As a result of John Bowlby's breach with the British Psychoanalytic Society
nearly forty years ago, his work, specifically the development of attachme
nt theory, was until recently largely expunged from the psychoanalytic reco
rd. However, thanks to developments in both psychoanalytic and attachment t
heories, a rapprochement has been forged, and a number of scholars are now
seeking to integrate these two complementary perspectives. In this paper, t
he fundamental premises of attachment theory are discussed in light of thei
r relation to psychoanalytic theory. In addition, their application to the
clinical situation in both adult and child treatment is discussed.