Attachment Theory in Clinical Work with Children: Bridging the Gap Between Research and Practice

David Oppenheim, PhD, is Associate Professor of Psychology at the University of Haifa, Israel, and Associate Editor of Infant Mental Health Journal. He has been involved in attachment research for more than 20 years, focusing on the importance of secure, emotionally open parent-child relations for children's development and mental health. Dr. Oppenheim has also studied how secure attachments are fostered by parental insightfulness into the child's inner world, and has applied attachment concepts and methods in research on clinical populations. He is actively involved in lecturing and writing on the clinical applications of attachment.  Douglas F. Goldsmith, PhD, is a practicing psychologist and Executive Director of The Children’s Center, in Salt Lake City, Utah, which specializes in the treatment of families with infants, toddlers, and preschoolers. His work focuses on the assessment and treatment of attachment problems, and he has published several articles regarding the application of attachment theory to clinical practice. Dr. Goldsmith holds adjunct faculty appointments in the Departments of Educational Psychology, Psychology, and Psychiatry at the University of Utah.