Can adults have attachment disorders?

I've been doing some research on this recently. Adults cannot receive a diagnosis of attachment disorder because it is considered a childhood disorder. Unresolved attacment disorder could lead to a personality disorder in adulthood, however, with borderline personality disorder being most common. It has a lot of the same symptoms as attachment disorder.

Yes........especially if they never receive or benefit from therapy.

See "Stop walking on eggshells" by Paul Mason & Randi Kreger - it has a great checklist so you can see how strong the indicators are for BPD. My 18yo daughter is the poster child for this disorder (she has all sypmtoms listed except one). My other kids (all were adopted from foster care & were abused/neglected in some way) have some of the symptoms but not nearly as many as my 18yo. I only got the book this weekend but it is excellent and I am excited as it gives tips for dealing with the behaviors.

Yes they can and it would steem from not getting or WORKing with the issues when younger..We have told has bad as our daughters RAD is she will not get over it and grow up to have abusive and failed relasionships..Poeople with RAD can not love or attach..they can say the words but there mind doesn't connect with there heart

yes - adults can have all kinds of issues from unresolved attachment issues, and depending on the severity of the attachment issues (remember, attachment issues will be on a range of mild to severe), it could cover a lot of different problems - anything from dysfunctional relationships to that alphabet soup psychiatric stuff. Our AT has adult patients - and depending on the person's willingness to work and change, an adult can achieve healing from attachment issues. While none of us want to see our kids with attachment issues go through hard times, and achieving emotional health can get that much more difficult as one gets older, I'm a firm believer that there is always hope - even if our kids aren't healed on our timetable.Fran

Hi I am new to this forum. AS an adult adoptee, I am realizing yes I still have many issues about who I am, I know that is very hard for me to bond with anyone. I know I never bonded with Amom, and have had many failed relationships since then. I am working at resolving those issues, so that I can lead a better life. I am looking for other adult adoptees who have gone through this or are going through this, for support and communication. Thnk you.

Unresolved RAD or attachment is Borderline personality disorder in adults and teens. It is also a spectrum disorder with varying degrees of severity, symptoms or probems. DBT is the type of treatment generally suggested for this disorder.

Hi, I have been thinking about this a lot, I was recently dianogsed with a bi-polar disorder, I believe it stems from RAD. My question is what is DBT treatment? And where did you purchase the book stop walking on eggshells? Thank you all for helping me with this. Robynn

Dialectical behavior therapy (DBT), which was developed by Marsha Linehan, PhD, at the University of Washington, is a type of psychotherapy (sometimes called "talking therapy") for borderline personality disorder (BPD). DBT is a cognitive behavioral therapy, meaning it is a therapy that focuses on the role of cognition (e.g., thoughts and beliefs) and behaviors (e.g., actions) in the development and the treatment of BPD. DBT includes some changes to the traditional cognitive behavioral elements of therapy in order to help specifically reduce the symptoms of BPD. Research Support for Dialectical Behavior Therapy DBT was the first psychotherapy shown to be effective in treating BPD in controlled clinical trials -- the most rigorous type of clinical research. While DBT is no longer the only therapy to have shown effectiveness in controlled trials, it has grown a large evidence base and is considered one of the best treatments for BPD in terms of documented success rates. Theoretical Basis for Dialectical Behavior Therapy DBT is based on Dr. Linehan's theory that the core problem in BPD is emotion dysregulation, resulting from mixing biology (e.g., genetic and other biological risk factors) and an emotionally unstable childhood environment (e.g., where caregivers punish, trivialize or respond erratically to the child's expression of emotion) together. The focus of DBT is on helping the client learn and apply skills that will decrease emotion dysregulation and unhealthful attempts to cope with strong emotions. What to Expect in Dialectical Behavior Therapy Usually, DBT includes a combination of group skills training, individual psychotherapy and phone coaching, although there are exceptions. Patients in DBT are asked to monitor their symptoms and use of learned skills daily, while their progress is tracked throughout therapy. There are four main types of skills that are covered in DBT skills training. These are: Mindfulness Meditation Skills. These skills center on learning to observe, describe and participate in all experiences (including thoughts, sensations, emotions and things happening externally in the environment) without judging these experiences as "good" or "bad." These are considered "core" skills that are necessary in order to implement the other DBT skills successfully. Interpersonal Effectiveness Skills. The focus of this skill module is on learning to successfully assert your needs and to manage conflict in relationships. Distress Tolerance Skills. The distress tolerance skills module promotes learning ways to accept and tolerate distress without doing anything that will make the distress worse in the long run (e.g., engaging in self-harm). Emotion Regulation Skills. In this module, patients learn to identify and manage emotional reactions. [url=http://bpd.about.com/od/treatments/a/IntroDBT.htm]Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) - An Introduction to Dialectical Behavior Therapy for BPD[/url]

Sadly, each one of my foster or adopted children's parents has had BPD. So, they didn't really stand a chance with their own kids.