Treatment for Reactive Attachment Disorder
Treatment for Reactive Attachment Disorder
What exactly is the treatment for RAD?
Reactive Attachment Disorder can be treated in a number of ways. As a matter of fact, there are so many approaches to this difficult set of symptoms that most parents are confused, frustrated, and overwhelmed when trying to find help for their child and their family. Many families have gone from one therapy approach to another, and another, until their child is treatment averse and the parents are angry, exhausted, and hopeless.
1. Foremost, parents are the change agents in this treatment process. Treating the parents' Posttraumatic Stress symptoms, depression, and anxiety is essential and must come before all else.
2. Parents are educated and trained in attachment parenting, therapeutic parenting techniques, and the neuroscience of attachment and complex trauma.
3. All family members are supported to develop affect regulation skills.
4. Parents are coached to practice radical loving and firm structuring in order to create a safe environment for their child to begin the healing process.
5. The parents and child participate in intensive therapeutic re-parenting interventions and corrective communication processes to help the child move through developmental blocks created by trauma, neglect, abuse, and attachment disruption in the early years.
6. The child is supported to develop a coherent narrative with his/her parents in order to make sense of the past, ground in present reality, and prepare for a future of attached, loving relationships.
Length of the treatment of Reactive Attachment Disorder is highly variable and dependent on the age of the child, the degree of abuse, neglect , and attachment disruption in the first two years of the child's life, other organic disabilities, degree of bond between the parents and the child, the amount of prior failed treatment strategies, and the ability of the parents to maintain regulated emotional states in the presence of their attachment challenged child.
Since parents are the primary change agent in the life of their child, direct therapeutic interventions may only take 6 months to 2 years. Therapeutic parenting will be ongoing throughout each developmental milestone into adulthood.
How much does it typically cost?
I wish I could say it was free, because you deserve that if you have an adopted child. However, I must charge a fee for my services. Again, the cost is highly variable and dependent upon the intensity and duration of treatment. Services can be calculated by an hourly rate of $100.00 per office hour and $125.00 per in home session, or a monthly fee may be negotiated for a bundle of services at a reduced rate. Most families need a bundle of diverse services, so I am very open to negotiation of fees. I will also work with adoption assistance, counties, mental health and state entities in order to get your child the help s/he needs.
Does insurance usually cover this kind of treatment?
Yes, if your insurance plan has a mental health benefit that covers out of network marriage and family therapists and the RAD diagnosis is covered.
No, if your insurance plan is an HMO.
