[Attachment patterns in psychotherapists].
OBJECTIVE
Therapist characteristics are relevant for the outcome of psychotherapies. Attachment measures related to aspects of personality are well introduced. We studied a sample of psychotherapists using attachment interviews and questionnaires.


METHODS
31 psychodynamically oriented psychotherapists who worked in two inpatient institutions were interviewed with the Adult Attachment Interview. We report the results of the distribution of attachment patterns according the Adult Attachment Prototype Rating (Strauss et al. 1999).


RESULTS
14 therapists (45.2%) showed a secure, 4 (12.9%) an insecure-ambivalent and 7 (22.6%) an insecure-avoidant attachment pattern. A comparably high proportion of therapists was rated as mixed-insecure, a pattern of clinical relevance. Discrepancies to other samples lie in the expected direction. There were no correlations with gender, experience or profession. Depression and insecure attachment did correlate; interpersonal problems showed no connection to attachment status.


CONCLUSIONS
The distribution resembles the general population with a slightly lower proportion of secure subjects. Further assessments, among others, will investigate the occurrence of ,,unresolved states of mind" with respect to attachment trauma.
Schauenburg
Henning
H
Klinik für Psychosomatische und Allgemeine Klinische Medizin, Universität Heidelberg. henning.schauenburg@med.uni-heidelberg
Dinger
Ulrike
U
Buchheim
Anna
A
D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009769:Object Attachment; D010552:Personality Assessment; D010815:Physician Impairment / Q000523:psychology; D010817:Physician-Patient Relations; D011574:Psychoanalytic Theory; D011575:Psychoanalytic Therapy