Attachment

John Bowlby's Research What is meant by "attachment" and does it matter? Attachment is an emotional bond to another person. Psychologist John Bowlby working in the UK in the 1940s,  believed that the earliest bonds formed by children with their caregivers have a tremendous impact that continues throughout life. According…

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A Happy Childhood?

Did you have a happy childhood? As an adult, we’re often taught to look back on our childhood with nostalgia and happy thoughts, back to innocent and carefree times. Childhood is coined as the time where we learn who we are, and where secure attachments are formed with caregivers. It’s…

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Scapegoating

What is scapegoating? Scapegoating within families is rarely talked about but many of my clients have described this process in their families.  What exactly does it mean? Well, in ancient tribal societies, a goat was chosen to represent the group’s collective sins to appease an angry god. By casting the…

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A Toxic Family

A Perfect Family? What do people mean when they say they have a toxic family ? Toxic families tend to have well-established patterns of bullying, discrimination, manipulation, even physical, emotional or verbal abuse.  The dynamics of a toxic family affect most of its members, making their lives miserable. Family shapes…

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