Attachment Based Care for Teams

In collaboration with the residential care team at Asster Hospital, prof Bosmans, dr Levy and prof Diamond, a milieu framework was developed, designed for interdisciplinary teams, ‘Attachment Based Care for Teams’. This framework is based on attachment theory and learning theory insights, translated into a set of skills and knowledge for team members with different (levels) of education and expertise. The Attachment Based Care for Teams program consists of training, supervision and milieu change. It can be implemented in outpatient and inpatient settings, aiming to focus on their collaborative efforts with families to repair relational ruptures for kids and youth. Settings who would implement Attachment Based Care for Teams, can hold on to whatever guidelines and methods that have proved to work for their clients. The program offers a trans-diagnostical framework to gain insights and deal with emotional and behavioural problems. Emotional issues and problematic behaviour, often diagnosed as ‘pathology’, are viewed as coping ways in human development when facing (extreme) distress.

Team members are trained to analyse and guide behaviour based on the principles of learning theory, such as assessing behaviour’s function and meaning for clients. A third characteristic of the program is the emphasis on emotion focused conversation skills. A fourth and last aspect of the program is that it not only lands a training on a team, yet also engages a team and its leadership to rethink and reorganise their existing care program in alignment with the proposed attachment and learning theory insights.
The full ABC for Teams program consists of three stages, with a pre-trajectory of analysing a team’s needs, strengths and challenges, a team training program made to fit and a supervision after-phase. A condition to implement the ABC for Teams program in a service or unit, is the training of at least one family therapist in ABFT. For more information, please contact Ilse Devacht.