Attachment Theory is the theoretical basis for how and why I work with my clients. If you are curious about Attachment Theory, here is is a very brief description . Please use the links for a more detailed description of the theory and related topics.
Attachment Theory is not new, but has recently received a lot of attention in the media, and has been well substantiated by current research in neurobiology. Attachment Theory suggests that throughout the lifespan, but most acutely in early life, human survival is dependent upon close relationships. These relationships are called attachment relationships, and they are the ones that meet our physical, psychological and emotional needs when we are too young to do that for ourselves. How well they meet our needs has a profound and lasting effect on all our relationships to come.
The fascinating thing about how these relationships work is that both the parent and the child engage in certain behaviors which elicit a response from the other. That is, even babies actively seek mother’s attention, and vice versa, in the building of a strong attachment. This interaction looks a lot like a dance of attunement in which both partners are reading and responding to each other’s nuanced moves.
The acute dependency in attachment relationships makes them the most important in our early lives--literally they are the difference between life and death. What we now understand is that this early pattern between infant and caregiver is the template for every close relationship in our later lives. You can read more about adult attachment on my Couples Therapy page.
For one of the best and most readable books on the subject of attachment, I recommend Becoming Attached: First Relationships and How They Shape Our Capacity to Love
