Applying Modern Attachment Theory, Neurobiology and Self-Psychology - Case Study Example

? Applying Modern Attachment Theory, Neurobiology and Self-Psychology Modern Attachment Theory The attachment theory states that the goal of early development is for an infant to feel safe and have a view of the caregiver as a secure base from which he can explore the world, thereby leading to a successful infant and caregiver proximity (Applegate and Shapiro, 2005). The result of a successful bond is secure attachment while insecure attachment might develop if the bond is not successful. An insecure attachment has its drawbacks and the person might end up having problems with social competency, mastery and forming of stable relationships (Shilkret and Shilkret, 2008). Therefore, it is important for parents to understand how they can improve their interactions with their babies and actively recognize what is going on as they interact with their children. Both mothers and babies can take lead in interactions and the exchange is always mutual while dyads change and adapt their behavioural and affective states in synchrony in a process called attunement, which restates an affective state. Attunement takes place through different sensory modes such as voice, facial expressions and gestures, when attuning, the mother usually engages in exaggerated actions. Purposeful misattunement takes place when a mother does not match, by either over or under matching an infant’s behaviour in order to alter the level of the baby’s activity or his emotional affect. It can also be called tuning since the mother understands the baby’s emotional state but does not express it to him, although she still maintains attunement with the baby (St.Claire, 2004). Un purposeful or true misattunement is whereby the mother is not able to correctly tell the feeling state of the baby. The perfect environment is one whereby there are both attunement and misattunement to enable a baby to self-regulate. It seems in the case that Shelly formed a disorganized attachment with her caregivers due to the background she has with her parents especially her mother. As a result of the incident at the hospital which involved a man committing suicide, she now views herself as a bad nurse and is depressed even though it is clear that it was not her fault. Disorganized infants generally have contradictory attachment strategy and disoriented behaviours because of having caregivers who are not consistent and end up creating an environment that is very chaotic for the baby. In this case, Shelly’s mother was verbally, physically and emotionally abusive to her, she did not play her motherly role as expected because she would lie in bed for long periods and give Shelly money to get take out for most meals. In the event that Shelly and her sibling were too noisy, she would scream at them and threaten to send them away; at times, she would pack their bags, drop them at the bus station or at the roadside, and leave them for hours; in addition, she experienced sexual abuse as a teenager. Disorganized attachment is clear in Shelly’s situation as instances of frightening behaviour from her primary caregiver are visible, the mother was withdrawn from her and would also mistreat her, this in addition to the abuse she suffered later in life as a teenager. She also continues to care for her sister, who is verbally abusive and demeaning to her, by sharing a house with her while she also does many things for her very needy friends. Her disorganized attachment also comes out clearly, because despite being forty-seven years old and unmarried, she has had only one serious relationship with a man that lasted for two years. She is not able to adequately deal with the situation in hospital and says that she cannot get over it and she in turn gets depressed, this clearly shows that she is not able to self-regulate and cope well with stress. Neurobiological studies show that the first year is the most important of the baby’s brain development due to the impact it has on the infant’s emotional development especially dealing with stress and affect regulation. Incorporating neurobiology and attachment theory has given rise to modern attachment theory, which helps in understanding how the different styles of attachment affect the development of brain systems that help in coping with stress and affect regulation (Schore and Schore, 2008). The Amygdala is the brain system that is responsible for pairing of flight or fight response therefore acting as a survival mechanism during fear or extreme stress (Cozolino, 2010). If the modern attachment theory is applied to Shelly it simplifies the understanding of the situation, Shelly is not able to adequately cope with stress and as a result becomes depressed. If Shelly had learnt how to cope with stress in her earlier years with her parents then her neurobiological substrate would have developed properly and enabled her to be able to manage stress in her life. Neurobiological studies show that the communication pattern between the infant and the caregiver shapes a child’s brain thereby affecting the child throughout his/her life (Farber, 2007). Kohut’s theory of self-psychology recognizes the importance of empathy in human development and psychoanalytic change through outlining of the importance of healthy narcissism, which are vital to an infant for development of adequate personality functions (Banai, Mikulincer and Shaver, 2005). For a person to be able to offer others love he/she must love her/himself first and this is the importance of narcissism. Self-psychology bears some similarity with modern attachment theory in that it emphasizes on the importance of having a figure especially a caregiver available and responsive. The important people in this case of self-psychology are referred to as self-objects and for an infant to grow into a cohesive adult the fulfilment of self-object needs must be successful (Banai, Mikulincer and Shaver, 2005). Tripolar self which consists of grandiose self, idealized parent imago and twin ship pole are the three poles of self which are stated in self-psychology and in the case that the infant and the caregiver do not share high quality interactions that lead to the fulfilment of self-object needs, then the infant might develop into a fragmented self (Flanagan, 2008). As an observation, Shelly’s mother did not seem to display any emotions of joy when it was called for because she was always negative, she would be harsh to the children and let them cater for themselves as she laid in bed. This according to self-psychology reflected to Shelly that she was worthless and should take care of others before herself (Fonagy, 2010). To help explain why she is still taking care of her sister and her needy friends and yet being so hard on herself might be the fact that she did not get to develop a healthy narcissism which dictates that she ought to love herself before she can adequately love others (Holmes, 2012). Shelly did not also get to have the self-object need of idealizing met because of her mother’s verbal and emotional abuse, in addition to the absence of her father and the sexual abuse she suffered, this did not create a safe environment that would help her stay calm and able to cope with adversity. Shelly also seems to display tendencies that lean towards a fragmentation called overburdened self, in that she is not able to self soothe and regulate her emotions thereby leading her to depression and feeling that she cannot deal with the situation. The importance of a positive and regulated relationship between a caregiver and an infant are well explained by both modern attachment theory and self-psychology but in addition to this, self-object needs also have to be met for a secure attachment to be achieved. References Holmes, J. (2012). John Bowlby and Attachment Theory. Makers of Modern Psychotherapy. London: Routledge. Applegate, J., & Shapiro, J. (2005). Attachment: The relational base of affect regulation. In Neurobiology for clinical social work: Theory and practice. New York: Norton. Banai, E., Shaver, P., & Mikulincer, M. (2005). “Selfobject” needs in Kohut’s self psychology. Psychoanalytic Psychology, 22(2), 224-259. Fonagy, P. 2010. Attachment Theory and Psychoanalysis. New York: Other Press. LLC. Schore, J., & Schore, A. (2008). Modern attachment theory: The central role of affect regulation in development and treatment. Clinical Social Work Journal, 36(1), 9-20. Shilkret, R., & Shilkret, C. (2008). Attachment theory. 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