The Psychoanalytic Facet of Attachment Theory and Research: “Behind” and “Beyond” Attachment Disorganization
Publication Announcement by Rosetta Castellano (Italy)
Castellano, R. (2025). The psychoanalytic facet of attachment theory and research: “Behind” and “beyond” attachment disorganization. Psychoanalytic Psychology, 42 (4): 199-206.
This paper delves into the clinical value of considering attachment and recognition in their entanglements. Drawing on the psychoanalytic origins of attachment theory, it focuses on Bowlby’s interest in conflicts that arise when two or more incompatible systems are at play. A clinical vignette illustrates how the compelling need to be seen and known frequently coexists with fear and the need for protection, activating the attachment system in contradictory ways. Attachment and recognition needs may act simultaneously, leading to conflict, competition, dissociation, and even disorganized/disorganizing states. With its roots in infancy, the exploration of this intertwining is particularly challenging in the context of the couple bond. In this line, this paper aims to stimulate further reflection on an issue that has been neglected in psychoanalytic literature: how the relationship with a romantic partner can determine attachment disorganization.
Rosetta Castellano, Psy.D., Ph.D.
Avellino, Italy
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