Attachment theory has triggered an explosion of research into family relationships, and provided a conceptual basis for the work of practitioners. Adult Attachment and Couple Psychotherapy brings research and practice perspectives to bear on the adult couple relationship, and provides a framework for assessing and working with secure and insecure partnerships. Divided into three parts, the book: Looks at what is meant by secure and insecure attachment in the couple; Describes how theory and research have been applied to practice, and how practice has added to the understanding of the complex problems that couples bring to therapy; Examines the significance of training and the organization of work for effective practice with couples. Using vivid illustrations from clinical and community work, Adult Attachment and Couple Psychotherapy offers stimulating reading for all those involved in this field who wish to re- assess their models of practice. Adult Attachment and Couple Psychotherapy brings research and practice perspectives to bear on the adult couple relationship, and provides a framework for assessing and working with secure and insecure partnerships. The book uses vivid illustrations from clinical and community work and offers stimulating reading for all those involved in this field who wish to re-assess their models of practice. This is a stimulating and important book, which seeks to provide the reader with a clear conceptual basis for the couple within attachment theory. The text has been skillfully edited and all sections of the book flow together, smoothly and congruously. Adult Attachment and Couple Pyschotherapy has been on my desk all summer-constantly open, referred to and discussed with colleagues and students. It hasn't yet made it to the bookcase-it remains my secure base for couple psychotherapy - Patricia D'Ardenne Any reader who shares an interest in early learning, psychoanalysis, couples work, attachment styles, object relations theory, cultural and familial schemata, and multigenerational transmission o fpatterns of relating should find this volume of considerable interest. It is beautifully printed and well edited. The nearly 300 references will provide ample food for thought, as will the interesting ideas that populate the book - Psychological Reports, 2001 Contents: Foreword. Introduction. Part I: Conceptualising the Couple on Attachment Terms. Patterns of Relating in the Couple. Attachment Security in Adult Partnerships. Insecure Attachment and Abusive Intimate Relationships. A Couple Perspective on the Transmission of Attachment Patterns. Part II: Application to Couple Psychotherapy. Attachment Theory and the Therapeutic Frame. Working with Intangible Loss. Clinical Reflections on Unresolved and Unclassifiable States of Mind. Attachment, Narcissism and the Violent Couple. Traumatic Loss and the Couple. Part III: A Secure Base for Practice. Training Partnerships: Safe Haven or Secure Base? Security and Creativity at Work. The Sense of Connection. Appendices. Christopher Clulow is Director of the Tavistock Marital Studies Institute, London, where he practises as a couple psychotherapist, teacher and researcher. He has published extensively on working with couples undergoing change, and about marriage and family life. Full Contributors: Kim Bartholomew, Philip Cowan, Carolyn Pape Cowan, Christopher Clulow, Lisa Crandell, Judith Crowell, Lynne Cudmore, Donald Dutton, James Fisher, Antonia Henderson, Dorothy Judd, Anton Obholzer, Felicia Olney, Jenny Riddell, Avi Shmueli, Dominique Treboux, Christopher Vincen. - from the publisher's website |