The Association for Treatment and Training in the Attachment of Children Annual Conference to be Held in September

Reported in the May issue of Adoption Today Magazine:

The Association for Treatment and Training in the Attachment of Children (ATTACh) is hosting its 23rd annual confernce Sept. 21-24, 2011 in Omaha, Neb. This year’s conferences focuses on Attachment and Trauma: through the Eyes of a Child. For more than 20 years, ATTACh has been advocating for improved treatment services for children who have experienced significant traumas affecting their attachment.

This year, ATTACh is bringing the conference to the Plains area. Approximately 400 attendees from across North America, as well as other countries, are expected to attend. Attachment-related traumas can include
child maltreatment, separation and loss of a parent, exposure to post-partum depression, domestic violence, and other overwhelming early life experiences that affect the child’s sense of security. Research over 50 years has demonstrated that the nature and quality of the attachment relationship between a child and primary caregiver influences virtually all other spheres of development — neurological, behavioral, social, emotional and moral.

The ATTACh Annual Conference is an opportunity for parents and professionals to network with peers and to learn from world renowned experts about the most recent developments, research and training in the fields of attachment and trauma. The conference will include 35 workshops designed for parents and experienced professionals, as well as those new to the field. Two keynote addresses are also planned by Edward Tronick, Ph.D., developer of the Still-face paradigm, author, researcher and Harvard professor; and Laurie Anne Pearlman, Ph.D., a clinical psychologist from Massachusetts, who specializes in vicarious trauma. Full day presentations at the postconference institute will feature John Briere, Ph.D., author, researcher and professor at Keck School of Medicine, LAC-USC; and, a special workshop led by Victoria Kelly, Ph.D. and Lori Thomas, experts in the area of therapeutic parenting techniques for families parenting children who have experienced trauma in early childhood. For more information, contact Lynn Wetterberg at 847-356-3506 or Jackie Meyer at 02-336-4841.