Before Attachment Theory: Separation Research at the Tavistock Clinic, 1948–1956

Abstract

This article traces the formation of attachment theory to the pioneering research program of Bowlby and his colleagues at the Tavistock Clinic between 1948 and 1956. Through a discussion of the concepts and practices that informed Bowlby's program, I examine the efforts of his team to reconstruct psychoanalytic objects according to preventive objectives and operational criteria. I discuss how the exploratory techniques that Bowlby and his colleagues were developing during these years ultimately led to the establishment of a hybrid investigative framework, in which the prophylactic requirements of mental hygiene, the psychometric model of personality disturbances, the psychoanalytic theory of object relations, and a direct‐observational methodology were brought to bear on the problem of the psychological consequences of early separation experiences. I further claim that this shift in investigative practice was crucial for the succeeding theoretical developments that eventually gave rise to the statistically validated constructs of attachment theory.

Child safeguarding practices in light of the Deserving/Undeserving paradigm: A historical & contemporary analysis

“…A coordinated strategy towards child safeguarding was not formulated until the latter half of the 20 th century and until then, child abuse and neglect were the province of public and private agencies (Gingell, 2001). Child support with a focus on mental health and wellbeing was influenced by the development of Child Guidance clinics from the early 1900s in the USA and the 1930s in the UK, consisting of members of three professions, namely psychiatry, psychology and psychiatric social work (Polat, 2016;Stewart, 2015). The focus was very much on parenting, interpersonal relationships and emotional disturbance and issues such as 'maladjustment' and 'truancy' were located in family dysfunction and perceived as outward manifestations of inner psychological processes (Sohasky, 2015).…”