Attachment Theory and Group Psychotherapy

This article presents an integration of attachment theory and affective neuroscience that helps inform a complementary conceptual framework from which the contributions of the neurosciences can be applied to group psychotherapy. One overarching aim of attachment theory is to understand the neural basis of emotional disorders and the facilitation of affect regulation with the goal of developing more effective treatment interventions. Missing from more traditional models of group therapy has been a cogent articulation of the implicit neural mechanisms involved in explaining how and why interpersonal emotional engagement accounts for the majority of the change process in psychotherapy. The neurosciences now provide us with such an articulation focused on the crucial importance that recurring authentic face-to-face social interaction have on neural processes. Attachment theory has utilized neuroscientific evidence to promote the creation of an enriched group environment that enhances opportunities for authentic engagements among group members.