ABSTRACT
J. Bowlby proposed that, in the interests of survival, an infant develops an attachment bond with its primary caregiver. An attachment pattern is the visible reflection of a set of internal working models – a set of beliefs about the self and the self in relation to others. When parents are able to be sufficiently accessible, reliable and responsive an infant will develop a secure attachment pattern and the capacity to make use of this secure base. Gradually the secure base offered by the attachment figure becomes internalised so that the child can cope with an appropriate degree of separation. J. Holmes observes how the fit between attachment patterns in the patient and the therapist can lead to ending a therapy too soon or too late. Some individuals with strongly ambivalent or disorganised patterns may try to get their attachment needs met through compulsive caregiving.
