Attachment Based Therapy in Victoria, BC
Attachment-Based Therapy in Private Practice: A Therapeutic Perspectives
In private practice, Attachment-Based Therapy (ABT) offers a deeply relational and emotionally attuned approach for working with individuals who have experienced disruptions in early attachment relationships. Grounded in attachment theory, ABT recognizes that patterns of emotional connection, regulation, and self-worth are shaped by the quality of early caregiving experiences—and that these patterns often persist into adulthood, affecting how clients relate to themselves and others.
Attachment theory identifies four primary attachment styles, each reflecting different early relational experiences:
Secure Attachment – Developed through consistent, responsive caregiving. Individuals with secure attachment tend to have healthier relationships and greater emotional resilience.
Anxious (Preoccupied) Attachment – Arises from inconsistent caregiving. Individuals may struggle with fear of abandonment, clinginess, and hypervigilance in relationships.
Avoidant (Dismissive) Attachment – Often results from emotionally unavailable or rejecting caregiving. These individuals tend to suppress emotional needs, value independence, and avoid closeness.
Disorganized (Fearful-Avoidant) Attachment – Typically linked to trauma or abuse in early caregiving relationships. Individuals often experience a push-pull dynamic: craving connection but fearing intimacy and betrayal.
As a therapist in a private practice setting, the therapeutic relationship becomes a central vehicle for healing. By providing a consistently safe, responsive, and empathic presence, the therapist models a secure attachment experience—often for the first time. This allows the client to explore painful early experiences, internalized relational wounds, and the defenses that have developed to protect against emotional vulnerability or abandonment.
Attachment-Based Therapy with individuals is especially helpful for those dealing with relational trauma, chronic shame, anxiety, depression, or struggles with intimacy and trust. The work is often slow, gentle, and depth-oriented, focusing less on symptom management and more on repairing the internal working models that drive emotional and relational functioning.
Clients are supported in identifying and grieving unmet attachment needs, challenging core beliefs rooted in early attachment ruptures, and gradually developing new ways of relating—to themselves and others. Over time, this process helps cultivate emotional regulation, self-compassion, and the capacity for secure, meaningful connection.
ABT provides a powerful framework for long-term, transformational healing—offering clients the opportunity to rewire their relational blueprint and reclaim a sense of safety, worth, and connection in their lives.