Grow Online Learning

The Power of Connection: Applying Attachment Theory to clinical practice

Increasingly research from the neurosciences, primatology studies as well as psychological theories, highlights the need for human connection for us to flourish as human beings. Afterall, we are all creatures of attachment and when we are securely attached, we feel safe to explore the world and know where to run back to when things get too overwhelming for us. Classical Attachment theory, espoused by Bowlby in the 1950s and developed since then by many great researchers (Cassidy and Shaver (2008), Obegi and Berant (2009), Wallin (2007), Johnson (2019) reinforce the fact that human flourishing happens best when secure attachment (or at least good-enough attachment) is present. However, very few clinical researchers present the theory from an intuitive, non-pathologized, problem-saturated perspective. In this, the first of a series of online courses, Dr Ruth Lawson-McConnell outlines how healthy attachment develops and what are the optimal conditions for human thriving. This seminar is for counsellors, psychotherapists, psychologists, anyone working in mental health who wants to understand the relational foundations of mental health and wellbeing and the healing power of working with attachments.