Children and/or adults who have experienced a trauma in their life often have difficulty forming healthy attachments. Below are some of the behaviors common to this area of difficulty.
- Extreme urge to control others (bossiness)
- Too much or too little affection
- Lack of cooperation (especially with mothers)
- Overly friendly with strangers/poor interpersonal boundaries
- Emotional isolation
- Lying/Stealing
- Inappropriate attention seeking
- Feelings of high shame / lack of empathy for others
- Testing- often seen in children and adolescents where they engage in negative behaviors intended to cause the caretaker(s) to reject them, because they believe this outcome is inevitable.
The purpose of therapy is to help provide a safe and nurturing environment where past dysfunctional relationships and/or events can be explored and worked through, teaching effective coping mechanisms.
