What is it about?
How important is it for people to be recognized and protected? And what happens when a compelling need to be seen and known is aroused in a context of fear and the attachment system is activated? This paper explores the entanglements between the crucial needs for recognition and protection. Specifically, drawing on John Bowlby's attachment theory, we will see the ways in which these needs may act in incompatible ways simultaneously, leading to conflict, competition, dissociation, and even disorganized/disorganizing states.
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Why is it important?
Considering attachment and recognition in their entanglements is particularly relevant from a clinical perspective. In fact, referring back to Bowlby’s conceptualizations regarding the role of fear provides an important tool for understanding and working with several patients There is also a theoretical value in this paper, as the psychoanalytic roots of attachment theory have not always been recognized in its depth.
Perspectives
Writing this paper has been the result of a personal journey from attachment research to psychoanalytic practice. Immersion in the patient-therapist relational microcosm can constitute a unique way to access the core of our vulnerabilities and resources. It combines a spirit of research and clinical sensibility – two aspects that should be cultivated in both clinical practice and life.
Rosetta Castellano
Institute for Psychoanalytic Self Psychology and Relational Psychoanalysis ISIPSÉ
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: The psychoanalytic facet of attachment theory and research: “behind” and “beyond” attachment disorganization., Psychoanalytic Psychology, July 2025, American Psychological Association (APA),
DOI: 10.1037/pap0000556.
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