Choosing the best reactive attachment disorder treatment may involve a collaborative effort between parents or caregivers, doctors, and mental health experts. Often, these parties determine that a combination of treatment approaches is best for handling this disorder. For example, treatment plans for reactive attachment disorder often include mental health counseling and medication. Educating the parents or caregivers of the affected child is often a part of the treatment as well. The best treatment plan, however, depends on the unique needs of the child in question.
Reactive attachment disorder is a condition in which a child doesn’t develop the normal bonds of attachment with his caregivers. Unfortunately, this condition can go on to affect a child’s entire childhood as well as his relationships as an adult. The best treatments for this condition are usually those that help the affected child learn to develop healthy relationships. Often, the best treatments also include a focus on the child’s parents or caregivers.
Typically, the best reactive attachment disorder treatment plans are those that involve mental health counseling. In most cases, however, the counseling part of the treatment isn’t focused on the child alone. Instead, parents often need therapy as well in order to develop skills for coping with and helping a child who has this disorder. If a child has non-parental caregivers, siblings, or other family members that are in frequent contact with him, they may benefit from counseling as well.
In many cases, doctors also consider medication an important part of reactive attachment disorder treatment. For instance, a child or teen with this disorder may suffer from depression or anxiety. In such a case, medications that treat these issues may be part of an optimal treatment plan. Sometimes doctors also use medications to control hyperactivity in a patient with this condition.
Education may be a part of a good reactive attachment disorder treatment plan as well. For example, a child with this condition may sometimes benefit from a special education program that caters to his unique needs. Additionally, parents may benefit from education about the disorder and training that helps them build parenting skills. Educating parents and caregivers may prove particularly important because of the causes of this disorder, which include abuse and neglect.
There is a range of other treatments that are sometimes recommended for children with reactive attachment disorder. Many, however, are considered either risky or unlikely to work. For example, many doctors recommend against using re-birthing techniques and binding children as reactive attachment disorder treatment. Refusing children food or provoking anger responses also is unlikely to prove effective and may further harm the child.