Session Two – Content Level: Advanced
Attachment Classifications and Sub-Classifications, Disorganization, Unattached/Reactive Attachment

In this session, the instructors will introduce background information about attachment theory and the different ways of measuring it, beginning with an outline of the three major organized attachment categories, and multiple sub-categories within these major classifications. There will be an in-depth focus on discreet and global disorganization states and how they are recognized and approached clinically. Examples from research and clinical experience will be provided to illustrate the theoretical content, with an emphasis on disorganized strategies, culminating in a brief discussion on extreme cases of patients who are “Unattached.” 

Readings

1. Hesse, E. (2018). Adult Attachment Interview: Protocol, method of analysis, and selected empirical studies: 1985 – 2015. In J. Cassidy & P. R. Shaver (Eds.), Handbook of attachment: Theory, research, and clinical applications, (3rd Edition, Chapter 26). Guilford Press.
2. Kobak, R., Zajac, K., & Madsen, S. D. (2018). Attachment disruptions, reparative processes, and psychopathology. In J. Cassidy & P. R. Shaver (Eds.), Handbook of attachment: Theory, research, and clinical applications, (3rd Edition, Chapter 3). Guilford Press.
3. Lyons-Ruth, K., & Jacobvitz, D. (2018). Attachment disorganization from infancy to adulthood. In J. Cassidy & P. R. Shaver (Eds.), Handbook of attachment: Theory, research, and clinical applications, (3rd Edition, Chapter 29). Guilford Press.

Timed Outline
45 minutes – lecture presentation
20 minutes – discuss readings
25 minutes – case discussion and closing comments