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Attachment-Based Clinical Work with Children and Adolescents pp 9–43Cite as

Observing Development: A Comparative View of Attachment Theory and Separation–Individuation Theory

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Part of the book series: Essential Clinical Social Work Series ((ECSWS))

Abstract

Attachment theory and psychoanalytic approaches to child development emerged from common ground: a mistrust of existing ideas and a wish to know how the physical and caregiving environments interact with psychological development. These orientations developed in different contexts with disparate methodologies and emphases, and were considered to be incompatible by many clinicians and researchers. Yet, they share fundamental underpinnings and goals, and apparent incompatibilities are often the result of misunderstood aspects of each paradigm. Renewed interest in understanding how these theoretical orientations can together illuminate aspects of developmental processes is building. John Bowlby, with his emphasis on real events in the infant’s life, and Margaret Mahler, with her focus on examining early interactions in situ were revolutionary when they prioritized human observation. Both attachment theory and separation–individuation theory promote greater understanding of the interplay between universal developmental tasks and individual circumstances over the course of development, with an additional emphasis of the impact of early events and experiences over the lifespan. This chapter provides an overview of points of convergence and divergence between attachment theory and psychoanalytic theories of child development, with a particular emphasis on separation–individuation theory. The chapter concludes with a case study illustrating how a combined approach leads to a more comprehensive understanding of early development and its reverberations throughout life.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. The New York Psychoanalytic Institute and Lenox Hill Hospital, New York, NY, USA

    Inga Blom

  2. The Anni Bergman Parent Infant Program New York University Postdoctoral Program in Psychotherapy and Psychoanalysis, New York Freudian Society Institute for Psychoanalytic Training and Research, New York, NY, USA

    Anni Bergman

Authors
  1. Inga Blom
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  2. Anni Bergman
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Correspondence to Inga Blom .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. College of Social Work, University of Utah, 395 South 1500 East, Salt Lake City, 84112, Utah, USA

    Joanna Ellen Bettmann

  2. New York University, New York, 10014, New York, USA

    Donna Demetri Friedman

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Blom, I., Bergman, A. (2013). Observing Development: A Comparative View of Attachment Theory and Separation–Individuation Theory. In: Bettmann, J., Demetri Friedman, D. (eds) Attachment-Based Clinical Work with Children and Adolescents. Essential Clinical Social Work Series. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-4848-8_2

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