Attachment in Intellectual and Developmental Disability: A Clinicians Guide to Practice and Research

This new title in the Wiley Series in Clinical Psychology is the first to explore the role of attachment theory in understanding and helping children and adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD). There is a growing evidence base of interventions for IDD underpinned by attachment theory, including direct intervention and the application of attachment theory to understand the interactions and relationships that occur between individuals with IDD and those who support them.

Attachment in Intellectual and Developmental Disability: A Clinician s Guide to Practice and Research brings together leading clinicians and researchers from around the globe to present and integrate cutting–edge models and approaches that have previously been accessible only to specialists; they discuss the role of attachment theory in clinical practice when working across the lifespan of people with IDD, and the theoretical basis of attachment difficulties and how these are presented. They also discuss practical approaches to assessment and intervention, using clear case studies to illustrate the applications of attachment theory to clinical work, practical advice and useful further resources.

Helen K Fletcher is a Chartered Clinical Psychologist within Southern Health NHS Trust and a Visiting Tutor for the Oxford Institute of Clinical Psychology Training. She has over twelve years of experience working with children and adults with IDD within the NHS in Community, Inpatient and Specialist Teams. Helen has carried out research in the area of Attachment and ID and has presented on the topic at national conferences.

Andrea Flood is a Chartered Clinical Psychologist, who has worked with children and adults with intellectual disabilities and /or autism spectrum disorder since qualifying in 2004. She currently works as a Clinical Teacher on the Doctorate in Clinical Psychology Programme at Liverpool University. Andrea is a co–author of the Manchester Attachment Scale 3rd party observational measure (MAST).

Dougal Julian Hare is Reader in Clinical Psychology at Cardiff University and Research Director for the South Wales clinical psychology training programme. He has practiced as a Chartered Clinical Psychologist working with people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) for nearly twenty years and has been an author on over eighty peer–reviewed articles and chapters in the fields of ID, neuropsychology and personal construct psychology.