ATTACHMENT PSYCHOLOGY,
Theory & Therapy
Attachment therapy is based on attachment theory and explores how one’s early childhood or formative and developmental experiences might impact one's ability to form meaningful bonds as an adult. It is believed that unconscious patterns become set in place by the time we are approximately two years old. Our attachment style is at the core of how we form adult relationships, whether they are romantic or friendships. Furthermore, these "styles" often influence how we relate and respond to the external world and how we process things internally and relate to ourselves. The ultimate goal is to be able to develop a secure attachment style not only with others but with ourselves as well.
“In attachment-based therapy, therapists help individuals learn how to rebuild trust in relationships, especially since individuals with attachment difficulties tend to fall into difficult interpersonal relationships. But it really boils down to doing inner-child work. And by that, I mean the therapist helps you get in touch with your inner child in a literal sense—the person you were when you were first wounded or traumatized or abandoned. From there, the therapist helps you to ‘re-parent’ that version of yourself with love patience, and compassion.”
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Discover Your Attachment Style: Take a free, 5 minute attachment style quiz to explore how childhood conditioning manifests in your adult relationships.
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What to Know About Anxious Attachment and Tips to Cope: Understanding Your Attachment Style in Relationships
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Fearful Avoidant Attachment Style: 10 Signs & How To Heal
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Anxious Attachment: Causes & Symptoms
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Avoidant Attachment Style: Causes & Symptoms
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Disorganized Attachment: Causes & Symptoms
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What is Secure Attachment?
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How to Create Healthy Boundaries in Your Romantic Relationship
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Wired For Love by Stan Tatkin, PsyD
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Trauma and Attachment: Over 150 Attachment-Based Interventions to Heal Trauma by Christina Reese, PhD LCPC
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The Practical Guide for Healing Developmental Trauma by Laurence Heller, Ph.D. & Brad J. Kammer LMFT
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Codependent No More: How to Stop Controlling Others and Start Caring for Yourself by Melody Beattie
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Relationship OCD: A CBT-Based Guide to Move Beyond Obsessive Doubt, Anxiety, and Fear of Commitment in Romantic Relationships by Sheva Rajaee LMFT
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The Power of Attachment by Diane Poole Heller Ph.D., Peter Levine Ph.D.
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Embracing the Beloved: Relationship as a Path of Awakening by Stephen Levine and Ondrea Levine
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Facing Love Addiction: Giving Yourself the Power to Change the Way You Love by Pia Mellody
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Raising a Secure Child by Kent Hoffman, Glen Cooper & Bert Powell (Author)
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Empowered Parenting: How Your Childhood Shapes Your Parenting Style and Tools to Become a Nurturing Parent by Ana Rodriguez
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The Journey from Abandonment to Healing: Revised and Updated: Surviving Through and Recovering from the Five Stages That Accompany the Loss of Love by Susan Anderson