John Bowlby's attachment theory and the developments of his work over the past 30 years have profoundly influenced our understanding of human need but how does it translate to good therapeutic technique? This series has been designed to explore and illuminate the answer to this question.

There is wide agreement that the loving care given by secure parents provides the safety that is required for relatedness and fulfillment throughout life, and that deficits in that loving care lead to rigid templates for relationships that are driven by negative expectations of others. Research indicates that we can alter those relational configurations when involved in deep, intimate relationships in later years; that we have an evolving pattern of attachment as well as a core model of self and other; that the self can develop in the direction of greater safety in relation to others and thus towards fulfillment of needs, love and freedom.

But how does attachment theory inform the actual practice of psychotherapy? Is the therapist's aim to provide a secure attachment relationship in the expectation that this in itself will be healing? If so, what shape should such a relationship take? How does attachment theory help us to navigate the behaviour and emotions that challenge therapeutic relationships, both as expressions of our patient/clients' attachment styles and our own?

In this series, leading UK theorists of attachment theory will examine how far the psychotherapy relationship, as a co-creation, is able to perform a transformative role of the patient's attachment template and the practice of good psychotherapy itself.