Attachment in Practice Book/DVD

The quality of early attachment relationships is of central importance to children's social and emotional development. It is vital to their all round development.

Shot over the first three years of an infant's life, the film shows the development of attachment behaviour. By observing the interactions between infants and their carers we see the attachment stages unfolding, giving a real understanding of how it works in practice. While the film focuses on secure attachment references are also made to insecure attachments.

The key aspects of secure base behaviour and the link between social and emotional development are shown clearly. Explanations of why things are happening at various stages are based on the now most generally accepted research and theory.

The documentary sequences are inter-cut with commentary by Dr. Per Olof Svanberg, consultant clinical psychologist. He has a relaxed, warm style of delivery and his explanations are clear and jargon free, as is the voice over commentary. He manages to include theory and research making it easy for students to make the links between theory and practice. 

The film is divided into sections:

Birth - 8 wks pre-attachment
8 wks - 8 mths attachment in the making
8 - 18 mths attachment behaviour
18 mths - 3 yrs increasing independence

The accompanying notes(26 pages) include questions and things to do, together with theory and up to date research relevant to each particular stage of attachment development. There is also a transcript of the films commentary and a recommended reading list.