Summary: What constitutes our inner mental life is in large part based on our early relationship experiences. This principle of psychoanalytic thinking becomes particularly clear in the concept of attachment. Attachment describes the existential experience of emotional resonance and reassurance in relationships—or its fateful absence.

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Literature Recommendations:

Bowlby, J. (1988). A Secure Base: Parent-Child Attachment and Healthy Human Development. London, UK: Tavistock/Routledge.
Bowlby, J. (1979). The Making and Breaking of Affectional Bonds. Lon-don: Tavistock.
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Cassidy, J. & Shaver, P.R. (2018). Handbook of Attachment. Third Edi-tion. Theory, Research, and Clinical Applications. New York: Guilford.
Crittenden, P.M. (2008). Raising Parents: Attachment, Parenting and Child Safety. London: Routledge.
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