The Dynamic-Maturational theory of Attachment and Adaptation (DMM) and the attachment assessments are presented. The focus is on their practical applications, relevance and utility. The DMM offers a comprehensive theoretical approach to the assessment of attachment at all ages, in particular, in contexts posing high levels of threat to individuals and their progeny. The DMM conceptualizes danger as the key factor in the organization of attachment behavior. Rather than describing distressed or troubled children as ´disorganized´, the DMM construes their behavior in terms of organized self-protective strategies that function to maximize protection under threatening conditions. This understanding of human adaptation changes the focus from a deficit to a strengths approach, an understanding of how such extreme experience calls for attachment strategies, which may become maladaptive in other contexts. The authors analyze how dangers influence organization of behavior within families who pose a risk to their children’s development. A comprehensive understanding of risk factors should include historical, cultural, contextual and psychological threats as a base for forming functional case formulations and treatment plans.