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Changes in attachment representations during psychological therapy.

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Psychotherapy can improve adult attachment styles, increasing security and decreasing anxiety. While attachment avoidance changes are unclear, these findings hold across various therapeutic settings and methods.

Keywords:
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Area of Science:

  • Psychology
  • Clinical Psychology
  • Attachment Theory

Background:

  • Adult attachment representations are crucial in psychological well-being.
  • Understanding changes in attachment during therapy is vital for treatment efficacy.
  • Existing research offers insights into attachment shifts within therapeutic contexts.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To systematically review research on changes in adult attachment representations during psychological therapy.
  • To determine if psychotherapy can lead to improvements in attachment representations.
  • To assess the methodological quality of included studies to guide interpretation.

Main Methods:

  • Systematic review of studies employing interview and self-report measures of adult attachment.
  • Assessment of the methodological quality of each study.
  • Synthesis of findings across different methodologies, patient groups, and therapeutic approaches.

Main Results:

  • Attachment security significantly increases following psychotherapy.
  • Attachment anxiety shows a significant decrease after therapy.
  • Changes in attachment avoidance were inconclusive.
  • Improvements were consistent across diverse methodologies, patient populations, therapeutic modalities, and settings, irrespective of study quality.

Conclusions:

  • Current research supports the notion that adult attachment styles can be modified through psychotherapy.
  • Further rigorously controlled trials are necessary to definitively confirm these findings.
  • Psychotherapy appears to be a viable avenue for altering attachment patterns.