Assessing attachment needs and potential in high-risk infants

This paper outlines a clinical response to these pressures through the development of rigorous, evidence-based approaches to the early assessment of the young child in out-of-home care, with a primary focus on the potential of a caregiver to parent that child in line with his or her developmental needs. The approach described aims for "depth" understanding of the traumatised attachment relationship, its historical underpinnings, and its psychological trajectories for parent and child. Above all, it aims to clearly delineate, from an evidence base, the capacity of the relationship to recover, within a time frame that is developmentally appropriate for the child.