Psychological Theories

Paper Summary:

This paper explains that the attachment theory demonstrates that attachment is not a race or culturally specific phenomenon because it is an instinctive, biological motivated need, which all humans have and use to adapt to their environment during the earliest stages of development. The author points out that the combination of humanistic and existential psychotherapies offers a wide range of approaches in case conceptualization, therapeutic goals, intervention strategies and research methodologies. The paper relates that play therapy is a psychoanalytic tool, which is based on the assumption that a child's internal issues can be tied to various unconscious conflicts and deficits, which reveal themselves during play sessions.

Table of Contents
Overview of the Content of the Literature Review
Purpose of the Literature Review
Scope of the Literature Review
Parameters and Limitations of the Review
Attachment Theory
Existential Humanistic Theories
Existentialism
Humanistic Psychology
Play Therapy
Existential Therapy for Alice: A Case
Conclusion
Gaps in the Literature
Considerations for Alice
Final Comments and Reflections on the Literature from the Researchers

From the Paper:

"Attachment theory is one of the key theories associated to the study of developmental psychology and is considered an extension of psychoanalytic theory. It was Sigmund Freud who first understood by his observing children's attachment to their primary care givers which became the foundation for the model of a child's attachment throughout adult life. Later, John Bowlby's theories of attachment added to this original concept. Considered the major theorist on attachment theory, Bowlby (1939) began explaining and developing attachment theory based on his observations and conclusions. Bowlby took a radical departure from Freud's model of the pleasure principle and focused on the social interactive aspects of attachments with specific focus on the infants need for safety and security."

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