Attachment and Family Therapy
Byng-Hall, J. (1999). Family therapy
and couple therapy: Toward greater
security. In J. Cassidy & P. R. Shaver
(Eds.), Handbook of attachment:
Theory, research, and clinical
applications (pp. 625-645). New York:
Guilford Press.
Introduction
 Byng-Hall reports that Bowlby was “a
steadfast supporter of family therapy”
(based on Byng-Hall, 1991).
 Family therapists have neglected
attachment theory. This may be due to
emphases on dyads rather than wholefamily functioning.
 Main purpose of chapter:
 Identify ways that the family either increases
or undermines family members sense of
security.
 Describe family therapy goals that are
consistent with attachment.
Dr. Ronald J. Werner-Wilson
Attachment in the Family and
Couple System:Conceptual Issues
 Ways of Studying Family Attachment
Patterns
 Studying relationships in families is complex.
In a family of three, there are only three
dyadic relationships influencing each other.
In a family of four, there are fifteen dyadic
relationships influencing each other.
In a family of eight, there are three-hundred
and seventy eight dyadic relationships
influencing each other.
 Family therapy theorists and researchers have
suggested that it is important to investigate
triads.
 Attachment in Adults: Two Research
Approaches
 Adult attachment to children: awareness of
this literature contributes to greater
understanding of parent-child relationship.
 Adult romantic attachment: awareness of this
literature facilitates understanding intimate
relationship between adults.
Dr. Ronald J. Werner-Wilson
Security in the Family: The
Concept of a Secure Family Base
 From a family systems perspective, ByngHall suggests that the family contributes to
attachment by providing a secure family
base.
 Definition of secure base: “a family that
provides a reliable and readily available
network of attachment relationships, and
appropriate caregivers, from which all
members of the family are able to feel
sufficiently secure to explore their potential”
(1999, p. 627).
 Byng-Hall suggests that there are two factors
associated with a secure family base.
 First, he suggests that there is a shared
awareness that attachment relationships are
important and care for others is a priority in the
family.
 Second, he contends that family members
should support one another in providing care
for each other.
Dr. Ronald J. Werner-Wilson
The Concept of a Secure Family
Base (cont.)
 Factors that Undermine a Secure Base in
Families
 Fear of losing an attachment figure or actual
loss of an attachment figure.
 A child clings to one caregiver and rejects
relationships with other caregivers. Byng-Hall
refers to this as “capturing” an attachment
figure.
 Turning to an inappropriate attachment figure
(i.e., if one parent is not supporting the other
parent, a child may be used as an attachment
figure).
 Conflict within relationships, particularly
abusive relationships.
Negative self-fulfilling prophecies: there is
an expectation that losses from other
generations will be repeated.
Dr. Ronald J. Werner-Wilson
Correspondence Between Types of
Attachment
Child Attachment
Style
Adult Parenting
Attachment Style
(AAI)
Adult Romantic
Attachment Style
Couple and Family
Relationship
Characteristics
Secure: limited
distress; continued
exploration after
initial reunion
Secure: dev.approp. interac.;
recognizes sig. of
attachment; parent
is sensitively
responsive to child
Autonomous/
Free
Flexible distance
regulation;
adaptable
interaction styles;
shared initiation for
contact.
Avoidant: child
appears indifferent
Dismissing:
dismissive about
attachment;
withdrawn and
rejecting parent
style
Avoidant
Distant and
withdrawn;
disengaged
interactions;
avoidance of
emotional or
physical
closeness
Resistant or
Ambivalent: child
appears distressed,
preoccupied with
caregiver &
“clingy”
Preoccupied:
recognizes sig. of
attachment, but
preoccupied with
past; parent appears
angry; parent is
intermittently
available
Ambivalent/
Preoccupied
Overly close and
intrusive
relationships;
enmeshed; mutual
monitoring; blurred
boundaries and role
reversal
Disorganized/
Disoriented:
difficult to
categorize reunion
experience (80% of
maltreated youth)
Unresolved/
Disorganized:
frightened by
memory of past
trauma promotes
momentary
dissassociation;
scripts child into
“past drama”
No common
interaction
strategies, but could
include approachavoidance conflict
style; disoriented
interactions;
dissociation.
Dr. Ronald J. Werner-Wilson
Links Between Family Therapy
Concepts and Attachment Research
 Both approaches emphasize significance
of caregiving, communication, joint
problem solving, and mutuality in
relationships.
 Aspects of the Circumplex model of
family functioning seem consistent with
attachment theory.
 Family therapy theory descriptions of
family organizational style (e.g.,
enmeshed, disengaged) seem consistent
with research findings on attachment.
Dr. Ronald J. Werner-Wilson
Systems Theory as a Framework
for Thinking about Attachments
 Family interaction cycles influence
attachment.
 Circular causality (e.g., feedback loops)
in family systems influences mutuality.
 Family rules and organizational
structures influence aspects of
attachment (e.g., caregiving behavioral
system, exploratory behavioral system,
and attachment behavioral system).
 Distance Regulation in the Family System
 “Too Close – Too Far” Couple and Family
Systems
 Triangulation of Others as Distance
Regulators
 Illnesses and Emotional Problems that
Become Distance Regulators
Dr. Ronald J. Werner-Wilson
Providing a Secure Therapeutic
Base
 This is similar to the idea in object relations
family therapy of developing a “safe
container” for therapy.
 Availability of the therapist: therapists
should be regularly available to clients
throughout their clinical experience and
communicate to them that s/he we will
continue to be available to them in the
future.
 Roles of the therapist: Byng-Hall suggests
that the therapist will serve as an
attachment figure to family members.
 Exploring the relationship to the therapist
 Therapists become part of the family system
during therapy so we should pay attention to
our influence.
 “Feeling understood is crucial to family
members’ establishing secure attachments to
the therapist” (Byng-Hall, 1999, p. 636).
Dr. Ronald J. Werner-Wilson
Working with Current Significant
Relationships
 Reframing the meaning of attachment
strategies: A competence-based
approach
 Byng-Hall suggests that it may be helpful to
normalize difficulties associated with
attachment.
 “Attachment theory can offer explanations that
are clear to both therapist and family, and that
make sense out of what may be otherwise
perplexing. For instance, a child who is angry,
demanding, and controlling is often seen as
intentionally bad, but the child can be seen in
a different light if described as insecure and
trying to make sure he or she is in the parents’
minds when he or she feels unloved and
unlovable” (1999, p. 636).
Dr. Ronald J. Werner-Wilson
Working with Current Significant
Relationships (cont.)
 Creating a more coherent narrative style
in the family: in addition to providing
reframes, Byng-Hall contends that
therapists should attend to signficant
relationships by promotimg more
coherent narratives for the family.
Narrative therapy techniques would be
particularly helpful.
 Comparing Past and Present:
Understanding Developmental Pathways
 “Exploring the connections between stories of
what happened in past generations and what
is happening now in the session can help the
therapist and the family members to elucidate
what comes from the past, and the to assess
whether or not behaving in old ways I helpful
now” (Byng-Hall, 1999, p. 639).
 This is similar to Murray Bowen’s
recommendation to “embrace” family history in
order to promote differentiation.
Dr. Ronald J. Werner-Wilson