Description
Book SynopsisThis is a revised edition of an important title originally published in 2009. It is written primarily for psychotherapists and other practitioners and describes a new and effective form of dynamic therapy designed for working with adults and with adolescents. The theory, on which the new form of therapy is based, is centred in a paradigm that extends and crucially alters the paradigm for developmental psychology opened by the Bowlby/Ainsworth attachment theory. It describes a pre-programmed process, the dynamics sustaining attachment and interest sharing, which is activated as soon as people perceive that they are in danger. This process is made up of seven pre-programmed systems which interact with one another as an integrated whole. They include Bowlby's two complementary goal-corrected behavioural systems: attachment (also referred to as careseeking) and caregiving. Whenever the process is able to function effectively, it enables people to adapt more constructively and co-operatively to changing circumstances.
Trade Review'This book should appeal to a very wide audience. All of us seek to understand one another and in doing so we all draw on a kind of biological insight into what behaviour 'means'. Watching children from another culture and with another language we understand instinctively much of what their behaviour is about. This is a book that draws systematically on watching people and thinking about behaviour in a biological way. It is both thoughtful and fascinating. It is surely a foundation on which others will want to build.'- Ian Sinclair BA (Oxon), PhD (London), OBE, Professor Emeritus, University of YorkCONTENTSPART 1: THE THEORETICAL BACKGROUND OF AN AUTONOMOUS SELF THAT IS IMMERSED IN THE DYNAMICS OF ATTACHMENT AND INTEREST SHARING1. Introducing a new attachment paradigm2. Introducing a new conceptualisation of the self3. How the self communicates with other people and with itself4. The defensive self5. The careseeking self6. The caregiving self7. The interest sharing self8. The sexual self9. Diagrams depicting the interplay between five of the systems that take part in the dynamics of attachment and interest sharing10. The self under threat and alone: supported or unsupported by the sixth and seventh systemsPART 2: THERAPY GUIDED BY THE NEW ATTACHMENT PARADIGM11. The principles of therapy guided by the dynamics of attachment and interest sharing12. Descriptions of training events that enable participants who are professional caregivers to experience the effects on the self of achieving and not achieving the goal of careseeking.13. Working with an individual adult client with a focus on her defensive identity14. Exploring the dynamics of attachment and interest sharing with groups of professional caregivers: The structure, composition and timing of the course of therapy attended by a group of professional caregivers15. Exploring the dynamics of attachment and interest sharing with groups of professional caregivers: Findings that support a paradigmatic shift in therapeutic practice16. Exploring the dynamics of attachment and interest sharing with groups of professional caregivers: How learning from attending the course is applied in a variety of work settings.PART 3Appendix 1. Bowlby's original ideasAppendix 2. Ainsworth's contribution to Bowlby's ideasAppendix 3. The Strange Situation TestAppendix 4. The Adult Attachment InvestigationThe Glossary
Table of ContentsCONTENTS PART 1: THE THEORETICAL BACKGROUND OF AN AUTONOMOUS SELF THAT IS IMMERSED IN THE DYNAMICS OF ATTACHMENT AND INTEREST SHARING 1. Introducing a new attachment paradigm 2. Introducing a new conceptualisation of the self 3. How the self communicates with other people and with itself 4. The defensive self 5. The careseeking self 6. The caregiving self 7. The interest sharing self 8. The sexual self 9. Diagrams depicting the interplay between five of the systems that take part in the dynamics of attachment and interest sharing 10. The self under threat and alone: supported or unsupported by the sixth and seventh systems PART 2: THERAPY GUIDED BY THE NEW ATTACHMENT PARADIGM 11. The principles of therapy guided by the dynamics of attachment and interest sharing 12. Descriptions of training events that enable participants who are professional caregivers to experience the effects on the self of achieving and not achieving the goal of careseeking. 13. Working with an individual adult client with a focus on her defensive identity 14. Exploring the dynamics of attachment and interest sharing with groups of professional caregivers: The structure, composition and timing of the course of therapy attended by a group of professional caregivers 15. Exploring the dynamics of attachment and interest sharing with groups of professional caregivers: Findings that support a paradigmatic shift in therapeutic practice 16. Exploring the dynamics of attachment and interest sharing with groups of professional caregivers: How learning from attending the course is applied in a variety of work settings. PART 3 Appendix 1. Bowlby's original ideas Appendix 2. Ainsworth's contribution to Bowlby's ideas Appendix 3. The Strange Situation Test Appendix 4. The Adult Attachment Investigation The Glossary
