Offering fresh and provocative insights on the practice of couple and family therapy, this volume shows how attachment theory can inform, enhance and guide interventions for a wide range of relationship problems and clinical issues. Chapters from leading attachment researchers and family therapists integrate the literature from both fields to provide a multifaceted perspective on the role of attachment in distressed and satisfying relationships. Illustrated with evocative clinical material, the book presents research-based therapy models for embattled couples, families struggling with parent-child conflict and adolescent problems, and adoptive and foster families. Also discussed are: ways to support stronger mother-infant attachment; attachment-oriented interventions for couples facing specific clinical problems, including depression, PTSD, and chronic pain; and applications for same-sex couples.
Part I: Relevance of Attachment Theory for Clinical Practice. Johnson, Introduction to Attachment: A Therapist's Guide to Primary Relationships and their Renewal. Schachner, Shaver, Mikulincer, Adult Attachment Theory, Psychodynamics, and Couple Relationships: An Overview. Hazan, The Essential Nature of Couple Relationships. Scharfe, Stability and Change of Attachment Representations from Cradle to Grave. Carlson, Harwood, Alternate Pathways to Competence: Culture and Early Attachment Relationships. Part II: Models of Clinical Intervention. Johnson, Attachment Theory: A Guide for Couple Therapy. Davila, Attachment Processes in Couple Therapy: Informing Behavioral Models. Kobak, Mandelbaum, Caring for the Caregiver: An Attachment Approach to Assessment and Treatment of Child Problems. Levy, Orlans, Creating and Repairing Attachments in Biological, Foster, and Adoptive Families. Diamond, Stern, Attachment-Based Family Therapy for Depressed Adolescents: Repairing Attachment Failures. Part III: Using an Attachment Perspective in Interventions with Particular Populations. Cohen, Muir, Lojkasek, The First Couple: Using Watch, Wait, and Wonder to Change Troubled Infant-Mother Relationships. Moretti, Holland, The Journey of Adolescence: Transitions in Self Within the Context of Attachment Relationships. Cobb, Bradbury, Implications of Adult Attachment for Preventing Adverse Marital Outcomes. Bradley, Palmer, Attachment in Later Life: Implications for Intervention with Older Adults. Josephson, Using Attachment-Based Intervention with Same-Sex Couples. Part IV: Specific Attachment Interventions for Particular Problems. Whiffen, Looking Outward Together: Adult Attachment and Childbearing Depression. Alexander, Understanding the Effects of Child Sexual Abuse History on Current Couple Relationships: An Attachment Perspective. Mikail, Attachment and the Experience of Chronic Pain: A Couples Perspective. Part V: Conclusion. Whiffen, What Attachment Theory Can Offer Marital and Family Therapists.
