for conducting therapeutic enactments in family therapy and have implications for treatment development, therapist training and supervision.

Emotional processing in attachment-based family therapy for suicidal adolescents.

Objective: This study examined proposed sequential pathways through which suicidal adolescents are thought to shift from secondary global distress and rejecting anger to primary adaptive hurt, grief and assertive anger in the context of attachment-based family therapy (ABFT). Method: Participants were 39 suicidal adolescents who had received 16 weeks of ABFT as part of a randomized clinical trial, and who had been assigned to one of three outcome groups (i.e., good responders, slow responders and non-responders). Adolescents' in-session emotions were observationally coded using the Classification of Affective-Meaning States. Results: Across outcome groups, adolescents evidenced shifts from global distress to maladaptive shame, from maladaptive rejecting anger to adaptive assertive anger, and from adaptive assertive anger to adaptive grief/hurt. Adolescents who did not respond to treatment evidenced higher rates of maladaptive global distress. Conclusions: Findings are discussed in the context of ABFT and sequential emotional processing theories.

Therapist Interventions Associated with Productive Emotional Processing in the Context of Attachment-Based Family Therapy for Depressed and Suicidal Adolescents.

Productive emotional processing is considered a key change mechanism in attachment-based family therapy (ABFT). This study examined the impact of attachment-based family therapy therapist interventions aimed to promote productive emotional processing of primary adaptive emotions in a sample of 30 depressed and suicidal adolescents who had participated in a larger randomized clinical trial. Results of sequential analyses revealed that relational reframes and therapists' focus on primary adaptive emotions were associated with the subsequent initiation of adolescents' productive emotional processing of primary adaptive emotions. In contrast, interpretations, reassurances, and therapists' focus on adolescents' rejecting anger toward their parents were all followed by the discontinuation of adolescents' emotional processing that had already begun. Finally, therapists' general encouragement of affect and focus on adolescents' unmet attachment/identity needs were associated with both the initiation of adolescents' productive emotional processing, and with the discontinuation of such processing once it had already begun. Theoretical and clinical implications are discussed.

El procesamiento emocional productivo (Greenberg, Auszra y Hermann, 2007) se considera un mecanismo de cambio clave en la terapia familiar centrada en apego (ABFT en inglés; Diamond, Diamond, & Levy, 2014). Este estudio examinó el impacto de intervenciones terapéuticas ABFT dirigidas a promover el procesamiento emocional productiva de emociones adaptativas primarias en una muestra de 30 estudiantes deprimidos y suicidas que participaron en un ensayo clínico aleatorio de mayor escala. Los resultados de los análisis secuenciales revelaron que los reencuadres relacionales y el enfoque de los terapistas en las emociones adaptativas primarias se asociaron al inicio subsiguiente del procesamiento emocional productivo de emociones adaptativas primarias por parte de los adolescentes. En cambio, las interpretaciones, afirmaciones y el enfoque de los terapistas en el enojo rechazador de los adolescentes hacia sus padres fueron seguidas por la suspensión del procesamiento emocional que había ya comenzado. Por último, la motivación general por parte de los terapistas del afecto y enfoque en las necesidades insatisfechas de apego/identidad de los adolescentes se asociaron tanto al inicio del procesamiento emocional productivo de los adolescentes como a la suspensión de dicho procesamiento cuando había ya comenzado. Se discuten las implicaciones teóricas y clínicas.

Supportive Versus Demanding Intervention Programs for Young Adults With Severe Mental Illness.

Two rehabilitation programs for young adults ages 18 to 30 with severe mental illness were launched in Israel in 2009. Both programs adhered to the Illness Management and Recovery approach, but one emphasized emotional support and containment (supportive model program), and the other emphasized practical support to promote independence (demanding model program). A formative and developmental evaluation of both programs was conducted. Qualitative and quantitative findings indicated that both programs have merits, suggesting that they could be combined to formulate a best practice tailored for the unique needs of this population.