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It feels strange writing about a book that I think is really worth reading. I feel like saying, ‘This book does what it says on the cover; if you want a comprehensive guide to attachment theory with plenty of clinical vignettes read this book!’ As though the more that I write here (assuming you read it all) will mean less time for you to read the book … and this leads me to wonder why we write and why we read books.
‘But who shall be the master? The writer or the reader?’ (Diderot, 1796). Maybe the author of this quote was also wondering this.
The material in Attachment in Psychotherapy filtered into my consulting room because of the amount of clinical material scattered throughout the book. Plenty of honest clinical reflections are always a treat for me, and I feel it enlivens what could be an otherwise dry, textbook account of therapy. The author is also very clear how the book has helped him with his own clinical work. He looks deeply at himself, which helps to move certain aspects of his work on. So, one hopes, this book helps both the writer and the reader to be the master. The master of what exactly seems a far bigger question.
As I am writing this I am also listening to a vibrant and uplifting radio discussion about Barack Obama having been voted in as president elect of the USA. It feels as though this is an exciting time, a time for change, and what is psychotherapy about if not about change?
The image on the front cover is a beautiful portrayal of nature changing, and the author uses numerous powerful images to convey his thoughts and ideas about how to aid change in a therapeutic relationship. I found the metaphors helpful, and found myself free associating and forming my own ideas. One section of the book is entitled ‘Double Helix’. Wallin talks about how the double helix consists of a pair of partially overlapping spirals that converge and diverge, again and again. He links this to mentalizing and mindfulness, how these two concepts are distinct, yet interw