Our belief is that attachment theory based psychoanalytic psychotherapy is a positive and valuable contribution to the world. Attachment relationships affect all aspects of people’s internal and external lives. This starts with our earliest childhood experiences which shape us emotionally and physically, forming our identity, security, resilience, creativity, relationships and mental health. All people can benefit from learning about attachment theory. Our approach to mental health is therefore based on seeing to understand the specific ways which make a particular person vulnerable, hurting a struggling to cope, and relate to their pain with attention, engagement and attunement: the makings of a secure base. This principle remains the same however well or unwell the person is, whatever their walk of life, whoever they are. We therefore inherently welcome, value and celebrate diversity. We seek to understand the reality of people from different ethnicities, ages, sexual orientations, gender identities, faiths, abilities and disabilities, neurominorities and socio-economic backgrounds. We recognise we have an ethical responsibility to do the work to ensure a safe, inclusive home for our psychotherapy community, trainees and the people they work with. Our teaching, training and information is high-quality, offered in small groups for strong relational practice. Attachment relationships are formed and shaped in the real world, not only ‘in the mind’. We therefore believe that all real-life impacts must be part of the therapy and treated with respect, warmth, openness, and readiness to interact and relate. In particular, we believe that people who have undergone extreme traumatic experiences must have their reality acknowledged and their ways to survive deeply respected. Above all, we believe that recognising our shares humanity is our shared secure base.
