What is attachment theory?
John Bowlby was a psychoanalyst in the 1950s who founded the overall attachment theory. As a developmental theory, infants are born with a need to form close bonds with a caregiver within their first six months of life (Beckes, 2019). Attachment theory focuses on experience, expression, and the regulation of emotions. Overall, Bowlby believed that the attachment system served two primary functions. This protects vulnerable individuals from threats and regulates negative emotions following a harmful event.
As a developmental theory, this can be seen from the eyes of the infant. Early attachment experiences can create an internal working model. This can be seen as a mental representation of relationships. These models can then influence an individual's expectations and behaviors in their future relationships.
Here's an example:
A young child may show distress when their caregiver exits the room. When the caregiver returns, the child may initially seek comfort but be difficult to soothe. The child might display clinginess and a heightened emotional reaction, even when we might perceive it as a minor event.
The good thing about attachment styles is that individuals are not rigid in their attachment styles. Although they can significantly impact future relationships, individuals can fluctuate between certain styles or even change between other attachment styles entirely through an attachment project, such as a workbook focusing on self-compassion, a sense of one's needs, and self-awareness.
In this guide, we'll focus on the anxious attachment workbook, which supports individuals with this specific attachment style. See below for the four different attachment styles, why being aware of your attachment is essential, and how this workbook can support your or your client's accounts for their unhelpful patterns.
