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Arriving at Fonagy's office at University College London, we are greeted with the famous Fonagy warmth and move quickly on to a close discussion of Fonagy's current activities. It is difficult to see how he does it all. He is the Freud Memorial Professor of Psychoanalysis at University College London. He is also the Chief Executive of the Anna Freud Centre. And among other numerous professional positions he is chair of the Research Committee of the Institute of Psychoanalysis. His curriculum vitae is virtually overpowering. He has written nine books, including Attachment Theory and Psychoanalysis , What Works for Whom: A Critical Review of Treatment for Children and Adolescents (with Mary Target, David Cottrell, Jeanette Phillips, and Zarrina Kurtz), and Psychoanalytic Theories - Perspectives from Developmental Psychopathology (with Mary Target). He is editor or co-editor of six other books and has written over 200 professional articles and book chapters.
What, then is his position with regard to attachment theory at this point in his life, how does he see John Bowlby's contribution to psychoanalysis, and how does he feel to be the one carrying the torch for attachment within classical psychoanalysis?
Fonagy has strong professional commitment to research in addition to his clinical work. Research issues are very much on his mind.
Attachment theory had ten good years in the research community from about 1985-1995. We had excellent research grants from the Wellcome, the Economic Social Research Council and the European Union; we were invited speakers at British Psychological Society congresses, the British Association and all that. Attachment theory is still good, but research interest has moved to neuroscience, to advances in gene therapy, to how attachment is reflected in brain activity.