ABSTRACT
Attachment theory, in the words of Cassidy and Shaver, has produced “one of the broadest, most profound and most creative lines of research in 20th-century psychology”. Nevertheless, given the hostility of the psychoanalytic establishment to John Bowlby’s ideas during which there have been dramatic advances in the congruent disciplines of infancy research and relational psychoanalysis, that the clinical relevance of attachment theory has been unquestionably established. Bowlby’s understanding of the nature of human relatedness became primary in our theoretical framework and practice. It contributed directly to our emergence as an attachment-based psychoanalytic centre in 1992. Bowlby’s work created a bridge over the chasm between individual and social experience and hence between the personal and the political. The 2001 John Bowlby Memorial Lecturer, Michael Rutter, discussed institutional care and the role of the state in promoting recovery from neglect and abuse. The 2004 John Bowlby Memorial Lecturer, Jody Messler Davies, has made major contributions to the development of the relational model.
