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Attachment Theory (attachment + theory)
Selected AbstractsTHE ANALYTIC RELATIONSHIP: INTEGRATING JUNGIAN, ATTACHMENT THEORY AND DEVELOPMENTAL PERSPECTIVESBRITISH JOURNAL OF PSYCHOTHERAPY, Issue 1 2009Jean Knox abstract This paper highlights some key features of a Jungian approach to transference and countertransference and suggests that a Jungian model has crucial aspects in common with contemporary views in attachment theory on the nature of the analytic relationship. The analytic relationship is examined in terms of the fundamental processes of psychic development described in attachment theory and affective neuroscience, namely affect regulation and development of reflective function and of self-agency. The relative value of three analytic techniques, those of interpretation, new relational experience and regression, are discussed in relation to these processes. I suggest that each of the traditional psychoanalytic and Jungian analytic models concentrates on differing aspects of these psychic processes and analytic techniques. I construct a grid to illustrate this and to demonstrate how attachment theory and developmental neuroscience offer a theoretical basis on which we can develop an integrated model of the nature of the analytic relationship and tasks. [source] ATTACHMENT THEORY AND PSYCHOANALYSIS: A RAPPROCHEMENTBRITISH JOURNAL OF PSYCHOTHERAPY, Issue 2 2000Jeremy Holmes ABSTRACT Attachment Theory, itself an offspring of psychoanalysis, can play a significant part in helping to link contemporary psychoanalysis with developments in neurobiology, neoDarwinism and infant research. Some highlights of this research are presented. Interpersonal experience in infancy impacts on the developing brain. Patterns of insecure attachment can be related to classical psychoanalytic defence mechanisms, but are seen as ways of maintaining contact with an object in suboptimal environments. The Adult Attachment Interview establishes different patterns of narrative style which can be related to parent-child interaction in infancy, and has confirmed many of psychoanalysis's major developmental hypotheses. With the help of two clinical examples, it is suggested that attachment ideas can help with clinical listening and identifying and intervening with different narrative styles in therapy. [source] Mothers' attachment representations and choice of infant care: center care vs. homeINFANT AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT, Issue 3 2001Nina Koren-KarieArticle first published online: 14 SEP 200 Abstract In the debate concerning the effects of day care on infant development, insufficient attention has been paid to the potential relationship between pre-existing emotional differences among mothers and the type of care they choose for their infants. To shed light on this issue, this study examines the attachment representations of mothers who choose day-care centres as opposed to mothers who choose to remain at home with their infants. Participants were 76 primiparous mothers. Mothers' attachment classifications were assessed by the Adult Attachment Interview [AAI; Main M, Kaplan N, Cassidy J. 1985. Security in infancy, childhood, and adulthood: a move to the level of representation. In Growing Points of Attachment Theory and Research. Monograph of the Society for Research in Child Development, 50, (1,2, serial no. 209), Bretherton I, Waters E (eds); 66,104]. Results indicate that more Day-care than Home-Care mothers are classified as insecurely attached. These results highlight the contribution of maternal emotional characteristics to the effects of diverse child care arrangements on infant development. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] ATTACHMENT THEORY AND PSYCHOANALYSIS: A RAPPROCHEMENTBRITISH JOURNAL OF PSYCHOTHERAPY, Issue 2 2000Jeremy Holmes ABSTRACT Attachment Theory, itself an offspring of psychoanalysis, can play a significant part in helping to link contemporary psychoanalysis with developments in neurobiology, neoDarwinism and infant research. Some highlights of this research are presented. Interpersonal experience in infancy impacts on the developing brain. Patterns of insecure attachment can be related to classical psychoanalytic defence mechanisms, but are seen as ways of maintaining contact with an object in suboptimal environments. The Adult Attachment Interview establishes different patterns of narrative style which can be related to parent-child interaction in infancy, and has confirmed many of psychoanalysis's major developmental hypotheses. With the help of two clinical examples, it is suggested that attachment ideas can help with clinical listening and identifying and intervening with different narrative styles in therapy. [source] Parental Bonding and Adult Attachment Styles in Different Types of Stalker,JOURNAL OF FORENSIC SCIENCES, Issue 6 2008Rachel D. MacKenzie D.Psych. Abstract:, Attachment theory is one of the earliest and most vigorously promoted explanations of the psychological processes that underlie stalking behavior. Insecure attachment has been proposed as impairing the management of relationships, thus increasing the propensity to stalk. The current study explored the parental bonding and adult attachment styles of 122 stalkers referred to a specialist forensic clinic. Stalkers were grouped according to two common classification methods: relationship and motivation. Compared to general community samples, stalkers were more likely to remember their parents as emotionally neglectful and have insecure adult attachment styles, with the degree of divergence varying according to stalker type and mode of classification. In offering support for the theoretical proposition that stalking evolves from pathological attachment, these findings highlight the need to consider attachment in the assessment and management of stalkers. Also emphasized is the importance of taking classification methods into account when interpreting and evaluating stalking research. [source] Attachment theory and emotions in close relationships: Exploring the attachment-related dynamics of emotional reactions to relational eventsPERSONAL RELATIONSHIPS, Issue 2 2005Mario Mikulincer Attachment theory is a powerful framework for understanding affect regulation. In this article, we examine the role played by attachment orientation in shaping emotional reactions to interpersonal transactions within close relationships. Using our recent integrative model of attachment-system activation and dynamics as a guide (M. Mikulincer & P. R. Shaver, 2003), we review relevant evidence, present new findings, and propose hypotheses concerning how people with different attachment styles are likely to react emotionally to relational events. Specifically, we focus on attachment-related variations in the emotional states elicited by a relationship partner's positive and negative behaviors and by signals of a partner's (relationship relevant or relationship irrelevant) distress or pleasure. In so doing, we organize existing knowledge and point the way to future research on attachment-related emotions in close relationships. [source] Practitioner Review: The contribution of attachment theory to child custody assessmentsTHE JOURNAL OF CHILD PSYCHOLOGY AND PSYCHIATRY AND ALLIED DISCIPLINES, Issue 2 2005James G. Byrne Background:, The area of child custody assessments continues to fail to meet the evidence-based threshold now established in clinical practice. This is despite the existence, for many years, of published guidelines governing the practice of custody assessments available from a number of professional bodies. Methods:, This article reviews the potential of attachment theory to contribute to the conceptualization of custody evaluations, clinical assessment, and the development of evidence-based practice. Particular attention is paid to specific instruments used to assess attachment in clinic and non-clinic settings. Results:, Guidelines concerning child custody assessments highlight the particular importance of assessing attachment and parent,child relationship quality. However, measures often used in the course of a custody assessment are not backed up with empirical research, and the measures that are supported by empirical research have been slow to influence practice. There may be conceptual and measurement advantages of considering an attachment research-informed custody assessment. Discussion:, Attachment theory has obvious conceptual relevance for the child custody context. Further clinical research is needed to demonstrate the usefulness of attachment research measures; research of this kind may shed important light on the development and resilience of affectional bonds. [source] Attachment theory and child abuse: an overview of the literature for practitionersCHILD ABUSE REVIEW, Issue 6 2001Heather Bacon Abstract This review shares the ,literature path' we followed in developing our ideas about how attachment theory can inform clinical work with abused children and adults. A short outline of the early work in the field is followed by a description of research that is relevant to clinical work with children and families in the field of child abuse and child protection. We then focus on those concepts and findings from research we have found most relevant to our own work with victims of child sexual abuse, their parents and carers, and with adult survivors. In our experience, a parallel theme is the effect of working in this field on professionals' own attachment systems, and the necessity to be aware of the interplay between the individual professional's response, the role of the organization and the ability to make useful clinical interventions. This review therefore includes some material about professional attachment systems and caregiving. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Adult attachment, intimacy and psychological distress in a clinical and community sampleCLINICAL PSYCHOLOGY AND PSYCHOTHERAPY (AN INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF THEORY & PRACTICE), Issue 6 2005Suzanne B. Pielage Attachment theory predicts that early experiences with caregivers affect the quality of individuals' later (romantic) relationships and, consequently, their mental health. The present study examined the role of intimacy in the current romantic relationship as a possible mediator of the relationship between adult attachment and psychological distress in a clinical and community sample. Results indicated that attachment security was positively, whereas attachment insecurity was negatively, related to intimacy in the current romantic relationship. Furthermore, security of attachment was negatively related to loneliness and depression and positively to satisfaction with life. The reverse held for attachment insecurity. Mediational analyses revealed that intimacy in the current relationship only partially mediated the relationship between attachment and psychological distress. Although near perfect mediation was found for fearful attachment in the clinical sample and for preoccupied attachment in the community sample, the findings with regard to the other attachment styles were less clear-cut. Apart from the hypothesized indirect effect of attachment on psychological distress through intimacy, a direct effect of attachment on psychological distress remains. The implications of these findings and suggestions for future research are discussed.,Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Attachment theory in adolescence and its relevance to developmental psychopathologyCLINICAL PSYCHOLOGY AND PSYCHOTHERAPY (AN INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF THEORY & PRACTICE), Issue 1 2001Lucy Scott Brown The relationship between the quality of early attachment and later psychological adaptation is frequently emphasized. To date, the significance of attachment during infancy and adulthood has been a central focus in the literature, with remarkably little attention being given to adolescence. The aim of this selective review is to introduce and critically consider the key concepts of attachment theory, and to then discuss the relevance of attachment to the period of adolescence. More specifically, an emphasis will be placed upon the importance of early attachment experiences in the development of adolescent psychopathology. Theoretical explanations for this relationship are considered alongside implications for clinical practice and research. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] The Network Perspective: An Integration of Attachment and Family Systems Theories,FAMILY PROCESS, Issue 3 2002FRANZCP, Kasia Kozlowska MBBS In this article we discuss the network paradigm as a useful base from which to integrate attachment and family systems theories. The network perspective refers to the application of general systems theory to living systems, and provides a framework that conceptualizes the dyadic and family systems as simultaneously distinct and interconnected. Network thinking requires that the clinician holds multiple perspectives in mind, considers each system level as both a part and a whole, and shifts the focus of attention between levels as required. Key epistemological issues that have hindered the integration of the theories are discussed. These include inconsistencies within attachment theory itself and confusion surrounding the theoretical conceptualizations of the relationship between attachment and family systems theories. Detailed information about attachment categories is provided using the Dynamic Maturational model. Case vignettes illustrating work with young children and their families explore the clinical implications of integrating attachment data into family therapy practice. [source] The move from categories to process: Attachment phenomena and clinical evaluationINFANT MENTAL HEALTH JOURNAL, Issue 4 2004Arietta Slade Despite the degree to which attachment theory and research have been embraced by clinicians in recent years, many remain unsure as to what this perspective adds to clinical understanding and psychodynamic thinking about the clinical process. In this article, I outline some ways that developments in the study of attachment have the potential to enrich our clinical work with children and families, and may be particularly illuminating with respect to certain aspects of evaluation, formulation, and diagnosis. This added value comes not from formally assessing patients' attachment classification but from sensitizing clinicians to observing the functioning of the attachment system and to the internal and interpersonal functions of attachment processes. Such awareness on the part of the therapist makes it possible for these dynamic regulatory, defense, and motivational systems to be addressed within the context of evaluation and ongoing psychotherapeutic work. Thinking about attachment processes within the clinical situation does not supplant other aspects of dynamically oriented assessment and evaluation, but rather is theoretically consistent with psychoanalytic models of development and offers new levels of richness and understanding to formulations and treatment planning. [source] An attachment perspective on grandparents raising their very young grandchildren: Implications for intervention and researchINFANT MENTAL HEALTH JOURNAL, Issue 2 2003Julie Poehlmann The purpose of this article is to apply an attachment perspective to the growing number of families with grandparents raising grandchildren to increase our understanding of the complexity of intergenerational relationship processes in these families and to guide early intervention and research. It is proposed that, as grandparents take responsibility for their grandchildren, three relationship processes simultaneously occur: (1) disruptions in attachments potentially occur, especially in relationships involving parents, (2) attachment relationships between grandchildren and grandparents develop or are revised, and (3) family members' internal working models of attachment and caregiving are challenged and shaped. To address these processes, attachment theory and research focusing on the formation, disruption, and intergenerational transmission of attachment relationships are reviewed. Conclusions suggest that when grandparents assume responsibility for grandchildren, families may need and be particularly open to a range of interventions. In addition, research focusing on attachment relationships in families of grandparents raising grandchildren is needed. ©2003 Michigan Association for Infant Mental Health. [source] Two Dimensions of Attachment to God and Their Relation to Affect, Religiosity, and Personality ConstructsJOURNAL FOR THE SCIENTIFIC STUDY OF RELIGION, Issue 4 2002Wade Rowatt In this study we sought to address several limitations of previous research on attachment theory and religion by (1) developing a dimensional attachment to God scale, and (2) demonstrating that dimensions of attachment to God are predictive of measures of affect and personality after controlling for social desirability and other related dimensions of religiosity. Questionnaire measures of these constructs were completed by a sample of university students and community adults (total n= 374). Consistent with prior research on adult romantic attachment, two dimensions of attachment to God were identified: avoidance and anxiety. After statistically controlling for social desirability, intrinsic religiousness, doctrinal orthodoxy, and loving God image, anxious attachment to God remained a significant predictor of neuroticism, negative affect, and (inversely) positive affect; avoidant attachment to God remained a significant inverse predictor of religious symbolic immortality and agreeableness. These findings are evidence that correlations between attachment to God and measures of personality and affect are not merely byproducts of confounding effects of socially desirable responding or other dimensions of religiosity. [source] A comparison of mothers' and fathers' experiences of the attachment process in a neonatal intensive care unitJOURNAL OF CLINICAL NURSING, Issue 6 2008Liv Fegran RN Aim., To compare mothers' and fathers' individual views and experiences of the attachment process in a neonatal intensive care unit within the first week after a premature birth. Background., The attachment between parents and children is a precursor to the consolidation of parenting skills, the growth and development of the infant and the establishment of a bond between parent and child. Premature birth and the resultant hospitalization disrupt the normal attachment process between parent and child. Most of the litteraure on attachment theory focuses on the mother,child connection and is being criticised for regarding the father's role as supportive and peripheral. Methods., The design of this study was descriptive with a hermeneutic approach. Twelve parents (six mothers and six fathers) in a 13-bed neonatal intensive care unit in a Norwegian regional hospital participated in a field study addressing the encounter between parents and nurses. This paper is based on the semi-structured interviews with the parents at discharge. Results., The interview analysis revealed two main categories. (a) Taken by surprise: For mothers, the premature birth created a feeling of powerlessness and they experienced the immediate postnatal period as surreal and strange. The fathers experienced the birth as a shock, but were ready to be involved immediately. (b) Building a relationship: Mothers experienced a need to regain the temporarily lost relationship with their child, whereas the fathers experienced the beginning of a new relationship. Conclusion., Comparing parents' experiences of the attachment process within the first days after a premature birth reveals a striking contrast between the mother's experience of surrealism and the father's ability to be involved immediately after birth. Relevance to clinical practice., Parents' of premature children's different starting points should be acknowledged as professionals encourage parents to have early skin-to-skin contact with their premature infant. [source] Separation and divergence: The untold story of James Robertson's and John Bowlby's theoretical dispute on mother,child separationJOURNAL OF THE HISTORY OF THE BEHAVIORAL SCIENCES, Issue 3 2009Frank C. P. van der Horst The work of Robertson and Bowlby is generally seen as complementary, Robertson being the practically oriented observer and Bowlby focusing on theoretical explanations for Robertson's observations. The authors add to this picture an "untold story" of the collaboration between Robertson and Bowlby: the dispute between the two men that arose in the 1960s about the corollaries of separation and the ensuing personal animosity. On the basis of unique archival materials, this until now little known aspect of the history of attachment theory is extensively documented. The deteriorating relationship between Robertson and Bowlby is described against the background of different currents in psychoanalysis in Britain in the interbellum. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. [source] Attachment organization, emotion regulation, and expectations of support in a clinical sample of women with childhood abuse historiesJOURNAL OF TRAUMATIC STRESS, Issue 3 2008Marylene Cloitre Despite the consistent documentation of an association between compromised attachment and clinical disorders, there are few empirical studies exploring factors that may mediate this relationship. This study evaluated the potential roles of emotion regulation and social support expectations in linking adult attachment classification and psychiatric impairment in 109 women with a history of childhood abuse and a variety of diagnosed psychiatric disorders. Path analysis confirmed that insecure attachment was associated with psychiatric impairment through the pathways of poor emotion regulation capacities and diminished expectations of support. Results suggest the relevance of attachment theory in understanding the myriad psychiatric outcomes associated with childhood maltreatment and in particular, the focal roles that emotion regulation and interpersonal expectations may play. [source] Interpersonal Expectations as the Building Blocks of Social Cognition: An Interdependence Theory PerspectivePERSONAL RELATIONSHIPS, Issue 1 2002John G. Holmes In this paper I use interdependence theory as an analytic framework for depicting the logically interconnected network of expectations that determines social interaction. The framework focuses on expectations about a partner's goals (B) relevant to particular interdependence situations (S), and suggests that expectations about these two elements define the social situation that activates a person's own goals (A). Together, these elements determine interaction behavior (I). This SABI framework is complementary to Mischel and Shoda's (1995) CAPS theory of personality in its logic. It depicts a person's interpersonal dispositions as having profiles or signatures dependent on both the expected features of situations and the expected dispositions of partners. A taxonomic theory for classifying both situations and the functionally relevant goals of interaction partners is outlined. Research on attachment theory and trust is used to illustrate the model. Finally, I suggest that people's expectations about partners' prosocial motivations,their perceived responsiveness toward the self,play an imperial role in social cognition, and, further, that complex SABI models can be seen as detailing a set of security operations that serve as a program for social action. SABI models detail the set of mechanisms that constitute the basic survival kit of interpersonal relations. [source] DISTINGUISHED SCHOLAR ARTICLE Rethinking women's sexual orientation: An interdisciplinary, relationship-focused approachPERSONAL RELATIONSHIPS, Issue 1 2001LETITIA ANNE PEPLAU What leads some women to form romantic and sexual relationships with men, and other women to form intimate relationships with women? This article presents a new conceptual paradigm for understanding women's sexual orientation that is emerging from research in such diverse fields as social psychology, sex research, evolutionary psychology, attachment theory, and neuroscience. This approach acknowledges the potential plasticity of women's sexuality and the emphasis that women place on close relationships as a context for sexuality. Research also raises the possibility that for women the biological determinants of sexual desire, attraction, and attachment are not inherently linked to a partner's gender. This article begins with a brief survey of research on women's same-sex romantic and sexual relationships not only in the United States today but also in other cultures and historical periods. These and other findings are used to critique prevailing conceptual models of women's sexual orientation. Finally, key elements in an alternative paradigm are described. [source] The adult attachment interview and self-reports of romantic attachment: Associations across domains and methodsPERSONAL RELATIONSHIPS, Issue 1 2000PHILLIP R. SHAVER Two lines of research on adult attachment have emerged; both are based on Bowlby and Ainsworth's attachment theory, which in turn relies on evolutionary theory. Investigators in one tradition use the Adult Attachment Interview (AAI) to assess "state of mind with respect to attachment." The AAI has been validated primarily by its ability to predict the attachment classification of an interviewee's child in Ainsworth's "strange situation." Investigators in the second tradition use self-report measures to assess romantic "attachment style." The self-report measures have been validated by their ability to predict features of romantic/marital relationships. Although the two constructs. state of mind and romantic attachment, are importantly different and so would not be expected to relate highly, some of their components, especially ability to depend on attachment figures, should be related if both stem from a person's attachment history. We report associations between components, or aspects, of the two measures. Overlap occurs mainly in the areas of comfort depending on attachment figures and comfort serving as an attachment figure for others. Implications of the findings for attachment theory and research, as well as for evolutionary psychology, are discussed. [source] Paternal and Maternal Influences on Problem Behaviors Among Homeless and Runaway YouthAMERICAN JOURNAL OF ORTHOPSYCHIATRY, Issue 1 2009Judith A. Stein PhD Using an Attachment Theory conceptual framework, associations were investigated among positive paternal and maternal relationships, and recent problem behaviors among 501 currently homeless and runaway adolescents (253 males, 248 females). Homeless and runaway youth commonly exhibit problem behaviors such as substance use, various forms of delinquency and risky sex behaviors, and report more emotional distress than typical adolescents. Furthermore, attachments to their families are often strained. In structural equation models, positive paternal relationships significantly predicted less substance use and less criminal behavior, whereas maternal relationships did not have a significant effect on or association with either behavior. Positive maternal relationships predicted less survival sex behavior. Separate gender analyses indicated that among the females, a longer time away from home was significantly associated with a poorer paternal relationship, and more substance use and criminal behavior. Paternal relations, a neglected area of research and often not addressed in attachment theory, should be investigated further. Attachments, particularly to fathers, were protective against many deleterious behaviors. Building on relatively positive relations and attachments may foster family reunifications and beneficial outcomes for at-risk youth. [source] ,Admission into a helping plan': a watershed between positive and negative experiences in breast cancerPSYCHO-ONCOLOGY, Issue 8 2010Sara Lilliehorn Abstract Cancer patients are in an exposed situation that raises certain psychosocial needs in contact with health care. Previous studies have mainly investigated these needs by assessments on pre-defined categories. Objective: The purpose of the present study is, from the patients' perspective, to identify breast cancer patients' psychosocial needs, and to synthesise them in a model reflecting the core of these needs. Methods: Seventy-one patients treated with radiation therapy were consecutively included and repeatedly interviewed about their experiences of health care. ,Critical incidents' where identified from the interviews and analysed due to the similarities,differences technique in grounded theory. Results: Four categories of needs where detected: ,access', ,information', ,treatment' and ,how approached'. These categories and their properties merged into a core category,,admission into a helping plan'. These findings are well understood in terms of attachment theory. In times of immanent danger and stress people strive to find a ,safe haven' to attach to. Cancer patients' ,safe haven' can be described as ,a helping plan'. It is not the result of a separate patient,caregiver relationship but is created by a pattern of individual experiences from all kind of contacts with the health-care system as a whole. Conclusions: The presented model of patients needs as converging into ,admission into a helping plan' may serve as an easily comprehendible model for caregivers, guiding them to contribute to the patient's feeling of security and trust, and thus to the patient's own ,hope work'. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Frequency and difficulty in caregiving among spouses of individuals with cancer: effects of adult attachment and genderPSYCHO-ONCOLOGY, Issue 8 2007Youngmee Kim Abstract How caregivers relate to care recipients can affect how well care is provided and how much burden is experienced in providing it. We conceptualized the relationship of spousal caregivers via adult attachment theory and examined how attachment qualities of caregivers related to level of caregiving involvement and difficulties in caregiving. Gender differences in the associations were also explored. From participants in the ACS Quality of Life Survey for Caregivers, 400 spousal caregivers provided valid data for the study variables. Findings indicated that frequency of various types of care was a joint function of attachment orientation and gender. In contrast, the difficulty that caregivers experienced in providing care related directly to attachment, without moderation by gender. Our findings suggest that ineffective caregivers of cancer patients, who can be identified by their attachment orientation and/or gender, may benefit from educational programs to improve their caregiving skills and to encourage them to utilize resources from other family members or community. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Helping at the bedside: Spouses' preferences for helping critically ill patientsRESEARCH IN NURSING & HEALTH, Issue 5 2004Deborah Eldredge Abstract Spouses of patients in intensive care units (ICU) need to be close and helpful to ill partners. According to adult attachment theory, emotional responses may be related to preferences for closeness and helpfulness, and according to control theory optimism also may influence spouses' emotional responses. Spouses' goals and helping behaviors were assessed in 88 spouses of ICU patients. Using a repeated-measures design, the relationships of closeness, helpfulness, and optimism to emotional outcomes were assessed. Preferences for closeness and helpfulness were strongly related, and together with optimism, predicted spouses' mood at some point of the illness trajectory. Spouses who were over-involved with partners' care requirements were at greater risk for emotional distress. Results suggest that closeness and helpfulness are integrated concepts, and that attachment dimensions of a relationship and optimism are useful for understanding spouses' emotional responses to critical illness. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Res Nurs Health 27:307,321, 2004 [source] The capacity to be an analyst: A contribution from attachment research to the study of candidate selectionTHE INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF PSYCHOANALYSIS, Issue 6 2003Janice Halpern In this paper the author discusses how the study of candidate selection, once a topic of vibrant research, has unfortunately languished. Certain qualities were thought to characterize the successful candidate. However, they were never successfully operationalized nor empirically tested. Possibly because of this lack of empirical data, selectors today have difficulty articulating their criteria and are relying on intuition. In order to provide a more rational basis for contemporary selection, the author looks to the attachment literature. This makes sense because attachment theory shares some basic assumptions of contemporary psychoanalysis. The Adult Attachment Interview (AAI) is a research tool that predicts the ability of a parent to convey attachment security. It is scored by attending to how a person speaks about his early attachment experiences. The AAI appears to tap into similar qualities to those selection researchers have sought in their candidates. Further, the scoring method of the AAI appears to be similar to the last attempt by selection researchers to operationalize them. Given these similarities, the author recommends an empirical study using the AAI to operationalize these qualities in analytic candidates. The study would test their importance for success in the training program, thus offering selectors some empirical grounding for their choices. [source] ,Dialectical process' and ,constructive method': micro-analysis of relational process in an example from parent,infant psychotherapyTHE JOURNAL OF ANALYTICAL PSYCHOLOGY, Issue 2 2004Judith Woodhead Abstract:, Jung defined experience that takes place between therapist and patient as ,dialectical process', achieved through ,constructive method'. Perspectives from attachment theory, neurobiology, cognitive science, systems thinking and infancy research confirm and extend his view of the centrality of relational process in the development of self. Interactional experiences are embedded within the history of the primary parent,infant relationship and structure within the mind implicit patterns of relating. These patterns influence capacities for managing a whole lifetime of affective relational experience within the self and with others. This paper shows how parent,infant psychotherapy seeks to intervene during the formation of disturbed relational patterns. I offer detailed micro-analysis of the moment-to-moment ,dialectical process' that a mother, her four-month-old infant and myself ,constructed' together. [source] Practitioner Review: When parent training doesn't work: theory-driven clinical strategiesTHE JOURNAL OF CHILD PSYCHOLOGY AND PSYCHIATRY AND ALLIED DISCIPLINES, Issue 12 2009Stephen Scott Improving the parent,child relationship by using strategies based on social learning theory has become the cornerstone for the treatment of conduct problems in children. Over the past 40 years, interventions have expanded greatly from small, experimental procedures to substantial, systematic programmes that provide clear guidelines in detailed manuals on how practitioners should implement the standardised treatments. They are now widely disseminated and there is a great deal of empirical support that they are very effective for the majority of cases. However, evaluations of even the best of these evidence-based programmes show that a quarter to a third of families and their children do not benefit. What does the practitioner then do, when a standard social learning approach, diligently applied, doesn't work? We argue that under these circumstances, some of the major theories of child development, family functioning and individual psychology can help the skilled practitioner think his or her way through complex clinical situations. This paper describes a set of practical strategies that can then be flexibly applied, based on a systematic theoretical analysis. We hold that social learning theory remains the core of effective parent training interventions, but that ideas from attachment theory, structural family systems theory, cognitive-attribution theory, and shared empowerment/motivational interviewing can each, according to the nature of the difficulty, greatly enrich the practitioner's ability to help bring about change in families who are stuck. We summarise each of these models and present practical examples of when and how they may help the clinician plan treatment. [source] Emotional development in psychoanalysis, attachment theory and neuroscience: creating connectionsTHE JOURNAL OF CHILD PSYCHOLOGY AND PSYCHIATRY AND ALLIED DISCIPLINES, Issue 11 2005Alan Shuttleworth No abstract is available for this article. [source] Practitioner Review: The contribution of attachment theory to child custody assessmentsTHE JOURNAL OF CHILD PSYCHOLOGY AND PSYCHIATRY AND ALLIED DISCIPLINES, Issue 2 2005James G. Byrne Background:, The area of child custody assessments continues to fail to meet the evidence-based threshold now established in clinical practice. This is despite the existence, for many years, of published guidelines governing the practice of custody assessments available from a number of professional bodies. Methods:, This article reviews the potential of attachment theory to contribute to the conceptualization of custody evaluations, clinical assessment, and the development of evidence-based practice. Particular attention is paid to specific instruments used to assess attachment in clinic and non-clinic settings. Results:, Guidelines concerning child custody assessments highlight the particular importance of assessing attachment and parent,child relationship quality. However, measures often used in the course of a custody assessment are not backed up with empirical research, and the measures that are supported by empirical research have been slow to influence practice. There may be conceptual and measurement advantages of considering an attachment research-informed custody assessment. Discussion:, Attachment theory has obvious conceptual relevance for the child custody context. Further clinical research is needed to demonstrate the usefulness of attachment research measures; research of this kind may shed important light on the development and resilience of affectional bonds. [source] Annotation: Attachment disorganisation and psychopathology: new findings in attachment research and their potential implications for developmental psychopathology in childhoodTHE JOURNAL OF CHILD PSYCHOLOGY AND PSYCHIATRY AND ALLIED DISCIPLINES, Issue 7 2002Jonathan Green Background: The past 10 years have seen a fruitful line of enquiry building on identification of previously unclassifiable patterns of infant,mother interaction. A critical review of these new findings in attachment theory, highlighting their potential relevance to child psychopathology, is presented. Method: Selective literature review relating to disorganised attachment in childhood. Results: Disorganised patterns of attachment have only relatively recently been described. They show characteristic patterns of evolution in development. There is evidence that disorganised attachments are associated with specific forms of distorted parenting, which are distinct from general parental insensitivity and are associated with unresolved loss or trauma in the caregiver. There are also links with aspects of neurodevelopment vulnerability in the child. Attachment disorganisation is a powerful predictor of a range of later social and cognitive difficulties and psychopathology. Conclusions: The identification of disorganised attachment has greatly increased the potential relevance of attachment theory to general clinical work. However, the concept raises many methodological and theoretical issues. Among issues needing further exploration is the way in which attachment disorganisation relates to children's general mental states and may be affected by cognitive functioning and developmental impairment. [source] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||