Emeritus Univ.-Prof. Dr. med. habil. Karl Heinz Brisch specializes in child and adolescent psychiatry and psychotherapy, adult psychiatry and neurology, including psychosomatic medicine, psychoanalysis, trauma psychotherapy, and group psychoanalysis.

Dr. Brisch held the first ever Chair in Early Life Care at Paracelsus Medical University in Salzburg, Austria. He also lectures at the Psychoanalytic Institute in Stuttgart, Germany.

For many years, he was head of the Department of Pediatric Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy at the Dr. von Hauner Children’s Hospital at the University of Munich, Germany.

Dr. Brisch’s main research and clinical interest is in early child development and attachment psychotherapy in all age groups. He has published numerous books, papers, and articles on attachment development in high-risk infants and clinical attachment research. He developed the prevention programs SAFE^® - Secure Attachment Family Education and B.A.S.E.^® - Babywatching for use in educational and other settings. He is a founding member of the German-Speaking Association for Infant Mental Health (GAIMH) and led the organization for many years. www.khbrisch.de

Attachment-based counseling and psychotherapy: Method and practical application in different age-groups

Attachment theory has proven very helpful in understanding the development of psychological and psychosomatic symptoms. But how can this knowledge be used in treatment if the early attachment experiences of both client/patient and counselor/therapist clash? The development of a secure therapeutic attachment relationship is critical to the success of treatment. But establishing such a relationship may be difficult if the client/patient’s behavior is based on an insecure or even disordered attachment pattern. In this presentation I will discuss “attachment-based counseling and psychotherapy,” and use examples from different age groups to elucidate various treatment phases.