Yearnings: Stories of Insecure Attachment and the Journey to Connect to God

Utilizing grounded theory and the semi-structured interviews of25 participants, this study sought to understand how an insecure attachment affects one\u27s relationship with God. Participants\u27 stories suggested that: I) one\u27s struggle to connect with God was a part of their struggle to connect with others; 2) that experiencing others as safe and responsive contributed to building a more secure attachment with God; and 3) that attachment is less a fixed style and more of an ongoing process: defined as gradual changes made by the participants towards the set-goal of feeling safe and secure. Four major processes were identified: I) finding what works; 2) a safe community; 3) significant time and energy given to creating secure relationships; and 4) being able to distinguish feelings about God and critical parent. Participants\u27 stories appeared to suggest that a safe community may facilitate a more secure attachment to God and others and provide a potential means of affect regulation during times of distress. Community is suggested to mediate affective responses of participants during times of distress by: I) providing a bridging function between insecure participants and God through helping participants feel safer and more secure as they seek a closer relationship with God; 2) soothing participants\u27 fears as they begin to experience intimacy; and 3) helping to create new safe images of God. Implications for clinical practice included suggestions for: I) incorporating attachment or relational language to help bridge the gap between client therapist religious background differences while tapping into the strengths and resources of a client\u27s religious beliefs and heritage; 2) utilizing small groups within a client\u27s faith community as another potential solution for developing healthy relationships and personal resources; and 3) helping clients create a positive image of God through experiencing others as caring and responsive as a therapeutic intervention in developing a more secure attachment. Limitations and directions for future research were also discussed

Prevention of type 1 diabetes by gene therapy

The autoimmune disease type 1 diabetes in humans and NOD mice is determined by multiple genetic factors, among the strongest of which is the inheritance of diabetes-permissive MHC class II alleles associated with susceptibility to disease. Here we examined whether expression of MHC class II alleles associated with resistance to disease could be used to prevent the occurrence of diabetes. Expression of diabetes-resistant MHC class II I-Aβ chain molecules in NOD mice following retroviral transduction of autologous bone marrow hematopoietic stem cells prevented the development of autoreactive T cells by intrathymic deletion and protected the mice from the development of insulitis and diabetes. These data suggest that type 1 diabetes could be prevented in individuals expressing MHC alleles associated with susceptibility to disease by restoration of protective MHC class II expression through genetic engineering of hematopoietic stem cells