A history of holding therapy

Holding therapy traces its roots to techniques developed in the 1970s by Robert Zaslow, who believed he could treat autism by holding patients to induce rage. He believed the process would break down defense mechanisms, making them more receptive and cooperative.

A decade later, a technique called "holding time" was introduced. Mothers were instructed to hold defiant children tightly to cause anger, resulting in spitting, screaming, swearing or biting.

The mothers were told to accept these behaviors calmly and silently. The children would eventually begin crying. The theory was that if mothers could resist the temptation to feel sorry for the child, the child would enter into an acceptance stage and become relaxed and tired.

At that point, according to the theory, the mother would loosen her hold on the child and a bonding process would begin in which the child would find comfort in the mother.

In 1991, Foster Cline and colleagues at Attachment Center in Evergreen, Colo., promoted the use of similar holding techniques with adopted, maltreated children who suffered from what was described as an attachment disorder.

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Source: "Description, History and Critique of Corrective Attachment Therapy," Matthew L. Speltz, University of Washington School of Medicine