Attachment Isn’t What You Think It Is
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Key Details
- Primary Focus
- Clarifying attachment theory beyond oversimplified models
- Appropriate For
- Adults and clinicians-in-training, attachment-curious clients
- Session Use
- Short in-session reading or assign between sessions, discuss attachment myths and models
Overview
Reframes attachment as a dynamic system shaped by context and relationships rather than fixed styles, supporting flexibility and reduced relational shame.
How clinicians use it
This article reframes attachment as a dynamic system for seeking safety and connection rather than fixed personality “styles,” challenging rigid labels like anxious or avoidant. It emphasizes that attachment responses shift based on context, relationship quality, and stress, and is best used as a psychoeducational resource to reduce shame, increase flexibility, and support a more relational, process-oriented understanding of attachment. rather than static self-categorization.
Details
- Source
- Psychology Today