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Analyzing John Bowlby's Attachment Theory

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Analyzing John Bowlby's Attachment Theory
Attachment styles in human beings bring about the tendency to seek closeness to another person and feel secure when that person is present (Nunavik counseling and social work training program). Attachment styles explains the affective bond that emerges between child and caregiver early in development (Levy, Scala, Temes & Clouthier 2015), as well as between two adults (Lechnyr). Attachments between a child and a caregiver are based on the child's need for safety, security and protection, paramount in infancy and childhood (Lechnyr). Attachment theory was developed by John Bowlby (as explained in Levy, Scala, Temes & Clouthier 2015) a British psychiatrist and psychoanalyst. John Bowlby’s work emerged out of chary psychoanalysis, he also used …show more content…
In child-to-adult relationships, the child's tie is called the "attachment" and the caregiver's reciprocal equivalent is referred to as the "care-giving bond" (Lechnyr). Bowlby hypothesized that the felt security provided through the attachment relationship in infancy is based on the caregiver’s reliable and sensitive provision of love, comfort, and fulfillment of emotional needs, as well as food and warmth (Levy, Scala, Temes & Clouthier 2015). This security is expressed in two main ways: the use of the caregiver as a safe haven to turn to in times of distress and the use of the caregiver as a secure base from which to explore one’s environment (Levy, Scala, Temes & Clouthier 2015). Healthy attachment brings love, joy, security while unhealthy attachment brings anxiety, grief, depression (Nunavik counseling and social work training program). All humans form attachments to their primary caregivers in order to survive (Nunavik counseling and social work training program). “According to attachment theory our first relationship with our carers acts as a lifelong template, moulding and shaping our capacity to enter into, and maintain, successful subsequent relationships with family, friends and partners.” (Nunavik counseling and social work training program,

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