The Attachment Nest

About

This course offers an integrative and inclusive approach to understand human attachment development and its role across a large spectrum of (a)typical functioning and across different settings. Insights from theoretical, experimental and clinical work will be presented by the international panel of scholars (Europe, Africa, America) that will contribute to this course content.

We will also collaborate with the European Association for Mental Health in Intellectual Disability (EAMHID), with two experts that will share invaluable clinical and empirical knowledge on the use of creative arts in therapy (i.e. music therapy).

In line with the 17 sustainable goals, we seek to offer high quality education and to foster an inclusive approach to care, in order to help reduce inequalities and promote sustainable communities for vulnerable populations (i.e. intellectual and physical disabilities), based on high quality research.

Early caregiving experiences are shown to influence children’s long-lasting socioemotional and cognitive development. This is best described by one of the influential theories of human development, the attachment theory (Bowlby, 1969). Half a century later, researchers are more intrigued than ever to explain the biological and the cognitive mechanisms through which early attachment relationships shape development so pervasively. It has been theorized that infants form mental representations, formally called internal working models (IWM; Pietromonaco & Barrett, 2000) that perform as a rudimentary template for future interactions, expectations about the self, others and their relationships. However, the theory of attachment was established within the normative child development. But, how does the attachment relationship with the parent develop in an atypical development (e.g. intellectual disability, visual impairment)?

Course leader

Dr. Stefania V. Vacaru and Prof. dr. Paula S. Sterkenburg

Fee info