Attachment Theory and Research in Clinical Work With Adults

Attachment Theory and Research in Clinical Work With Adults Joseph H. Obegi and Ety Berant (Eds) (2009) New York, NY: Guilford Press. xii + 529 pp. Hardcover $55.00. In some ways this book might be regarded as “Attachment Theory 101 for Clinicians.” That does not denigrate its value. The editors note that there has not previously been an integrated presentation of the topic’s implications for adult psychotherapy despite an already extensive literature on the subject. Their remedy is this volume, “a collective effort intended to be a comprehensive, friendly, and clinically minded starting place for therapists, clinical researchers, and graduate students new to attachment theory” (p. 1). It accomplishes its aim in 19 chapters by 29 contributors, all PhD psychologists except for a single MD and 2 with Master’s degrees. The chapters are presented into 5 parts. They deal with the theory, assessing attachment, clinical utility, integration with clinical approaches (psychoanalytic psychotherapy, interpersonal, emotionally focused, and cognitive-behavioral), and, in 2 final chapters, future directions (attachment-informed psychotherapy with adults and bringing attachment research together with clinical practice). All in all this is an informative volume for the newcomer to the field.