Emphasizing the complexity of the relationship: the next decade of attachment-based psychotherapy research

Abstract

This article focuses on the future of attachment-based psychotherapy research and begins with a brief summary of the research that has been done and then explores 8 predictions for the future. The main emphasis of these predictions is the growing complexity in our research needed to capture the mechanisms that facilitate or hinder the therapy process for patients with different attachment styles. Future researchers will focus more on the interactions between the patient and therapist within the sessions, will apply more complex statistical analyses to study the dyad, and will integrate different research methods. In addition, attachment researchers will focus studies on the changing landscape of psychotherapy and explore how attachment can inform Internet-based treatments and misperceptions of attachment based on the patients' culture. All in all, attachment researchers will start to tackle the more practical issues clinicians face, and their work has the potential to significantly improve psychotherapy treatment.