“The core beliefs of children who have experienced secure and compromised attachments in the early years are as follows:

Secure Attachment:

  • Self. “I am good, wanted, worthwhile, competent, and lovable.”
  • Caregivers. “They are appropriately responsive to my needs, sensitive, dependable, caring, trustworthy.”
  • Life. “My world feels safe; life is worth living.”

Compromised Attachment:

  • Self. “I am bad, unwanted, worthless, helpless, and unlovable.”
  • Caregivers. “They are unresponsive to my needs, insensitive, hurtful, and untrustworthy.”
  • Life. “My world feels unsafe; life is painful and burdensome.”

“The goal of Corrective Attachment Parenting is not merely to change children’s behavior, but rather to change their negative core beliefs. This is quite challenging, because core beliefs are rigid, automatic, and associated with self-protection and survival. Your relationship with your child becomes the pathway to change and healing. Without change, negative core beliefs formed early in life remain fixed into adulthood, with severe social and emotional consequences.” ~Terry Levy http://www.evergreenpsychotherapycenter.com/memory-impacts-child-core-beliefs/