The Infant-Mother Attachment Treatment. Health & Medicine Paper

The Infant-Mother Attachment Treatment
Name
Institution
The Infant-Mother Attachment Treatment
Introduction
The attachment theory seeks to explain the origins of the relationship between a parent and a child, and the influence of the relationship on the subsequent development of children. The theory has made a significant contribution to the practice of psychoanalysis through the provision of a basis for the explanation of certain phenomena observable in the behavior of human beings at different stages of life. The introduction of the theory caused a considerable amount of speculation in the field of psychology because of the concepts the theory proposed. The notions of the supposition discredited some of the ideals of pre-existing theories, and the contradictions in the propositions of the theories on attachment have caused conflicts in the practice of psychoanalysis. Several scholars have taken a keen interest in the justification or disapproval of the attachment theory to resolve the controversies that exist. The paper provides an in-depth outlook of the controversies that surround the theory and illustrates why the ideas of the attachment theory are applicable in the field of psychoanalysis.
The Conflicts
The conflicts that exist between the theory and practice of psychoanalysis are because of the differences between the theory, and the traditional developmental theory of psychoanalysis. There are four points of contention (Fonagy, Luyten, Allison & Campbell, 2018). First is the emphasis psychoanalysis place on the internal fantasies of a patient instead of focusing on the real experiences, and environmental influences of the client (Fonagy, 2018). The traditions of psychoanalytical thinking consider the use of an empirical viewpoint for examination and clarification of psychoanalytic ideas as a controversial matter. Second is rigidity in the world of psychoanalysis, which prevents scientific inquiry, and intellectual creativity (Fonagy, Luyten, Allison & Campbell, 2018). The contention exists because the attachment theory suggests that adaptation of behavior occurs due to the influence of environmental stimuli, while psychoanalysis base the phenomenon on humanism. Humanism uses an ethological and evolutionary perspective to explain the recognition and engagement of attachment with the complex nature of subjectivity at the individual level. The third conflict is the use of metapsychology, which is a speculative outlook for the comprehension of the human mind (Fonagy, Luyten, Allison & Campbell, 2018). The traditional outlook of the psychoanalytic theory has a basis on drive orientation, which implied that the characteristics of the early life of an infant relied on drive discharge. On the contrary, the attachment theory suggests that infants possessed a fundamental positive orientation towards others; which had the basis of evolutionary functions, and attachment relationships. The method is problematic due to the undermining of empirical verification. The final reason is a lack of empirical evidence that can underpin psychoanalytic theories (Fonagy, Luyten, Allison & Campbell, 2018). The attachment theory seems to reduce relationships between human beings to a smooth, unfolding process that evol...