John Bowlby: Attachment and Loss

In a seminar format Dr. John Bowlby reviews the experiences and research that led him to propose his theory of attachment.

He explains how his theory of object relations, which recognizes the importance of real-life events, differs from a more narrow exclusively internal view of object relations. He acknowledges that this difference has had an impact on all of his subsequent work.

He discusses his collaboration with Anna Freud, Melanie Klein, and Margaret Mahler. He describes the work of Mary Ainsworth and her contributions to the study of attachment.

He discusses the importance of attachment in human life, from infancy to old age, and the distressing emotional responses which arise when ties are ruptured. Several times he states, ?How we start we tend to go on.?

In the last part of the program Bowlby poses questions and offers excerpts from case studies that highlight the importance of attachment and the effects of separation. This seminar was filmed in London. Dr Bowlby, the author of Attachment, Separation and Loss, was at the time a consulting psychiatrist at the Tavistock Clinic.

Available As: DVD
Produced By: Marion Solomon Ph.D.
Total Running Time: 88 minutes