Therapeutic progress and symptom elevation in treating dismissive attachment: A case study |
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Authors: | Natasha L. Reynolds David Rupert Steven J. Sandage |
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Affiliation: | The Danielsen Institute at Boston University, Boston, Massachusetts, USA |
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Abstract: | A dismissive or avoidant attachment style can present clinical challenges in psychotherapy as the attachment style may interfere with the development of a constructive therapeutic alliance and impact the level of disclosure, expressions of distress, and risks for premature drop-out. This paper reports a naturalistic case study and offers an in-depth examination of a treatment with a client with dismissive attachment, including a detailed examination of relational interventions and countertransference struggles. Furthermore, this paper considers the notable differences between quantitative scores on a well-validated, practice-based clinical symptom inventory and the qualitative outcomes for this client to offer clinical and research implications in treatment with dismissive attachment. |
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Keywords: | attachment avoidant dismissive case study psychodynamic therapy treatment monitoring |
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