ABSTRACT
Over the past three decades, the scientific soundness of Bowlby’s research has become irrefutable by psychologists and psychotherapists. Different theoretical models, however, differ as to how to combine the findings of attachment theory with pre-existing theory and clinical practice. The vantage point of experiential dynamic therapies (EDT) in this regard can be encompassed within two main points: (1) their birth and development date back to the 1970s–1980s, making them contemporary to the birth and development of attachment theory. As a consequence, from the beginning, EDT therapists could regard attachment trauma as the major source of human emotional suffering and psychopathology; (2) the systematic video recording of therapeutic sessions led to the displacement of some of the attention from the theoretical framework to the actual therapeutic relationship, making it possible to directly observe and closely regulate the therapeutic operation, reducing the distance between theory and clinical practice, and introducing a higher level of fine-tuning.
