ATTACHMENT STYLES

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 What Is Attachment Theory?
John Bowlby and Mary Ainsworth believed that strong, close relationships between  children and caregivers is an essential ingredient for normal child development. When  present children develop a “secure attachment style” that allows them to develop  healthy relationships with others. Attachment issues follow people into adulthood,  leading to increased risk for anxiety, depression, substance use disorders, and  relationship problems. 

There are two different insecure attachment styles:

• Avoidant attachment style: This attachment style is characterized by avoidance of  relationships or intimacy, which is usually caused by deep-seated trust issues that  develop in response to childhood trauma or family dysfunction 
• Anxious attachment style: This most commonly occurs because of a deep fear of  abandonment, usually the result of abuse, neglect, or inconsistent caregiving in  childhood Attachment-based therapy might be recommended for adults who:

 Attachment-based therapy might be recommended for adults who:

• Experienced trauma, abuse, or neglect in childhood
•  Struggle with complex trauma or have symptoms of a personality disorder
•  Have strained or unhealthy relationships with their family of origin
•  Have a diagnosis of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
•  Are unable to regulate their emotions or express them in healthy ways
•  Have a tendency to get involved in unhealthy, abusive, or codependent 
• Relationships
•  Have deep-seated trust issues that stem from childhood, are socially avoidant, or 
• unable to form close relationships with people
• Struggle with intense fears of abandonment that cause problems in their 
• relationships
• Struggle with OCD or high levels of anxiety
•  Struggle with a substance use disorder
  

Benefits of attachment therapy include:

•  Feeling more secure and stable
•  More positive and optimistic thinking
•  Improved emotional regulation
•  Improved social and communication skills
•  Healthier relationships and fewer conflicts
•  Reduced symptoms of depression, anxiety, and other mental illnesses

You might be more likely to benefit from attachment-based therapy if you.

•  Have a history of unresolved childhood trauma or come from a dysfunctional home
•  Suspect your childhood experiences are a root cause of your current issues
•  Want to better understand how your past is affecting you now
•  Want to know how to heal and move on from your childhood
•  Have significant trust or abandonment issues that interfere with your relationships
•  Find yourself repeating unhealthy patterns in your relationships
• Struggle with negative self-talk, low self-esteem, insecurities or shame
• Want to develop better, healthier coping skills for difficult emotions

Without attachment therapy, insecure attachment styles can form, which place a 

person at higher risk for a range of different psychological and social 

problems. Attachment-based therapy approaches correct and heal old attachment 

wounds. EMDR can be attachment focused and combines trauma healing