John Bowlby, Attachment Theory and Psychotherapy - Professor Jeremy Holmes

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In the world of psychotherapy, John Bowlby was - and to some extent still is - an ambiguous figure. Trained as a psychoanalyst, and with a powerful academic mind, he was keen to place his discipline on a firm scientific footing.
In his attempts to do so he alienated the psychoanalytic community, who felt that he had sidelined the role of the unconscious, and replaced the experiential creativity of mind with a mechanistic model. I shall describe this history, and then outline where I see the role of attachment in contemporary psychotherapeutic thinking. I shall address the themes of mentalising, the ‘ambiguous therapist’ (ambiguity again!), epistemic trust and the neurobiological underpinnings of the therapeutic relationship. I will conclude with some guidelines for the practice of attachment-informed psychodynamic psychotherapy.
Professor Jeremy Holmes was for 35 years Consultant Psychiatrist/Medical Psychotherapist at University College London (UCL) and then in North Devon, UK, and Chair of the Psychotherapy Faculty of the Royal College of Psychiatrists 1998-2002.
He is visiting Professor at the University of Exeter, and lectures nationally and internationally. In addition to 200+ peer-reviewed papers and chapters in the field of psychoanalysis and attachment theory, his books include John Bowlby and Attachment Theory, (2nd edition 2013) The Oxford Textbook of Psychotherapy (2005 co-editors Glen Gabbard and Judy Beck), Exploring In Security: Towards an Attachment-informed Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy (2010, winner of Canadian Goethe Prize) , and The Therapeutic Imagination: Using Literature to Deepen Psychodynamic Understanding and Enhance Empathy (2014) and Attachment in Therapeutic Practice (2017, with A Slade).He was recipient of the Bowlby-Ainsworth Founders Award 2009. Music-making, gardening, Green politics and grand-parenting are gradually eclipsing his lifetime devotion to psychoanalytic psychotherapy and attachment.
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[@alllowercase6277]

Just starting my journey as a psychotherapist, so this was supremely beneficial. Thank You Professor.

[@misbah76]

Good lucky on this wonderful new journey

[@anitastruthers1896]

Love the reference to Burns if we can see the way that others see us, what a gift that would be. 👍

[@Maxarcc]

What a fantastic talk. I have no background in any of this stuff but just decided to check it out. Everything was so clear cut and understandable. A sign of a true intellectual.

[@margaretahellgren8186]

And I really agree with the above opinion!!

[@Dr.JudeAEMasonMD]

Amen! Gifted teachers know their subject so well that they can explain it so that even a small child can understand.

[@Belialith]

I think most of us understand in what way you're using the word 'attachment.' For example, most people have pets. They learn how their own individual pet "feels" by the way they communicate with it. For me, I don't have pets. I've learned to communicate with insects. When a house fly comes along, I will notice it, and notice it noticing me. I'll talk sweetly to it, looking to see what type of individual personality it has, because all of them have a unique individual personality. Then it will come around, and the relationship will grow and continue, until it is in my very environment, and so lovely, like for example, it will land really close to me, and some have even walked on my book that I was reading, and wasn't frightened. I got to know some of them so well, it's such a delight. They don't last a long time around, but they sure do leave a great impression, which is, that everything living, which is sentient, is a beautiful unique individual part of the whole. So yea, when you talk to a person in a session of therapy, look at them from the beginning as an individual worth getting to know. The more you're interested in them, the sooner the relationship will build and you will be able to find how you can best help them. They'll open up better.

[@ritabrophy3755]

Thanks for this talk. As an integrative therapist , I studied Bolbys work and this was a great summary. No mention of the person centred approach though when referring to different modalities, and I would have liked it’s inclusion as it’s so widely practised.

[@cazmac666]

Wonderful lecture. So clearly explained. Thank you 😊

[@vivianataylor1925]

Excellent lecture. Insightful in my current journey working with birth -5 clients.

[@filiusfila]

Thank you for the wise and warm hearted words

[@joannamichaels5907]

such a wonderful lecture! thank you for sharing

[@julianjules6698]

What a great lecture. Just gold.

[@mindofown]

1:09 looking at brain scan results is very interesting and almost summarises the therapeutic attachment process

[@aoibhinnking]

Wonderful lecture. Thank you.

[@TheBirdBrothers]

Nice lecture, accessible yet high in content and explication, thank you.

[@liviasibin6726]

Thank you for sharing this vídeo. Hugs from Brazil.

[@peniquefrg]

Thank you! Very interesting!

[@DrSyl]

Absolutely excellent lecture - thank you.

[@mckonal]

"LOVE IS A GROSS EXAGGERATION OF THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN ONE PERSON AND EVERYBODY ELSE."

[@irynaguziy1202]

29:20 "secure attachment dynamic: rupture > repair > exploration takes over" yes, that's how one learns not to dwell in negative emotional states, and easily return to self/co-regulation (ventral vagal & flexible access to other ANS states according to polyvagal theory)

[@irynaguziy1202]

@Futures I guess, we need to have a healthy, regulated nervous system (or re-regulated after experiencing trauma), when a person is able to experience playful activation (without anxiety), and restful stillness (without shutting down). Basically, it means having adequate reactions for social engagement and healthy self-soothing (when needed). And yes, after looking more into polyvagal theory (Stephen Porges, Deb Dana) it becomes apparent how many of us (including myself) are engaging in unhealthy anxiety-driven, numbing or unnecessary fight-or-flight behaviors, that result in feelings of separateness/isolation, and deepen the effects of trauma.

[@irynaguziy1202]

@Futures No, it's not a conscious choice, that's the point. We can try to change those unconcious patterns if we become aware of them, and gain more perspective on how those internal (Self) and external (others, Universe) systems function. But even then there will always be something that's out of our control, Life is a great Mystery)

[@irynaguziy1202]

@Futures If the complexity is unfathomable, what more can we do?) It feels like some Alan Watts quotes could be relevant, e.g. "man suffers only because he takes seriously what the gods made for fun")

[@irynaguziy1202]

@Futures So what resources are needed to be in what is as best as we can (if not therapy)?

[@wajdatabassum8490]

Beautiful - very well delivered I think! thank you, Jeremy Holmes- there are so many videos on attachment style and attachment theory and this one I found very well explained. The voice also has got a soothing impact on the listeners offering a secure base to intake new knowledge.

[@doreenplischke7645]

Yes. Very important. Dialectics and the ‘tone of voice’

[@claudiabattel4024]

AMAZING LECTURE! Professor Jeremy Holmes is the sum of clarity, knowledge and passion. the most inspiring video I have seen in long time. He is great. and the content is very high level.THANKS SO MUCH for posting this video. it is gold. x

[@007Tinkins]

At 1 hr 9 min mark he describes the electrical shock test that the Gottmans often refer to in their lectures. Very interesting findings.

[@Teresaatthehouse]

Interesting discussion, many thanks

[@curiousindividual634]

the lecturer's voice is very soothing

[@pauljohnston]

great talk. Are the slides available anywhere?

[@f.massaquoi9841]

This was so good

[@jenniferarnold-delgado3489]

THREE , Jean Leidloff who wrote " THE CONTINUUM CONCEPT " which she observed in the Yanomami Indigenous Indians in the Amazon Rain Forest . I am not sure if she was British or American , but the book is really worth reading .

[@stephaniepagan4613]

Lovely! Thank you!

[@katetrapnell459]

Thank you! I found this incredibly helpful. Clear & consise. The tone and pace was ideal for me. Thank you again.

[@JW-or8tl]

Hi, very helpful lecture. could you tell me which of Winnicotts books he quotes about Mirroring in Therapy Please? I'd really like to read more about it.

[@benmarr352]

Professor Holmes, what a wonderful lecture, what an engaging lecturer. I am going to try and reach you to talk about our child welfare foundation. Thank you for making this so accessible.

[@tigerlily597]

Wonderful lecture. Thank you The Weekend University , from a Psychology student in Israel :)

[@danielhenriksson4500]

Yes i rather listen to a professional lecturer like this , it's like listening to Russel Barkley on ADHD rather then someone else

[@JK-es9wu]

Why do psychologists etc not have a clock behind them which the client can see without being obvious .. It would let the client pace their conversations and not be cut off or run out of time ..

[@angelaramseyrobinson4407]

Some do.

[@IgboKezie]

Still face exercise at around 38 mins is child abuse, and found it severely upsetting when I first experience this clip in an attachment therapy program. I'm aware it may have triggered some preverbal experience I have had but nonetheless it's child abuse in my lexicon

[@naeemrazaq4882]

Who is Michael barnett

[@malovela]

I wonder if there's a psychological reason why professor Holmes says "as it were" so much. (Unfortunately, I became so fixated on his overuse of the phrase that I found it difficult to concentrate on the content of the lecture. ... Come to think of it, I wonder if there's a psychological reason behind that. 😄 )

[@eminem2]

Uhm... I won't ring anyone if I get hit by a us, I guess I'll just ask people who depend on me to alter arrangements, but won't specify why.

[@osamsal]

May I ask why?

[@A1N4H_]

How foster care lead to my anxious / avoidant attachment style “The day we were taken from our mother” My Story - kzbin.info/www/bejne/r2XXqoN8mt9-bZY

[@fallenangel4628]

I’ve had to pause this and replay things so many times that this has taken way longer to get through than it should have- why is each slide cut to a second at a time? The information is good, but dense with terminology and quotes not read aloud. For visual learners, this makes this lecture drag on to the point I almost lost interest. Video editing matters 😭😭😭 We don’t need to see the back of students heads we need the context and informative cues of what’s being referenced.

[@michellea9857]

Well put

[@michellea9857]

Good presentation although unnecessary polemics about marriage

[@KS-vf6vq]

1.10.35

[@easternhealingarts33]

~~~ I read a book about the history and analysis of Sex Work by a freemason in the 1800s and they mentioned a lot of things that you did.~~~

[@rulistening7777]

So what is the psychological phenomenon, where-in people strive to look like the stereo- typical image of their profession in order to garner credibility ?

[@Sacs.thepsychologynexus]

Interesting. We have a Psychology channel where we discuss attachment theory etc. Any support is appreciated.

[@TheRedSonia]

As it were.

[@garytomkins1114]

That a professor can willingly demonstrate such ignorance over the so called use of Counter Transference is shocking. That he thought that his need to get milk on the way home has relevance to the client is ridiculous and needs more reflection. It is his need. To then assert this is to do with the sessions coming to an end is clearly him not putting his cards on the table as he claims. Such an attitude of asserting his own process on the client is an abuse of power. Fortunately it was only about the sessions ending but betrays a patronising attitude and a misunderstanding of psychic process, that could be harmful or abusive. Maybe if he had been transparent as he claimed and said "I am remebering I need to buy some milk on the way home, I wonder if this has anything to do with our sessions coming to an end, and how you ae feeling anout that" it would have been more honest... cards on the table so to speak.

[@mckonal]

AŞK, BİR KİŞİNİN DİĞER HERKESTEN FARKLI OLDUĞUNUN KATIKSIZ ABARTILMASIDIR.

[@space_eko]

who is this Altmer

[@ireland2657]

Studying psychotherapy at mo this was a great lectuer..tank u