Attachment in Psychotherapy - Bowlby and Beyond

Attachment is at the heart of all interactions and relationships, including the relationship we have with ourselves. When we enter relationships, we do so informed by our own early attachment experiences. A multitude of research in this area has enlightened us with the knowledge that these attachment interactions are of the most formative, we seek to replicate these interactions as we proceed through adult life. From an evolutionary perspective, attachment has kept us alive. “The brain codes isolation and abandonment as danger and the touch and emotional responsiveness of loved ones as safety, a safety that promotes optimal flexibility and continual learning.” (Johnson, 2008).  Where attachment is disrupted, dysfunctional or negative, neuroscientific attachment studies evidence the traumatic impact this can have on the formation of self and future interactions with others and the world. This modern approach to attachment theory highlights the significance of attachment on brain development.  “Over the first year… the mother’s interactions are shaping the very wiring of those higher regulatory centers… Attachment communications which are emotional are forging the connections in the early developing right brain… The right brain literally is imprinted by these attachment relationships while it is being created…” (Schore, 2014). There is no one person who can escape the attachment experience, whether it be good, bad or indifferent.  Attachment is so ingrained in our lives as therapists and in the lives of our clients. It is essential that we as professionals are aware of attachment theories, techniques and interventions within the work, from the early work of Bowlby to the modern day neuroscientific contributions.

Professor Peter Fonagy, OBE FMedSci FBA FAcSS PhD

Professor of Psychoanalysis and Developmental Science and Head of the Division of Psychology and Language Sciences at University College London; Chief Executive of the Anna Freud Centre, London; and holds visiting professorships at Yale and Harvard Medical Schools. His clinical interests centre on issues of early attachment relationships, social cognition, borderline personality disorder, antisocial behavior and violence. His longitudinal studies which linked the quality of parent-infant attachment to theory of mind development have important implications for strategies for early prevention not accounted for by genetic influences. The link between human attachment and social cognition led Bateman, Fonagy and colleagues to develop a model of and a highly effective treatment approach for borderline personality disorders (BPD). Mentalization Based Treatment (MBT) is now one of the two evidence-based psychological treatments used for severe PD and is widely practiced in the UK, Europe and the USA.

Peter is Senior National Clinical Adviser on Children and Young People's Mental Health for NHS England, Programme Director of the UCLPartners Integrated Mental Health programme and and has chaired major national expert groups including two NICE Guideline Development Groups on childhood and adolescent depression and the attachment in children at the edge of care. He is leader of the Mental Health theme in the North Thames CLAHRC and a Senior Investigator for the National Institute of Health Research. He has published nearly 500 scientific papers, 260 chapters and has authored or co-authored 19 books. He is a Fellow of the British Academy, the Academy of Medical Sciences, the Academy of Social Sciences and the American Association for Psychological Science, and was elected to Honorary Fellowship by the American College of Psychiatrists. He has received Lifetime Achievement Awards from several national and international professional associations including the British Psychological Society, the International Society for the Study of Personality Disorder, the British and Irish Group for the Study of Personality Disorder, the World Association for Infant Mental Health and was in 2015 the first UK recipient of the Wiley Prize of the British Academy for Outstanding Achievements in Psychology by an international scholar

Dr. Una McCluskey 

An Honorary Research Fellow at the University of York and a trainer, consultant and supervisor in the model she has created for working with the dynamics of attachment in adult life. This model is relevant to individual, group and organisational development. Best known for her extensive research in the field of empathic attunement in adult psychotherapy, Dr McCluskey introduced the concept that the ‘offer to treat’ arouses the dynamics of attachment in both the careseeker and the caregiver. This concept forms part of the emerging therapeutic model called ‘Exploratory Goal-Corrected Psychotherapy’, (EGCP). She has published numerous articles in the field of couple, family and group psychotherapy and is the author of: To be Met as a Person: The Dynamics of Attachment in Therapeutic Encounters, Karnac Books, 2005, and Attachment Therapy for Adolescents and Adults: Theory and Practice Post Bowlby, Karnac Books, 2009 (co-authored with Dorothy Heard and Brain Lake), co-author with Nicola Neath of: To be Met as a Person at Work: the impact of early attachment experiences on work relationships (in press, publication date May 2018).  She is currently working on a book with Michael O’Toole which will be published by Taylor & Francis which is extending the concept of transference from its original meaning in order to explain how our clients can communicate disconnections between their behaviour and the arousal of particular interpersonal biological systems embedded in the Dynamics of Attachment. 

Dr McCluskey regularly speaks at a number of international conferences, including the American Group Psychotherapy Conference. In June 2014, she gave a keynote address at the International Conference on Dementia, ‘Risky Business’ in Sydney. She was presented with the VIDA Award by the Group Psychotherapy Association of Southern California in appreciation and recognition of her contribution to the field of psychotherapy.

Michael O'Toole

B.A. Applied Psychology, M.A. Counselling Psychology, H. Dip Gestalt Therapy, A. F. PSI Reg. Psychol. MIACP, MIAHIP, ECP

Michael is a Registered Counselling Psychologist and Psychotherapist with 20 years of experience.  While working in the social services sector for 12 years, he developed his expertise in working with men in the areas of recovery from addiction, domestic violence, and sexual offending and other related issues using Attachment Theory. This culminated in the publication of his first paper ‘The Phenomenon of Silence is Psychotherapy’ which was published in the Attachment Journal New Directions in Psychotherapy and Relational Psychoanalysis; Vol 9. No 3. November 2015.  Michael now works in private practice in the West of Ireland. 

Michael has been working with Dr. Una McCluskey in the area of ‘Exploratory Goal Corrected Psychotherapy’ for the past ten years. Apart from being the co-trainer, he is also currently co-authoring a book with Dr. McCluskey: To be Met as a Person: The Relating Brian, Transference and Countertransference from an Attachment Perspective. Hi most resent paper entitled ‘Mother behold thy Son, Son behold thy Mother; Mothers and Sons Attachment in an Irish context’ has just been accepted for publication. Michael has taught and lectured for many years in the University of Limerick, on the Masters course in Psychotherapy and more recently on the Diploma and Master courses in Humanistic and Integrative psychotherapy.

                       Full Price
PCI Student         €85
PCI Graduate       €115
Standard              €130

Due to overwhelming demand, we have sold all of the available early bird tickets for the 2018 Natinal Conselling & Psychotherapy Conference.

Tickets are available at the prices stated above. If you would like to discuss group rate tickets please contact enquiries@pcicollege.ie