No abstract

Overall, research supports the suggestion that attachment styles may alter during the course of psychotherapy, but further controlled trials are required to confirm this conclusion.

A more secure attachment to the therapist was associated with greater WA and improvement in therapy. Clinicians should be mindful of signs of an insecure attachment to themselves, reflecting a difficulty around trusting the therapist and viewing them as a secure base. Missed sessions and an ongoing reluctance to disclose personal information to the therapist may be signs of an insecure attachment. This may be the case even in cognitive-behavioural approaches to therapy where relational processes are not necessarily a focus of therapy. Incorporating attachment processes in the formulation, including attachment to the therapist, may provide one way of exploring these issues in therapy.

The result of the evaluation indicated that this PMP, delivered in a community hospital setting, made some significant differences to patients with intractable chronic pain conditions.