Winner of the 2010 Goethe Award for Psychoanalytic and Psychodynamic Scholarship! This book builds a key clinical bridge between attachment theory and psychoanalysis, deploying Holmes' unique capacity to weld empirical evidence, psychoanalytic theory and consulting room experience into a coherent and convincing whole. Starting from the theory–practice gap in psychoanalytic psychotherapy, the book demonstrates how attachment theory can help practitioners better understand what they intuitively do in the consulting room, how this benefits clients, and informs evidence-based practice.
Key Features
- Divided into two sections: theory and practice.
- Discusses the concept of mentalising.
- Considers three components of effective therapy: the therapeutic relationship, meaning making and change promotion.
- Applies attachment theory to various clinical situations including working with borderline clients, suicide and deliberate self-harm, sex and sexuality, dreams, and ending therapy.
- Illustrates theoretical discussions with clinical material, personal experience, and examples from literature and film.
Additional Information
This text is accessible yet authoritative, making it suitable for psychotherapy practitioners at all levels, including psychoanalysts, psychiatrists, clinical psychologists, mental health nurses, and counsellors.
