It appears that “Attachment Disorder” as we know it today first established a toehold in the US in the early 1980’s. It is a name given to a syndrome first observed among some Romanian orphans who had been adopted into the West and who had experienced severe emotional deprivation. These children had difficulty or were unable to form attachments in early life. I remember seeing footage of the orphanages and children, it was appalling at best and completely heart wrenching, which contributed to the popularity in Westerners adopting these children. But these were the most extreme of circumstances.

Attachment Therapy is a growing, multi-faceted and underground movement for the treatment of children who pose disciplinary problems to their parents or caregivers, in most cases adoptees or foster children. These children are diagnosed as suffering from a failure to attach.

Friend: A person with whom one is allied in a struggle or cause; a comrade. One who supports, sympathizes with, or patronizes a group, cause, or movement.

It is unlawful to dispense medical advice without credentials to support the advice, in the United States. It is also illegal to represent yourself as a member of the medical profession if you do not hold a degree in the branch of medicine you purport to practice. Therefore it stands to reason that sometimes a friend’s hobby is commiserating with you, because certainly you don’t call a roofer if you break your leg, and you don’t ask a dog groomer for medical advice for your “disordered” child. You may ask a friend their opinion, but it is just that, and baseless as a diagnosis and treatment program. period.

Psychologist: A person trained and educated to perform
psychological research, testing, and therapy.

Psychiatry: The branch of medicine that deals with the diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of mental and emotional disorders.

In a random sampling of 10 "Attachment Therapy practitioners", only 2 actually held medical degrees and refused to be called AT’s or be characterized as such. The other 8 had: “honorary degrees”, multiple disciplinary actions, letters of admonition, probation, surrendered their licenses, had their licenses revoked, stipulated to restricted practice, alternative doctorates (i.e. veterinary degree) or simply had no education at all.

Charlatan: A person who makes elaborate, fraudulent, and often voluble claims to skill or knowledge; a quack or fraud.

"The chief factor contributing to the Attachment Therapy epidemic is the existence of a target population of adoptive parents.

This population includes frightened parents, who want to hear that the problems they have with their adopted children lie totally with the child and not with them, and that there is a miracle cure to make their financial and emotional investment pay off.

There are many support groups in the AT community, in fact, a growing "RADneck" community, and since the children are referred to as "RADishes", when a casualty occurs during therapy, the parents will rally round the adoptive parents."
http://www.skepticreport.com/mystics/attachmenttherapy.htm

I recommend a book covering these issues in depth, called “Attachment Therapy on Trial: the Torture and Death of Candace Newmaker”, by Jean Mercer, Larry Sarner and Linda Rosa. You may want to take note of the fact that these people actually have degrees in their chosen field.

Jean Mercer, PhD
Chairman of Professional Board of Advisors, ACT
Professor of Psychology, Richard Stockton College (Pomona, New Jersey)
President, New Jersey Association for Infant Mental Health

Larry Sarner, BS, BA
Administrative Director, ACT
Executive Director, Citizens for Science in Medicine

Linda Rosa, RN
Executive Director, ACT
National Board Member, National Council Against Health Fraud

You can believe what you want to believe, but the world is not flat, the sun does not orbit around the earth and RAD is not a valid diagnosis except under the most extreme of circumstances, by an actual doctor who is currently board certified as a mental health professional.

I want to believe that parents want what is best for their children...

childrenintherapy.org
kidscomefirst.info
quackfiles.blogspot.com