Abstract
Attachment theory (Bowlby, 1988) holds that the relationship between the child and the primary caregiver strongly influenced the development of the child’s internal working models. As the child develops through adolescence and adulthood, these models are the guide for expectations, perceptions and behaviour in all close relationships. As the individual follows their learned pattern of behaviour, they evoke reciprocal or complementary responses, as a result, an individual’s close relationships tend to follow a pattern and the individual is said to have an attachment style. Studies show that there are three major styles of attachment, secure, avoidant and anxious / ambivalent (Ainsworth, 1989). While attachment styles are relatively stable, significant events or relationships can influence a change in attachment style. Attachment theory proposes that such change is the goal in psychotherapy. This goal can be accomplished if a strong therapeutic alliance is created between the psychotherapist and the client. In this relationship, the client experiences a close relationship that does not follow previous patterns, as the psychotherapist does not follow the pattern by responding to the client’s attachment style and behaviour. The client experiences the psychotherapist as consistency, reliability and responsive – the psychotherapist becomes a secure base for the client. In order to provide this experience for a client, attachment theorists propose that it is beneficial for the psychotherapist to be securely attached. However, while several studies have examined the influence of the client’s attachment style on the outcome of the treatment, very few studies have focused on the attachment style of the psychotherapist. The objective of this research was to investigate if psychotherapists are more securely attached than the general population. 113 participants took part in this study, 36 were psychotherapists and 77 were members of the general population. Participants completed the Adult Attachment Scale (Collins & Read, 1990) which measured the attachment style in terms of three types, namely Secure, Avoidant and Anxious. Results show the psychotherapists were significantly more likely to have a predominantly secure attachment style than general population. Author keywords: Attachment, psychotherapist, secure base, general population
