See discussions, stats, and author profiles for this publication at: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/326847423 Attachment and Psychotherapy: Implications From Empirical Research Article in Canadian Psychology · August 2018 CITATIONS READS 0 86 2 authors: Kenneth Levy Benjamin N. Johnson Pennsylvania State University Pennsylvania State University 183 PUBLICATIONS 6,480 CITATIONS 23 PUBLICATIONS 35 CITATIONS SEE PROFILE SEE PROFILE Some of the authors of this publication are also working on these related projects: The Affect Avoidance Model: Modern Theoretical Infrastructure for Psychotherapy View project All content following this page was uploaded by Benjamin N. Johnson on 07 August 2018. The user has requested enhancement of the downloaded file. Running head: ATTACHMENT AND PSYCHOTHERAPY 1 Attachment and Psychotherapy: Implications From Empirical Research Kenneth N. Levy, Ph.D. The Pennsylvania State University, Department of Psychology University Park, PA Benjamin N. Johnson, M.S. The Pennsylvania State University, Department of Psychology University Park, PA Author Note Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Kenneth N. Levy, Ph.D., Department of Psychology, 362 Bruce V. Moore Building, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA.
[email protected] ATTACHMENT AND PSYCHOTHERAPY 2 Abstract In this paper, we provide an overview of Bowlby’s theory of attachment, its revisions, and related constructs, and describe how attachment may underlie many of the processes of psychotherapy. Modern psychotherapy research, plagued by the omnipresent “dodo bird” that has consistently determined that most psychotherapy modalities appear to have similar levels of effectiveness, has moved towards attempting to understanding mechanisms of change underlying treatment outcomes. Delineating the ways in which attachment theory may form the foundation for psychotherapy processes may help answer the call for change mechanisms and common therapeutic factors.