2019•Oxford University Press eBooksRequires access
Attachment Style
Kenneth N. Levy, Benjamin N. Johnson, Caroline V. Gooch, Yogev Kivity
Open publisher page 6 citations
Abstract
Attachment style describes characteristic patterns of relating to close others and has important implications for psychotherapy. This chapter provides an original meta-analysis of 36 studies (3,158 patients) to determine the association of patient attachment with psychotherapy outcome. Patients with secure attachment pretreatment show better psychotherapy outcome than insecurely attached patients. Further, improvements in attachment security during therapy coincides with better treatment outcome. Moderator analyses suggest that those who experience low attachment security may find better treatment outcome in therapy that focuses on interpersonal interactions. The chapter closes with research limitations, training implications, diversity considerations, and therapeutic practices.