| Summary: | Bowlby's notion that client secure attachment to the therapist leads to deeper client exploration, is considered an important corner stone of the therapeutic process. Psychotherapy researchers have neglected the study of therapist contributions and observer perspectives when studying this important therapeutic phenomenon. Studies of therapeutic secure base have shown that there is a relationship between client general attachment patterns and those with therapist, as well as that this secure attachment to therapist relates to deeper sessions. The main objectives of the present research was to extend the study of secure base in therapy to include consideration of therapist attachment processes and to improve the methodology used in attachment research by adding the expert observer perspective to operationalize session exploration. The first study explored the secure base hypothesis, the transference hypothesis and the role of therapist attachment in the process. Sixty-seven clients and therapists in-training, in short term therapy, completed the Experiences in Close Relationship Scale (ECRS), the Client Attachment to Therapist Scale (CATS), Working Alliance Inventory (WAI), and a measure of session depth; the Session Evaluation Questionnaire-Depth subscale. In line with Bowlby's (1988) secure base hypothesis, secure attachment to therapist was significantly associated with session depth. Therapist insecure adult attachment was negatively associated with client secure attachment to therapist. === The second study addressed methodological limitations found in previous studies by using both client and expert observer perspectives in the operationalization of session exploration. Thirty-one clients assessed depth in the middle sessions of their short-term therapies and rated their attachment to their therapists. Raters assessed experiencing in the same sessions using the Experiencing Scale. Secure attachment to therapist was positively and significantly associated with experiencing levels. However, the two perspectives on session exploration did not converge, suggesting that each taps a distinct aspect of session exploration and underlining the importance of rater perspective in the operationalization of this construct. Taken together, the results of these two studies offer a strong support for the secure base hypothesis. Clinical and research implications are discussed.
|
|---|
