Connecting with Sara: Facilitating attachment

Abstract

This paper investigates the value and meaning of the attachment that forms within the therapeutic relationship. It follows the progress of a now 53‐month‐old African American homeless child as she is given the opportunity to form a human attachment through the use of Attachment and Object Relations theories. This paper integrates the work of developmental, attachment, and object relations theorists such as Mahler, Stern, Bowlby, Greenspan, Winnicott, and Fonegy. The child's story is illustrated through the use of documented history as told by the mother to the therapist and through clinical material from the child's therapeutic sessions. This paper also examines what it means to be a culturally competent and responsible social worker. Research into parenting practices, beliefs, and skills among homeless, African American single women is discussed and integrated into a theory of practice.