ATTACHMENT INJURIES IN COUPLE RELATIONSHIPS: A NEW PERSPECTIVE ON IMPASSES IN COUPLES THERAPY

This article identifies and operationalizes the newly defined construct of attachment injury. An attachment injury occurs when one partner violates the expectation that the other will offer comfort and caring in times of danger or distress. This incident becomes therapy. An attachment injury is char...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of marital and family therapy 2001-04, Vol.27 (2), p.145-155
Main Authors: Johnson, Susan M., Makinen, Judy A., Millikin, John W.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adult
Adults
Affect
Attachment Behavior
Counseling Techniques
Couples
Couples Therapy - methods
Emotional Experience
Emotional Response
Female
Humans
Injuries
Interpersonal Relations
Male
Marriage
Marriage Counseling
Object Attachment
Personal relationships
Psychological Needs
Psychological Patterns
Psychological Theory
Psychology
Resistance (Psychology)
Security (Psychology)
Spouses
Therapy
Trust (Psychology)
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Summary:This article identifies and operationalizes the newly defined construct of attachment injury. An attachment injury occurs when one partner violates the expectation that the other will offer comfort and caring in times of danger or distress. This incident becomes therapy. An attachment injury is characterized by an abandonment or by a betrayal of trust during a critical moment of need. The injurious incident defines the relationship as insecure and maintains relationship distress because it is continually used as a standard for the dependability of the offending partner. The concept of an attachment injury is defined here in the context of emotionally focused therapy, an empirically validated, short‐term approach to modifying distress in couples. The broad theoretical underpinnings of this concept may be found in attachment theory as applied to adult romantic relationships. Through the delineation of attachment injury events and the ongoing development of a detailed model of resolution, couples therapists will be better able to identify, describe, and effectively treat such injuries and address the therapeutic impasses that are associated with them.
ISSN:0194-472X
1752-0606
DOI:10.1111/j.1752-0606.2001.tb01152.x