Attachment styles and issues related to attachment have become extremely popular for clients and clinicians alike. The effects of attachment occur anywhere from initial dating interactions to long term relationships and marriages. Attachment training for therapists helps clients learn more behaviors resembling secure attachment patterns.
Attachment difficulties can be a big player in relationships that breakup. Many dissolved relationships can lead to mental health difficulties and increased risk of suicide (especially for middle-aged men).
There is hope though! Research on attachment shows that individuals with anxious or avoidant attachment styles can learn secure attachment behaviors. In doing so, they can promote greater success in their relationship and greater individual well-being for both partners.
So how do clinicians help clients learn more secure attachment behaviors to help prevent suicide and other problems later? And how do clinicians ethically use attachment principles when maladaptive behaviors (including suicide) and relationship pitfalls are voiced in the course of therapy?
Luckily, there is a good attachment training for therapists from the Cognitive Behavior Institute that aims to accomplish these goals. The training aims to provide clinicians with methods for promoting secure attachment behaviors to clients to prevent issues like suicide. It also highlights ethical pitfalls that can aid clinical decision-making in this pursuit.
Pros: The training provides an approach to an important and widespread difficulty. It also provides ethical guidance to a subject that can become “sticky”. This training also provides methods for a highly research based approach. And for the clinician, who doesn’t like to get some of those required ethics CEs in! The cost is also a great value for 3 credit hours.
Limits: This training is a live session, scheduled in October, 2024. So it is not available on-demand (at least as of now).
Research shows that learning secure attachment principles can do wonders for couples. Preventing relationship dissolution and thus further mental health difficulties is also on the table. Although some couples naturally break-up, others may find great benefit from practicing secure attachment principles learned in therapy.
