Attachment Style as a Moderator in CBT
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Does Client Attachment Style Moderate the Relationship Between the Delivery of Cognitive Behavioural Therapy and Therapeutic Outcomes for Depression?
IRAS ID
321758
Contact name
Cerisse Gunasinghe
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
City, University of London
Duration of Study in the UK
1 years, 0 months, 0 days
Research summary
Attachment styles were first recognised by Ainsworth and Bowlby who suggested that the bond between child and mother influences the development of the self and relationships in adulthood. As therapy is becoming more online based, I am interested to learn whether our adult attachment style affects how effective therapy is and what attachment style might benefit more from either in-person or online delivery.
At the time of writing, there has been no known research conducted to suggest how attachment style might affect the strength and direction of the relationship between service delivery (remote versus in-person) of Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) for depression and therapeutic outcomes. This is despite the substantial shift to remote delivery of counselling services and considerable research highlighting the role of attachment theory in informing outcomes of in-person CBT for depression.
Given that nearly 50% of counselling psychology is still being delivered remotely post pandemic, it is important to consider underlying mechanisms that could predict therapy efficacy for different clients. Obtaining this knowledge could inform whether services should continue to offer remote CBT and what clients could be more likely to benefit from remote CBT considering the relaxation of social distancing regulations post pandemic.
REC name
HSC REC A
REC reference
22/NI/0180
Date of REC Opinion
14 Dec 2022
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion