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Digital Seminar

Beyond Fight, Flight or Freeze: Threat of Abandonment and Its Developmental Consequences: A 30-Year Longitudinal Perspective

Faculty:
Karlen Lyons-Ruth, PhD
Duration:
1 Hour 39 Minutes
Copyright:
May 28, 2021
Product Code:
POS052729
Media Type:
Digital Seminar
Access:
Never expires.
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Description

Our nervous system has an organized stress response system with different developmentally sensitive periods – the fear of abandonment and the fear of attack. Our 30-year longitudinal study has revealed the impacts of caregiver withdrawing behaviours on the development of the human nervous system and the long-term impacts that early disrupted attachment has on adulthood.

Key points:

  • Two differently organized stress response systems, with different developmental sensitive periods, are likely to be active in human development: Fear of Abandonment and Fear of Attack.
  • These systems motivate different but contradictory adaptive responses: fight, flight or freeze versus call and contact-seek.
  • Withdrawing behaviours by the caregiver are associated with activation of fear of abandonment and subsequent role confusion in relation to the caregiver.
  • Attachment disturbances, and caregiver withdrawal in particular, are associated with long-term deviations in amygdala and hippocampal development.
  • Contributions of both early attachment disturbance and later childhood abuse need to be separately conceptualized in treatment approaches to complex trauma.

CPD

CPD
- PESI Australia, in collaboration with PESI in the USA, offers quality online continuing professional development events from the leaders in the field at a standard recognized by professional associations including psychology, social work, occupational therapy, alcohol and drug professionals, counselling and psychotherapy. On completion of the training, a Professional Development Certificate is issued after the individual has answered and submitted a quiz and course evaluation. This online program is worth 1.75 hours CPD for points calculation by your association.

Handouts

File type File name Number of pages
Text Document Transcript (42.1 KB) 30 Pages Available after Purchase

Faculty

Karlen Lyons-Ruth, PhD's Profile

Karlen Lyons-Ruth, PhD Related seminars and products

Karlen Lyons-Ruth, PhD is a professor of Psychology at Harvard Medical School, a clinical supervisor for the Cambridge Health Alliance Psychology and Psychiatry training programs and a core faculty member for the first-year Child Psychiatry Seminar for MGH/McLean, Children’s Hospital, and Cambridge Health Alliance fellows. She was a Summa Cum Laude graduate of Duke University and received her PhD in Developmental Psychology from Harvard University. Before coming to Harvard Medical School, she completed a clinical internship at McLean Hospital and served as a post-doctoral research fellow in the Department of Child Psychiatry, Boston University School of Medicine

 

Speaker Disclosures:
Financial: Karlene Lyons-Ruth has employment relationships with Harvard University and Cambridge Health Alliance. She receives grants from McLean Hospital and Mental Wellness Foundation. Karlene Lyons-Ruth receives a speaking honorarium from PESI, Inc. She has no relevant financial relationships with ineligible organizations.
Non-financial: Karlene Lyons-Ruth is a fellow of the American Psychological Association. She is a member of the Society for Research in Child Development, the International Society for Infant Studies, the World Association for Infant Mental Health, the Association for Psychological Science, and the Massachusetts Association for Infant Mental Health. She is an Ad hoc reviewer and editor for several peer review journals, for a complete list contact PESI, Inc.

Objectives

  1. Distinguish patterns that lead to trajectories toward role confusion and suicidality by late adolescence.
  2. Differentiate the effects of patterns of early parenting on stress-sensitive limbic brain regions in adulthood.
  3. Analyze the evidence for both the effects of fears of abandonment and fears of attack on behavioral and brain development.

Outline

  • Two differently organized stress response systems, with different developmental sensitive periods, are likely to be active in human development: Fear of Abandonment and Fear of Attack
  • These systems motivate different but contradictory adaptive responses: fight, flight or freeze versus call and contact-seek
  • Withdrawing behaviours by the caregiver are associated with activation of fear of abandonment and subsequent role confusion in relation to the caregiver
  • Attachment disturbances, and caregiver withdrawal, in particular, are associated with long-term deviations in amygdala and hippocampal development
  • Contributions of both early attachment disturbance and later childhood abuse need to be separately conceptualized in treatment approaches to complex trauma

Target Audience

  • Counselors
  • Social Workers
  • Psychologists
  • Psychotherapists
  • Therapists
  • Marriage & Family Therapists
  • Addiction Counselors
  • Case Managers
  • Physicians
  • Nurses
  • Other Mental Health Professionals

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