Attachment and Dynamic Practice: An Integrative Guide for Social Workers and Other Clinicians

Contemporary attachment theory both enriches our understanding of human development and informs clinical practice. It examines the relational bonds between young children and their caregivers and traces its origins to several scientific and social fields, most notably psychoanalysis, social work, behaviorism, ethology, evolutionary theory, and biology. The first portion of this book examines attachment theory and its relationship to other psychodynamic theories of development, from Sigmund Freud to Heinz Kohut, and then discusses the landmark contributions of John Bowlby, the "father" of modern attachment theory. The second portion focuses on clinical applications with child, adolescent, and adult client populations. Brief vignettes and lengthier case illustrations consider a variety of attachment disorders and treatment approaches, paying special attention to clinical method and technique, process dimensions, and transference and countertransference phenomena.