Developmental psychology
Attachment theory, originally developed by John Bowlby, focuses on the importance of open, intimate, emotionally meaningful relationships. Attachment is described as a biological system or powerful survival impulse that evolved to ensure the survival of the infant. A child who is threatened or stressed will move toward caregivers who create a sense of physical, emotional and psychological safety for the individual. Attachment feeds on body contact and familiarity. Later Mary Ainsworth developed the Strange Situation protocol and the concept of the secure base.
Attachment-based psychotherapy
Therapists apply psychotherapy to patients with attachment disorders by applying a method of listening and reflecting on the experiences of the patient that caused their difficulty in making emotional connections. The therapist’s objective is to get the patient to open up to them so the patient can explore the experiences that are causing them to have dysfunctional relationships and to recreate the experience from the point of view of the therapist in order to resolve any emotional or social disruptions within the patient’s life. According to Dan Hughes this process is known as “attunement, disruption, and repair”. The first part of the treatment, the attunement, consists of the forging of a personal relationship between the therapist and the patient, it is the first step for the patient toward creating healthy attachments. Attachment patients live stressful lives with very little emotional attachments to people, thus it is the therapist's job to create a secure, accepting, caring, non-judgmental, and reliable environment where the patient can feel comfortable sharing their most traumatic experiences.