Attachment Theory in Adult Mental Health

In the fifty years since its inception, John Bowlby’s attachment theory has been powerfully influential on developmental psychology and, more recently, mental health. Bringing together the experience of a diverse range of mental health practitioners and researchers who routinely use attachment theory in their own work, Attachment Theory in Adult Mental Health provides a guide to using attachment theory in everyday practice.

Adam N. Danquah and Katherine Berry present a wide-ranging and practical approach to the topic which includes studies on clinical practice, the provision of mental health services and accommodating intercultural perspectives. Section One covers the basics of attachment theory and practice. Section Two presents clinical problems and presentations including, among others, the treatment of depression, anxiety disorders, psychosis, personality disorder and eating disorders. Section Three addresses the needs of specific populations, discussing the influence of sociocultural factors like gender, ethnicity and age. Finally, Section Four examines the organisation and the practitioner, including using the theory to organise services and how individual therapists can integrate their own attachment histories into their approach.

Including the most up-to-date theories and practice in the field, Attachment Theory in Adult Mental Health is ideal for psychologists and psychological therapists, counsellors, psychiatrists, occupational therapists, social workers and mental health service managers and commissioners.

Adam N. Danquah is a clinical psychologist in Pennine Care NHS Foundation Trust, where he works in secondary care adult mental health with adults across the age range with complex and longstanding mental health problems. He is co-founder and associate editor of the Ghana International Journal of Mental Health.

Katherine Berry is a postdoctoral research fellow at the University of Manchester, funded by the National Institute of Health Research, and a clinical psychologist. Her main area of expertise is interpersonal relationships in people with a diagnosis of psychosis.