Attachment in Psychotherapy Audio CD – Unabridged, July 4, 2017

This book deeply and skillfully explains and integrates attachment theory, interpersonal neurobiology, and mentalization based treatments like no other book I have read. As a humanistic psychotherapist, this shed light on why some of what I am already doing has been effective and also opened many, many new pathways of how to move forward with my clients who have experienced attachment based trauma. I highly recommend this in both the print and Audible versions

This is a great introduction to attachment theory and you don't need to be a shrink to understand it. Although attachment is an obvious fact of life, it's profound to read about the specific ways it works and can go awry. I found so much in this book that was relevant to my own life and it's really changed my understanding of my posture toward other people. Skip the pop-psych books on attachment that are mostly restatements of a few basic tenets and dive in to this one instead. Highly recommend.

A very readable, very educational, transformative book. Truly amazing synthesis of attachment theory, psychoanalysis, intersubjectivity, cognitive behavior therapy, mindfulness and wisdom. Precision and elegance of expression is truly outstanding. The finest book on psychotherapy that I've read in my 40 years of studying psychiatry. The audio version is also very well rendered. The book has been tremendously helpful personally and professionally.

As a master of social work student, I am required to read many clinical texts. Many are compelling but exhausting due to the technical language. Attachment in Psychotherapy, on the other hand, synthesizes complex theory with warmth and respect for the client while keeping you engaged and inspired. It's a must-read for any clinical student or practicing clinician!

My rating is only for the physical properties of the book, not its ideas.This is an annoying situation that I find occurs regularly with printed matter. The type face was very small and the print was crammed onto the page. This makes reading it annoying, tedious and difficult. Even though the content is quite interesting to me and useful professionally, I returned the book as the unpleasantness of the reading experience eclipsed the utility of its contents.

What a tremendously impressive book! Learned, illuminating, accessible (including for lay people like me) -- I found insight on virtually every page. My only complaint (a small one) is that Wallin's treatment of mindfulness has a tacked-on quality; he should have split that off and tackled it separately. But this is a quibble -- if you want to know how attachment works, especially in the context of therapy, this is the book for you.

As a psychotherapist in his first years in practice, I have found Dr. Wallin's book to be extremely helpful in integrating the practices I already use into a more integrative, cohesive framework and I think in turn making me more creative, present, strategic, attuned, connected, and effective as a therapist.The presentation of attachment theory and research in this book has opened my vision to a through line between my preferred approaches: ACT, psycho-education, schema therapy, motivational interviewing, trauma informed care, and attachment focused family therapy. These therapies, approaches, interventions, and frameworks to me all echo the basic point presented by Dr. Wallin: finding a method that works to open a space of internalized secure attachment allowing for openness to, awareness of, and engagement in present moment experiences.

I highly recommend this book which is an excellent introduction to a complex topic. The only reason I give it 3 stars is because it needs to be updated to include new research, and information from Dr. Patricia Crittenden, whose Dynamic Maturational Model of Attachment and Adaptation (DMM) takes attachment theory to a much deeper level.Crittenden, who studied under Ainsworth as Main did, adds a number of new elements to attachment theory, expanding both an understanding of childhood and adult attachment and the associated issues. Like others Wallin reviews, she uses Ainsworth's ABC model, and relies on the AAI (as well as other measures). For Crittenden, attachment relationship does not lead to "styles", but rather more flexible "self protective strategies." People are not a "type A", but rather use A strategies, although people can also use C and combined strategies, so people are not simply lumped into one rigid category, as personality theorists tend to do. These strategies are expressed as "dispositional representations" where behaviors, feelings, thoughts and the like depend on the situation. She focuses attachment not around safety but around protection and comfort from danger. She brings in numerous other theories to fill out a robust DMM theory, including memory and information processing. Crittenden also argues that research evidence does not support a "disorganized" category, but rather an organized set of strategies that involve either combined or alternating A and C strategies.Crittenden also identifies a much finer parsing of attachment strategies (styles) as they develop in infancy and then throughout childhood and adolescence. See for example her circumplex at patcrittenden.com. These finer distinctions may help significantly with attachment assessments and counseling approaches. See for example: Shah, P., Fonagy, P., Strathearn, L. (2010). Is attachment transmitted across generations? The plot thickens. Clinical Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 15, 329-345.In some ways, the differences between Crittenden and Main's work can be difficult to parse out. It may be the differences are not as great as some think... or perhaps they are. Bowlby and Ainsworth seemed to have difficulty parsing out their respective views. See for example, S. Landa, R. Duschinsky (2013), Letters from Ainsworth: Contesting the `Organization' of Attachment, J Can Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry, 22(2): 172-177 (also at [...]).Wallin does an excellent job of summarizing a complex topic and there is no other resource like his. My wish is that he applies his clear thinking and storytelling skills to include Crittenden's thought so we can bring her work more into the public debate. Attachment theory, from my perspective, is still nascent, holds incredible promise, and needs to continue moving forward. Crittenden's work holds the promise of offering a huge leap forward.

I initially purchased this book on Audible and found it so good I also bought the text version. I am a recently qualified UKCP psychotherapist (TA relationally trained) - this is the single most valuable book I have ever read in terms of actually influencing how I think, feel and am present with my clients. It integrates seamlessly 3 separate theoretical constructs (attachment, mentalization, mindfulness) which I’ve always been drawn and manages to make the leap from simply explaining theory to illustrating this in practice . I particularly appreciated the many clinical vignettes especially those exploring enactment. Thank you David for writing this extraordinary book.

Bought this to get an insight into attachment issues, and it's really interesting. I'm not a psychology / psychotherapy professional but it's really accessible. Definitely recommend it for anyone wanting to get an understanding of attachment issues - which seem to be at the root of so many problems.

This book covers an important psychological theory I'm using to study for my degree. Unfortunately, I have just discovered pages 209-240 are missing AND pages 177-208 have been duplicated. I would like a new, accurate version of this Attachment in Psychotherapy book please!

A good contribution to the psychotherapy literature integrating attachment theory, mentalising, mindfulness, right and left brain activity, the body and intersubjectivity. Particularly good chapter on enactments and on the body in therapy. A bit heavy going at times but worth the effort.

I love this book and have purchased as a present for many friends. It draws beautifully on theoretical & philosophical approaches to humans' wellbeing & what makes us tick and explains (very usefully) how Attachment theory can inform, or derail the therapeutic relationship. Wallin is a gifted writer and a joy to read, I think, by therapists and non-therapists alike