Dr. Marlene Moretti is presenting a section invited keynote address at the 29th Annual International Congress of Applied Psychology (ICAP) taking place June 26-30th in Montreal, Canada. Please see below for the presentation abstract:
Author: Dr. Marlene Moretti
Keynote Address: From Research to Practice: Attachment, Trauma and Intervention
Abstract: The fundamental importance of attachment security in promoting mental health and wellbeing across the lifespan is clear. Exposure of children and teens to maltreatment and adversity not only increases risk for serious mental and physical health problems but also disrupts attachment security and derails how children express their needs to caregivers. When caregivers are unaware or unable to understand the attachment needs underlying these atypical behaviors they may respond in ways that further deepen and concretize insecurity in the children they care for. The key caregiving features that promote attachment security and the pathways from attachment security to resilience in childhood and adolescence are discussed in this presentation, with a particular emphasis understanding the transition of adolescence. Over the past decade remarkable progress has been made in the translation of attachment research into evidence based interventions to support caregivers and promote child and adolescent health. We will discuss the key features that define attachment-based intervention, the development, focus and evidence of existing treatments, including interventions designed to address the impact of trauma and promote healthy development in children and teens in foster care. Designing interventions that are scalable, sustainable and effective is critical to promoting child and adolescent health.
