Abstract
This article discusses the use of the telephone for psychotherapy and applies basic tenets of attachment theory and research on infant development to understand the therapy process. Clinical case examples of four models of attachment (“secure,” “insecure ambivalent,” “insecure avoidant,” “disorganized”) illustrate diverse patient capacities to use the telephone during a planned 10-week break from ongoing, in-person treatment. It is suggested that telephone therapy may be variously effective based on the attachment system that becomes activated due to the separation, and patients with insecure avoidant or disorganized attachment patterns may have more difficulty managing the alternative treatment modality.
Similar content being viewed by others
REFERENCES
Aaron, L. (1996). A meeting of minds: Mutuality in psychoanalysis. Hillsdale, NJ: The Analytic Press.
Ainsworth, M. D. S. (1967). Infancy in uganda: Infant care and the growth of love. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press.
Ainsworth, M. D. S., Blehar, M., Waters, E., & Wall, S. (1978). Patterns of attachment. Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.
Aronson, J. (2000a). Use of the telephone as a transitional space. In J. Aronson (Ed.), Use of the telephone in psychotherapy (pp. 129–149). Northvale, NJ: Jason Aronson.
Aronson, J. (Ed.) (2000b). Use of the telephone in psychotherapy. Northvale, NJ: Jason Aronson.
Barth, D. (2000). Using the telephone to negotiate an optimal balance between separation and connection. In J. Aronson (Ed.), Use of the telephone in psychotherapy (pp. 151–166). Northvale, NJ: Jason Aronson.
Beebe, B., & Lachmann, F. (1988). The contribution of mother-infant mutual influence to the origins of self and object representation. Psychoanalytic Psychology, 5, 305–337.
Beebe, B., & Lachmann, F. (2002). Infant research and adult treatment: Co-constructing interactions. Hillsdale, NJ: The Analytic Press.
Bowlby, J. (1969/1982). Attachment and loss: Vol. 1. Attachment. New York: Basic Books.
Bowlby, J. (1973). Attachment and loss: Vol. 2. Separation. New York: Basic Books.
Bowlby, J. (1980). Attachment and loss: Vol. 3. Loss. New York: Basic Books.
Brisch, K. (2000). Use of the telephone in the treatment of attachment disorders. In J. Aronson (Ed.), Use of the telephone in psychotherapy (pp. 375–395). Northvale, NJ: Jason Aronson.
Dozier, M., Stovall, C., & Albus, K. (1999). Attachment and psychopathology in adulthood. In J. Cassidy & P. Shaver (Eds.), Handbook of attachment: Theory, research, and clinical applications (pp. 497519). New York: Guilford.
Fonagy, P. (2001). Attachment theory and psychoanalysis. New York: Other Press.
Kiersky, S., & Beebe, B. (1994). The reconstruction of early nonverbal relatedness in the treatment of difficult patients. Psychoanalytic Dialogues, 4(3), 389–408.
Kobak, R. (1999). The emotional dynamics of disruptions in attachment relationships. In J. Cassidy & P. Shaver (Eds.), Handbook of attachment: Theory, research, and clinical applications (pp. 21–43). New York: Guilford.
Lachmann, F., & Beebe, B. (1996). Three principles of salience in the organization of the patient-analyst interaction. Psychoanalytic Psychology, 13(1), 122.
Main, M., & Solomon, J. (1986). Discovery of a new, insecure disorganized/disoriented attachment pattern. In T. B. Brazelton & M. Yogman (Eds.), Affective development in infancy (pp. 95–124). Norwood, NJ: Ablex.
Orange, D., Atwood, G., & Stolorow, R. (1997). Working intersubjectively: Contextualism in psychoanalytic practice. Hillsdale, NJ: The Analytic Press.
Rustin, J. (2002, October). The telephone speaks: Many questions, few answers. Paper presented at the meeting of the 25th Annual International Conference on the Psychology of the Self, Washington, DC.
Sable, P. (2000). Attachment and adult psychotherapy. Northvale, NJ: Jason Aronson.
Slade, A. (1999). Attachment theory and research: Implications for the theory and practice of individual psychotherapy with adults. In J. Cassidy & P. Shaver (Eds.), Handbook of attachment: Theory, research, and clinical applications (pp. 575-594). New York: Guilford.
Stern, D. (1977). The first relationship: Infant and mother.Cambridge: Harvard University Press.
Stern, D. (1985). The interpersonal world of the infant. New York: Basic Books.
Sorter, D. (1996). Chase and dodge: An organization of experience. Psychotherapy and Psychoanalysis, 13(1), 68–75.
Warren, J. (2000). When the therapist moves. In J. Aronson (Ed.), Use of the telephone in psychotherapy (pp. 167–184). Northvale, NJ: Jason Aronson.
Zeanah, C., Anders, T., Seifer, R., & Stern, D. (1989). Implications of research on infant development for psychodynamic theory and practice. Journal of American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 28(5), 657–668.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Bennett, S. Viewing Telephone Therapy Through the Lens of Attachment Theory and Infant Research. Clinical Social Work Journal 32, 239–250 (2004). https://doi.org/10.1023/B:CSOW.0000035106.05138.f3
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/B:CSOW.0000035106.05138.f3