Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Trauma, Attachment, And Family Therapy With Grandfamilies: A Model For Treatment, Deena D. Strong, Roy A. Bean, Leslie L. Feinauer

Faculty Publications

Population estimates indicate that approximately 1.5 million children are in grandparent-headed households without any parents present. This type of grandfamily is often created when biological parents are unable or unwilling to care for their children. Trauma is often experienced as a precursor to, or a consequence of, the biological parents' inability or unwillingness to care for their children. The well-being of both grandparent and grandchild may be affected in grandfamilies. A treatment model is presented that integrates trauma, attachment, and family systems theories and proposes that healing is facilitated through the emerging attachment between the grandparent and grandchild.