What alternative health

practitioners might not tell you

 

ebm-first.com

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Also known as Holding Therapy, Compression Therapy, Rage Reduction, Coercive Restraint Therapy, CRT Parenting, AT Parenting (formerly ‘Nancy Thomas Parenting’), Therapeutic Parenting, Therapeutic Foster Parenting, Rebirthing, and ‘Cuddletime’.

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"The ABC program 20/20 did the public no service in its recent myopic support of pseudoscience. Aired in late November, 2008, the presentation "The Toughest Call" emphasized common "alternative" approaches to adoption issues, rather than citing excellent empirical research from investigators such as Sir Michael Rutter…..Like "Attachment Therapists", "The Toughest Call" put forward the unsubstantiated claim that adopted children need to be treated with systematic harsh, humiliating, and potentially dangerous disciplinary practices, a view contrary to a report of a task force of the American Professional Society on the Abuse of Children…..When attention was called to the program's problems, rather than attempting to correct the misinformation they had provided to the public, ABC staff circled the wagons and prepared a response that employed propagandistic arguments." Critical commentary by Jean Mercer, Ph.D., author of "Understanding Attachment" and "Child Development: Myths and Misunderstandings." James Randi Educational Foundation Swift blog (25th January 2009)

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Advocates for Children in Therapy is an educational and public advocacy organisation dedicated to halting the dangerous cruelty done to children by Attachment Therapy (AT), its associated Therapeutic Parenting practices, and other unvalidated, pseudoscientific interventions. Includes articles on what makes a proponent of AT, the lack of evidence for AT (including a look at the Myeroff study, the Becker-Weidman study, and Levy and Orlans's study), AT versus conventional child psychotherapies, and critics of AT.

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Latest news on Attachment therapy and the fight against it from Advocates for Children in Therapy.

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Review of the book 'Attachment Therapy on Trial: The Torture and Death of Candace Newmaker' by Jean Mercer Larry Sarner and Linda Rosa. Reviewed by Katherine Alexa Fowler Ph.D. (The Scientific Review of Mental Health Practice)

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Concludes: "Attachment therapy has many characteristics associated with warning signals of an unvalidated treatment. Mental health professionals have responsibilities to educate individuals and the community about unvalidated treatments such as attachment therapy and to work toward legislation and policy change to make such treatments unavailable." J. Mercer, Journal of Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Nursing (July-September 2001)

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Includes AT practices (Holding Therapy, Therapeutic Foster Parenting, and Rebirthing), AT theory, conceptual problems for empirical validation (information and consent, public verifiability, and outcome measures), and research on AT including the development of, and the validity issues, regarding the Randolph Attachment Disorder Questionnaire [RADQ]. Article by Jean Mercer, Ph.D., Richard Stockton College of New Jersey, The Scientific Review of Mental Health Practice (Fall-Winter 2002)

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Includes the Reactive Attachment Disorder [RAD] diagnosis, a look at the 'attachment community', and gives details of the founders and proponents of Attachment Therapy including Robert Zaslow, Foster Cline, Michael Orlans, Neil Feinberg, and Larry VanBloem. Also contains reports of child fatalities. Article by Shannon-Bridget Maloney (Quackwatch)

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"What is clear is that a variety of so-called 'attachment therapies' should be avoided. These treatments are often provided to children or adolescents with a history of early deprivation or maltreatment and a clinical picture characterized by 'psychopathic qualities', such as shallow or fake emotions, superficial connections to others, lack of remorse, and failures of empathy. Non-contingently coercive therapies, including 'compression holding therapies', 'rebirthing therapies', or promotion of regression for 're-attachment', have no empirical support for efficacy and have been associated with serious harm, including death." Charles H. Zeanah, MD, Developmental and Behavioural News, American Academy of Pediatrics (Autumn 2003)

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"There is no scientific evidence that such coercive interventions are effective. The growing number of deaths associated with these practices demonstrates their danger. These techniques also violate the fundamental human rights of the children subjected to them. The AACAP therefore urges that these coercive, dangerous and ineffective practices be discontinued." Quoted from the Policy Statement of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (November 2003) [Developed by the Child Abuse and Neglect Committee]

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"CRT [Coercive Restraint Therapy] is defined as a mental health intervention involving physical restraint and is used in adoptive or foster families with the intention of increasing emotional attachment to parents. Coercive restraint therapy parenting (CRTP) is a set of child care practices adjuvant to CRT. CRT and CRTP have been associated with child deaths and poor growth. Examination of the CRT literature shows a conflict with accepted practice, an unusual theoretic basis, and an absence of empirical support. Nevertheless, CRT appears to be increasing in popularity. This article discusses possible reasons for the increase, and offers suggestions for professional responses to the CRT problem." By Jean Mercer, PhD, Professor of Psychology, Richard Stockton College, Pomona, New Jersey, USA (9th August 2005) [pdf]

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"Despite multiple cases of injury and/or actual deaths of children treated with these so-called therapy techniques, a few therapists continue to advocate their use. The Utah Psychological Association, as well as number of other professional organizations, maintains that there is no scientific evidence to support the effectiveness of such interventions…there is strong clinical consensus that coercive therapy techniques are, in fact, contraindicated and potentially dangerous, constituting a form of physical and/or emotional child abuse." Official Position Statement of the Utah Psychological Association (2003) [pdf]

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Advocates for Children in Therapy (ACT) has been harassed by eight Attachment Therapists/Parenting Specialists who have serially filed bogus DMCA complaints. Essentially, these "therapists" objected to being quoted with full citations. ACT was automatically bounced by several ISPs who wanted nothing to do with any sort of complaint. It finally found a non-profit ISP -- Project DoD -- mainly concerned with First Amendment issues. When faced with an ISP that followed DMCA provisions, the Attachment Therapists started to harass Project DoD. Project DoD's Chris Mooney has written up what happened next in this link. (1st January 2010)