ABSTRACT
This chapter draws on recent interdisciplinary literature from human geography and environmental psychology. Mental health practitioners from various schools rely on concepts from Bowlby’s attachment theory in their therapeutic work. The emotional bond that humans develop with their meaningful environments is known as place attachment. It is characterised by a relationship between an individual and his beloved place. The integration of place attachment into theories of human development is recent and is slowly penetrating the clinical field. Attachment theory provides a basis for understanding early relationship experiences within social systems; it describes the impact of human bonding on the development of identity and personality. The psychological imprints of early attachments serve as operational reference points for the future. Place attachment is now moving from the concept-development stage to an application onto practical issues. The place-attachments we form are closely linked with the bonds we simultaneously develop with others. Place and interpersonal attachments form a symbiotic system at the core of early development. Various case examples are given and discussed with a focus on attachment tendency and the choice of online therapy, exploring the relationship with the motherland and with the new place.
