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Shunned by both Kleinians and Freudians some years ago, and rather fed up with both of them himself, John Bowlby went his own way. His attachment theory became the basis of a remarkably fruitful research program. Now, some 40 years later, psychoanalysts and attachment theorists have begun to rediscover each other. Peter Fonagy, who was one of the first to initiate a dialogue between the two disciplines, is immensely knowledgeable in both. His Attachment Theory and Psychoanalysis advances this dialogue.
In his introduction, Fonagy explains the shifts that have made a rapprochement possible. A number of contemporary psychoanalytic schools share basic assumptions with attachment theory, assumptions that were once considered psychoanalytic heresy. Further, many psychoanalysts are beginning to recognize the value of empirical research and see attachment theory as possibly providing sufficiently sophisticated research tools. For their part, attachment researchers have moved from primarily studying infant behaviour to displaying an interest in adult internal representations. They are beginning to see psychoanalytic theory as a way of enriching their own understanding.
The bulk of this book deals with the multiplicity of psychoanalytic schools, comparing and contrasting each to attachment theory. This is an ambitious task and one in which the author succeeds admirably. He uses the first two chapters to explain the basic tenets and key findings of attachment research, clearly, without oversimplifying. Then, in chapter 3, he outlines Freud's models, where points of divergence are undoubtedly in the majority. Chapter 4 covers the North American structural approach, orego psychology, where he focuses on Spitz, Jacobson, and Erikson.