September/October 2014

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Editor's Note

Rich Simon

Has the time come to consider whether the profound changes in our economy, technology, and culture over these last couple of decades have opened up a breach in the very experience of intimate connection in middle-class families around the world? And if so, what can we as therapists do about it?

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A man holds a baby in one hand and looks at his phone in another

The Rise of the Two-Dimensional Parent

Are Therapists Seeing a New Kind of Attachment?

Ron Taffel

We used to think that disordered attachment was the result of early parental neglect or abuse. But today, has a paradoxical mix of parental overinvolvement and inattention led to a social epidemic of pseudo-attachment? Read More
A parent wrapping their child in bubble wrap and helmet

Bubble-Wrapping Our Children

The Perils of Overprotective Parenting

Michael Ungar

We've become so focused on keeping children safe that we exaggerate the dangers they face despite the fact that they’ve never been safer. Still, no amount of statistical reports can get parents to stop hovering over their child. What’s a therapist to do? Read More
A young boy with a hood on stands next to a fence and looks dejected

Getting Unhooked

Connecting with Traumatized Kids Who Push Your Buttons

Martha Straus

Most parents “loan” children their adult regulatory system beginning at birth. But developmentally traumatized teens have missed out on this opportunity when they were little. Thus, a major goal of therapy is to backfill this absolutely essential experience, which is often not an easy job. Read More

Extra Feature

An illustration of a man in a formal shirt and tie with wings flies towards the sun while another falls below

The Downside of Happiness

Beware of What You Wish For

Todd Kashdan & Robert Biswas-Diener

Although happiness is widely beneficial, organizing one’s life around it can lead to a great deal of effort and time being spent unwisely. Trying too hard to be happy interferes with the pleasure, engagement, and meaning we could otherwise find in the world. Read More

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