Attachment Theory Working Towards Learned Security

This book covers the groundbreaking concepts in attachment theory, as promulgated by Bowlby himself and during the years post Bowlby. It sets out to develop the seminal concept of 'learned security': the provision of a reparative experience of a secure base by the therapist so that the client can imbibe what he missed out on during his formative years. Rhona M. Fear points out that the idea of learned security has developed from the concept of earned security but is distinctly different. In Part I, Fear outlines the origins and progress of attachment theory and the concepts of earned and learned security. In Part II, she uses a process of dialectical thinking to put forward an integration of Kohut's self psychology, Bowlby's attachment theory, and Stolorow, Atwood and Brandchaft's intersubjective perspective. The unifying concept that binds these three theories together is that of empathy, but she puts forward a particular intersubjective, collaborative view of empathic attunement.

Preface -- Introduction -- Attachment Theory as the Underlying Basis of the Theory of Learned Security -- Origins of attachment theory -- Attachment theory post Bowlby -- Mentalizing: a development in attachment theory post Bowlby -- The concepts of earned security and learned security -- Problems That Lead to Insecure Attachment -- Maternal deprivation -- The emotionally unavailable mother -- Toxic parenting -- The physical effects of emotional nurturance on the baby's brain -- Theoretical Underpinnings of Learned Security -- Heinz Kohut: the psychology of the self -- The intersubjective perspective -- The theory of learned security -- The clinical application of the theory of learned security -- Case Studies -- Nick (Part 1): moving towards a grounded belief in his own power -- Emma: a flower blossoms and shares her beauty with humanity -- Jane: challenging her world view -- Helen: on becoming a person -- Concluding Remarks -- Conclusion