A Matter of Security: The Application of Attachment Theory to Forensic Psychiatry and Psychotherapy(Forensic Focus)

As a psychodynamic theory of both normal development and psychopathology, attachment theory has particular utility for forensic psychiatry. A Matter of Security provides an attachment theory based account of the development of arousal and affect regulation, which offers a new way of thinking about mental disorders in offenders. This book also discusses the development of personality in terms of interpersonal functioning and relationships with others, which is essential to understanding both interpersonal violence and abnormal personality development. Attachment theory also offers a model of therapeutic work with patients that have particular resonance with forensic work because it uses the language of security. This collection focuses on attachment theory applied to forensic psychiatry and psychotherapy.

Table of Contents:
Foreword, Friedemann Pfäfflin, University of Ulm and Gwen Adshead, Broadmoor Hospital. Part I: Theory. 1. The Developmental Roots of Violence in the Failure of Mentalization, Peter Fonagy, University College London. 2. Attachment Representation, Attachment Style or Attachment Pattern? Usage of Terminology in Attachment Theory, Thomas Ross, University Clinic of Ulm. 3. Fragmented Attachment Representations, Franziska Lamott, University of Ulm, Elisabeth Fremmer-Bombik, Hospital for Child and Youth Psychiatry in Regensburg and Friedemann Pfäfflin. Part II: Clinical Issues 4. The Link Between Childhood Trauma and Later Violent Offending: The Application of Attachment Theory in a Probation Setting, Paul Renn, Centre for Attachment-based Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy. Part III: Institutional Issues. 5. Three Degrees of Security: Attachment and Forensic Institutions, Gwen Adshead. 6. Forensic Mental Health Nursing: Care with Security in Mind, Anne Aiyegbusi, Broadmoor Hospital. 7. Finding a Secure Base: Attachment in Grendon Prison, Michael Parker, HMP Grendon and Mark Morris, The Portman Clinic. Part IV: Research Data. 8. Attachment Representations and Factitious Illness by Proxy: Relevance for Assesment of Parenting Capacity in Child Maltreatment, Gwen Adshead and Kerry Bluglass, The Woodbourne Clinic. 9.Violence and Attachment: Attachment Styles, Self-regulation and Interpersonal Problems in a Prison Population, Thomas Ross, University Clinic of Ulm and Friedemann Pfäfflin. 10. Attachment Representations and Attachment Styles in Traumatized Women, Franziska Lamott, University of Ulm, Natalie Sammet, cognitive behavioural psychotherapist and Friedemann Pfäfflin, University of Ulm. Conclusion: A Matter of Security. Friedemann Pfäfflin and Gwen Adshead. Subject Index. Author Index.

About the Author :
Friedemann Pfäfflin is a Professor of Psychotherapy and Head of the Forensic Psychotherapy Section at the University of Ulm. Gwen Adshead is a forensic psychiatrist, forensic psychotherapist, forensic researcher and psychiatrist specializing in trauma.

Review :
This is a fascinating book which will be of interest to those concerned with forensic contexts. It combines theoretical and practical content and provides an excellent source of literature for further reading. This is a book at the frontier of knowledge in a specific domain that offers a useful first source for thinking about how attachment theory can be applied in forensic situations. A Matter of Security is an invigoration collection of essays in which attachment theory is used as a framework to explore a variety of issues in forensic psychiatry. The variety of content and methodologies makes A Matter of Security an invaluable resource for anybody working in or thinking about forensic psychiatry. This book is a `must read' for all clinicians working in forensic psychiatry. It explores the psycho-dynamic theory of attachment and ways in which this theoretical base can be used to offer new ways of thinking about, and working therapeutically with, mental disorders in offenders. The authors of the various chapters represent a wide range of disciplines from a variety of forensic settings, demonstrating the flexibility of this theoretical framework.