The attachment paradigm: a secure base for counselor education?

Greggo, Stephen P. ; Becker, Stephen P.

Our department initiated a self-study of our counselor education training program with the intention of seeking accreditation with the Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs (CACREP). Intensive scrutiny of curriculum, resources, and personnel resulted in a fair share of administrative refinements, procedural adjustments, and syllabus tweaking. This was anticipated. The unanticipated impact became apparent when contemplating more existential concerns. How does our mission percolate through the array of educational and clinical experiences to produce the desired effect in transforming students into quality helping professionals?

Consider these parallels between counseling practice and counselor education. Succinct and plausible case conceptualizations can connect diverse client data with worthwhile clinical interventions. In like manner, when projecting long term and subtle philosophical changes for individual counselor development, a conceptual framework can focus eclectic models and coordinate service to this diverse population. Furthermore, in the contemporary clinical context, making treatment plans transparent to stakeholders is a valued means of enlisting cooperation, building positive momentum and evaluating outcome. This article pursues a similar premise by making public a proposed conceptualization to guide the coursework, training and supervision of counselors. (1) Embedded assumptions are candidly stated before peers, participants and invested parties for discussion, refinement and advancement. In a survey of all articles published in the Journal of Psychology and Christianity (JPC), not one was found which centered on counselor education and programmatic development. As CACREP accreditation becomes even more prevalent, the pressure will be on to examine methods to best prepare competent professionals and to communicate those methods. This is certainly no less of a concern in institutions with a distinctively Christian worldview. Beyond equipping students to meet the entrance criteria of the profession, educational programs in Christian settings will do well to demonstrate outcomes related to mission statements containing our heritage, faith, and worldview priorities. Constructs and language that reference spiritual maturation must be accessible to external reviewers. The quest for a framework to confront these challenges drove this exploration.

Building on the groundbreaking work of John Bowlby (1969, 1979, 1988); Mary Ainsworth (1985, 1989); and Ainsworth, Blehar, Waters, & Wall (1978), helping professionals have constructed an expansive body of interconnected theory accompanied by empirical research (Cassidy & Shaver, 1999). Given the copious amount of credible attachment-related research available, these paradigms will continue to be a mainstream force in both academic and clinical arenas well into the future. These applications surely enter counselor preparation programs, not only as a sub-theory of personality, but also as a framework to be used in assessment and treatment. Our proposal is that the attachment paradigm be used as a conceptualization model to unify counselor education and field preparation. While not recommending counselor education programs ignore or disregard other important theories and applicable research, empirically supported attachment models may be viewed as a base, perhaps even a secure base, to offer meaningful structure and holistic integration to students, counselor educators, and field supervisors.

The primary emphasis of this article will be on the use of attachment models to inform programmatic components and theory-practice-person integration. Didactic material related to core CACREP areas will be identified. The potential to prompt assessment, stir self-reflection, and foster personal growth in counselors as preparation for assuming a therapeutic role will be highlighted. As it relates to self-assessment, matters connected to the establishment of rapport and a therapeutic alliance will be reviewed. Third, the supervisory relationship as a safe haven will be discussed. Specific advantages will be identified related to the use of attachment theory as a conceptual base when counselor preparation is purported to interface with Christian, biblically grounded, spiritual formation. Implications for outcome evaluation are indicated.

The Trajectory of the Attachment Framework

John Bowlby (1969) originally sought to describe mammalian offspring-caregiver relationships as an attachment behavioral system. After consistent and repeated experiences by the offspring, an internal working model (IWM) of the caregiver is established (Bowlby, 1969). This internal representation influences the offspring-caregiver relationship as well as other significant relationships developed across the life span, or as Bowlby (1979) wrote the oft-quoted phrase, "from the cradle to the grave" (p. 129). Bowlby viewed the working model assuring safety from various dangers by maintaining proximity and responsiveness to need. This security, or felt security, characterizes the attachment system, which is particularly invoked during times of heightened anxiety or distress (Ainsworth et al., 1978).

Attachments do not occur within just any close affiliation, but within the context of "a specific type of relationship where one stronger and wiser individual is discriminated from others as being the primary provider of security in stressful situations" (Granqvist, 2006, p. 13). Ainsworth (1985, 1989) outlined four distinct features for an attachment bond to truly occur: clear desire to maintain proximity with the attachment figure, viewing the attachment figure as a secure base for exploration, understanding the attachment figure to be a safe haven, and experiencing anxiety over the loss or perceived loss of the attachment figure.

Bowlby (1979) proposed that attachment schemas developed during infancy impact future relationships, and indeed, mental health. His bold assertion in 1953 that the evidence for this thesis left "no room for doubt" may yet cause foreheads to frown and heads to shake (p. 50). Despite persistent uncertainties, considerable attention has been directed to the scope, breadth, and way in which early attachments influence adulthood. This blossomed during the mid-1980s and 1990s as the result of several key works (Hazan & Shaver, 1987, 1994; Sperling & Berman, 1994). Indeed, Simpson and Rholes (1998) examined this period and stated, "No single area of research in personality/social psychology has attracted more interest than the application of attachment theory to the study of adult relationships" (p. 3).

From 1980 to the present, attachment theory established itself as a dominant paradigm with an ever-expanding arena in which it continues to find footing (Rholes & Simpson, 2004). It has been linked to research related to romantic love (Hazan & Shaver, 1987, 1994), mate selection and satisfaction (Bartholomew, 1990), adult adjustment and functioning (Simpson, Rholes, & Phillips, 1996), adolescent depression (Richaud de Minzi, 2006), pathology (Lyddon & Sherry, 2001), substance use (Flores, 2004), sexual abuse (Alexander, 1992), leadership (Davidovitz, Mikulincer, Shaver, Izsak, & Popper, 2007), clinical effectiveness, supervision, and religion. The theory has been of interest to psychologists with social, evolutionary, cognitive, developmental, clinical, counseling, and biological specializations (Cassidy & Shaver, 1999).

Attachment theory's acceptance has also raised the cautions that come with more advanced thinking on the complex network of authority and reciprocal relationships. Bartholomew and Thompson (1995) warn "against the indiscriminate extension of attachment notions to social relationships that may be better understood in terms of other conceptual models" (p. 485), and Mallinckrodt (1995) likewise advises theorists and researchers to be careful in over-extending the limits of attachment applications, "thereby losing the explanatory power of the theory" (p. 502). These cautions are both justified and just plain wise; it is prudent to recognize that this perspective makes significant but not comprehensive contributions to development and intervention models. With these hesitations in mind, we will proceed to propose that an attachment framework may be useful in conceptualizing counselor education along four broad areas of relevance: didactic teaching and counselor education pedagogy, counselor competency, spiritual development, and counselor trainee supervision.

Attachment Paradigm and Didactic Training

A certain caveat is necessary: while the attachment paradigm may be used as a conceptual base for counselor education, it is not advocated that there be "attachment-theory programs" similar to psychoanalytic institutions. The framework can serve as a conceptual link and catalyst in the training of other theoretical offerings. For novice students in the beginning stages of their education, the constructs found within the attachment framework are relatively easy to understand and the implications within their grasp. Additionally, the paradigm provides a bridge for students grappling with a variety of theories. This conceptualization can be used in didactic teaching of psychoanalytic or object-relations as well as systemic, developmental, or existential theories. Once students grapple with and gain a firm understanding in the basics of attachment concepts, they may use this initial understanding to serve as a springboard to their understanding (and application) of other theories which may seem more remotely linked.

From a programmatic perspective, counselor educators may also use the attachment paradigm in meeting credentialing requirements, notably the eight common core areas set forth by CACREP (CACREP, 2009). Here is how we conceptualize our framework intersecting with these Standards:

1. Professional Orientation and Ethical Practice. While this area requires an overall understanding of the counseling profession and aspects related to the counselor's role, counseling supervision models are also included. These will be described later as it relates to an attachment perspective. Courses that address these areas not only present content but also establish expectations regarding the intricate working relationships that lie ahead with clients, colleagues, supervisors, and educators.

2. Social and Cultural Diversity. How might the therapeutic alliance change and adapt when working with diverse populations? Does the understanding of healthy or secure attachment style differ when placed in different cultural contexts? In what ways do cultural or community expectations shape authoritarian and collaborative relationships? These are questions to ignite conversation as students enter into a thorough understanding of theories of multicultural counseling and identity development.

3. Human Growth and Development. This is a primary core area where an attachment understanding is necessary as it relates to development, human behavior, and various life transitions. Attachment is foremost a normal process, not a pathological one; it fits well into counselor training where optimizing development through education and intervention is a priority. Additionally, May (1988) has written an excellent text relating addictions to attachment from a spiritually mindful perspective and other texts related to attachment and addictions are present in the field.

4. Career Development. When considering the breadth of attachment-related research, it is no surprise that there is a growing body of research relating this construct to career (Perrone, Webb, & Jackson, 2007; van Ecke, 2007). Career decisions and later satisfaction are tied to personality and relational patterns addressed in attachment models.

5. Helping Relationships. There are clear implications for attachment as it relates to the therapeutic alliance, counselor characteristics, as well as specialty foci within the counseling field, such as marriage and family work and counseling with children and adolescents. Attachment concepts assist in the comprehension of psychodynamic perspectives while avoiding the complexity of transference and ego-oriented terminology. Also, emotionally focused couples counseling is anchored in an attachment perspective.

6. Group Work. Various leadership styles along with group member roles and behaviors can be understood through an attachment lens (Pistole, 1997; Shechtman & Rybko, 2004). The central construct of process or the web of underlying relational communication can be associated with the IWM.

7. Assessment. There are several instruments directly related to attachment, including the Attachment to God Inventory (AGI) and the widely researched Adult Attachment Interview (AAI). Because students will at this point in their training understand how empirical efforts take theory into practice as exemplified in the plethora of attachment research, concepts related to validity, reliability, and statistics will be more readily comprehended. Utilizing assessment tools to recognize how pathology represents personality under distress can be linked to experienced stresses and strains in relational security.

8. Research and Program Evaluation. There are endless opportunities for research related to attachment, and this topic lends itself to an examination of current research trends, concerns, methodology, and evidence-based practice.

As stated earlier, the attachment paradigm does not in itself provide an exhaustive or comprehensive framework for counselor education programs. Rather, it serves as a base upon which to expand a student's growing knowledge. The far-reaching applications related to attachment constructs accentuate its academic and programmatic versatility.

Attachment Paradigm and Counselor Competence

Counselor education faculty are considered "gatekeepers" to the counseling profession, charged with the responsibility to protect the profession and future clients by ensuring only competent and prepared counselors graduate from counselor education programs (Bernard & Goodyear, 2004; Lumadue & Duffey, 1999). The American Counseling Association's Code of Ethics (ACA, 2005) speaks to this topic as well, mandating that "Counselor educators ... are aware of and address the inability of some students to achieve counseling competencies that might impede performance" (p. 16).

In this litigious society where educators are faced with varied pressures, counselor education programs are actively searching for appropriate guidelines and approaches for trainee remediation (McAdams, Foster, & Ward, 2007; Wilkerson, 2006). It would be advantageous to ascertain a student's potential for future counselor competence through the admissions process. Unfortunately, screening criteria such as undergraduate grade point average (GPA) or Graduate Record Examination (GRE) scores are not always useful in this domain (Markert & Monke, 1990). Applicants' personality characteristics may be ascertained through interviews or psychological testing, and various characteristics have been linked to counselor effectiveness (Wampold, 2001). Eriksen and McAuliffe (2006) state the need for counselor educators to find students who are able to both learn and practice good counseling, the prior focusing on academic excellence and the latter on practitioner excellence. Criteria for academic aptitude are more easily made objective and quantifiable. This leaves counselor education programs scrambling on how to ascertain a trainee's level of counselor effectiveness and then wrestling with how to best handle a student who has already matriculated into a program but raises concern amongst counseling faculty (McAdams et al., 2007; Wilkerson, 2006). When counselor educators assess the need for intervention in regards to the competency and health of a trainee student, the recommendation is often made for individual psychotherapy (Johnson & Campbell, 2002; Lamb, Presser, Pfost, & Baum, 1987; Procidano, Busch-Rossnagel, Reznikoff, & Geisinger, 1995). This is a standard approach for many counselor educators, but it is unsure if this is highly effective and raises additional challenges (Johnson & Campbell, 2002).

While therapy focused on personality change may be the best approach for counselor educators to take with select students, it might be clinically appropriate, logistically manageable, and cost-effective to utilize short-term counseling in examining the attachment style of a wider pool of trainees. Once there is an understanding of attachment style, the student will have the requisite concepts to explore how this pattern may influence his or her ability to work with interpersonal intensity as a therapist. In short, while the personality of the trainee may not be modified via brief therapy, the student/counselee may increase ability to monitor attachment style, reactivity to others, and how this interactive process affects their professional development. Select students may seek more intense treatment as appropriate. Yet, it is reasonable to believe the trainee may go on to utilize insight related to their attachment style throughout their counselor education program as it relates to self-reflection and professional growth, spiritual development, and supervision.

Attachment Paradigm and Spiritual Development

Counselor education programs seek to stimulate self-reflection. Awareness of self in relationship promoted in tandem with counselor skills training can produce effective helpers. Self-reflection has been found to be a necessary variable in distinguishing counselors who continue to develop professionally and personally from those likely to suffer from professional withdrawal and burnout (Skovholt & Ronnestad, 1992). In counselor education programs that define themselves as uniquely Christian, self-reflection in conjunction with application of the Word for spiritual transformation and renewal is encouraged (i.e., Jam. 1:22-25; Rom. 12). Such programs claim to foster personal and spiritual growth as they train counselors for a variety of settings while striving for consistency as counseling professionals with a Christian worldview.

The attachment paradigm may be helpful for counselor educators to unify these challenging aspects related to counselor competency and trainee self-reflection. Students will find the use of attachment principles a way to foster self-development and encourage spiritual growth. The research related to the attachment construct as it relates to God-relationships is quickly growing and provides Christian students in counseling education programs an opportunity to self-examine with intentionality for spiritual formation. Additionally, this body of research allows individuals and counselor education programs with Christian theological convictions to integrate their belief system with the study of psychology. A brief overview of how the attachment paradigm has been used in understanding relationships to God will follow before returning to discuss how this understanding may be utilized in the spiritual formation of Christian counselor trainees.

It is important to note that the psychological research focusing on God as a possible attachment figure is not addressing the question of whether or not there is indeed a God. Circirelli (2004) notes this distinction, stating, "Whether or not God actually exists . is a philosophical issue and not the focus or concern of psychological studies" (p. 372). Yet for Christians, the existence of a relational God is fundamental to their worldview. As stated above, Ainsworth (1985, 1989) described four characteristics which must be met in order for an attachment bond to form. With both brevity and clarity, Kirkpatrick (2005) describes how religion might be seen as an attachment process meeting these four criteria and clearly believes that there is not only a resemblance between how people experience God compared with attachment figures, but that "God 'really' is an attachment figure for many believers" (p. 55). Miner (2007) critiques attachment to God research from a theological perspective, but discussion of critical theological implications is beyond the scope of this article.

In discussing the way in which God may serve as an attachment figure, Kirkpatrick (1999) notes, "A crucial tenant of most theistic religions is that God is omnipresent; thus one is always in 'proximity' to God" (p. 806). The use of prayer and places of worship are seen as ways in which one might seek proximity to God, and Kirkpatrick (2005) even compares glossolalia (speaking in tongues) with arms uplifted as resembling an infant seeking to be picked up by the mother. Kirkpatrick (1992) notes that for religious persons there is an inherent understanding that God will be available to protect and comfort during times of difficulty, and this knowledge helps the believer cope on a daily basis.

The concept of the "secure base" has become a core focus of attachment theory and research. Essentially, the attachment figure serves as a secure base for exploration of the surrounding environment. Bowlby (1988) finds, "This role is one of being available, ready to respond when called upon to encourage and perhaps assist" (p. 11). In making the transition to religious attachment, Kirkpatrick (1999) notes, "It is easy to imagine how an attachment figure who is simultaneously omnipresent, omniscient, and omnipotent can provide the most secure of secure bases" (p. 807). Elsewhere, Kirkpatrick (1992) notes that there is a sense of calm and confidence that is associated with "mere knowledge of 'God's unfailing presence'" (p. 11), which relates strongly to attachment theory's conception of the secure base.

Religion does play a particularly important role during times of crisis (Argyle & Beit-Hallahmi, 1975). The attachment figure provides care and protection, thus creating a haven of safety. This is paralleled in a person's desire to turn to God during times when care and protection would more likely be sought (during times of significant fear, anxiety, or grief). The adage "there are no atheists in foxholes" seems particularly salient as one examines how God may be viewed as providing a safe haven for those in distress. Granqvist (2005) did find that individuals with an insecure attachment history are more likely to engage in religious coping, and Cicirelli (2004) found that God may serve as an attachment for some older adults who have lost other attachment figures.

Kirkpatrick (2005) draws an interesting comparison between Bowlby (1969) and psychology of religion researchers (Hood, Spilka, Hunsberger, & Gorsuch, 1996). Bowlby (1969) identified three ways in which an attachment figure may be activated: frightening events that provoke fear or distress; illness, injury, or fatigue; and separation or a threat of separation from an attachment figure. Hood and colleagues (Hood et al., 1996) conclude that religious people not only turn to God in distress, but do so particularly during times of illness, anticipated loss of family and friends, and times of difficult life situations. Kirkpatrick (2005) concludes that the list of conditions which cause many people to seek God's support and comfort are the same as those proposed by Bowlby, indicating that one's relationship with God may meet the haven of safety attachment criterion.

Kirkpatrick (1992, 1998, 2005) has outlined two ways in which early-childhood attachments (and thus, established internal working models, or IWMs) may influence an individual's attachment to God. He calls these the correspondence hypothesis and the compensation hypothesis. Briefly stated, the correspondence hypothesis states that an individual's attachment style and IWM will remain constant in other relationships, including deity-human relationships, while the compensation hypothesis states that one's relationship to God may compensate for any deficiencies in the IWM. Much of the research surrounding attachment and God has focused on these two hypotheses, and both have found some amount of empirical support (Granqvist, 2005; Granqvist & Kirkpatrick, 2004; Hall, 2007; Kirkpatrick, 1998; McDonald, Beck, Allison, & Norsworthy, 2005).

In one interesting study, Beck (2006) has explored how one's attachment to God might influence theological exploration. He notes that those who are securely attached are able to explore new and challenging theological ideas without fear that this exploration may provoke anger in God. Just as those with secure attach ments have a secure base for theological exploration, individuals with insecure attachments will not have this base for exploration, and will therefore be more dogmatic in their approach to theological understanding. Interestingly, other researchers have found an association between secure attachment and spiritual maturity (TenElshof & Furrow, 2000), indicating that those securely-attached individuals who do engage in theological exploration do not eventually reject God or limit personal spiritual growth.

It is this personal spiritual growth that is a unique aspect in distinctively Christian counselor education programs. Ultimately, the goal of spiritual development rests in the cultivation of a firmer secure base in God. This is the goal for those who do have secure attachments and is particularly true for those who are either insecure or anxious in their attachment. Of course, the student must also be careful to examine how God is distinct from humanity and that God-human relationships are different from human-human relationships; whereas a human attachment is subject to failure and change, God is not. Hall (2007) highlights this, stating, "It could be argued that relationship with God is not just any attachment relationship--it is the Attachment Relationship, which is the source . for all emotional security, even if indirectly" (p. 22). In focusing on one's attachment to God, this in turn will influence an individual's IWM and overall relational security.

One curricular experience entitled Intimacy Walks illustrates the utility of this material. A personality development course taught by the first author exposes students to content and research on attachment concepts across the lifespan. The assigned research paper investigates empirical studies that tie attachment concepts to clinical applications. Outside class, students move independently through a series of reflections on relational and spiritual history in a structured, targeted, life review. The likelihood of stirring self-awareness is increased by use of select and appropriate global personality and attachment style assessments, the results of which are for student eyes only. Small accountability teams are given specific parameters to steer discussion away from exposure of personal past experience and towards processing new insights into contemporary helping and spiritually-oriented relationships. Through each Intimacy Walk exercise, boundaries are delineated to maintain the academic context and counselor preparation intent.

Brief guided prayer brings insights about self, others and God before the Lord and reminds participants that for Christians with an eschatological perspective, the Lord himself will complete the work he has begun on the day of Christ Jesus (Phil. 1:6). No formal outcome research has been conducted outside of collecting systematic anecdotal reports. Trainees later in counseling internships have routinely referenced insights from Intimacy Walks reflections in terms of insight into self and vitality of spiritual life. There is further potential to unite such reflection with other curricular and supervision opportunities or even post-graduate surveys.

Attachment Paradigm and Counselor Trainee Supervision

As applicants become students and students become novice therapists, it is crucial for fledging helpers to find appropriate and adequate supervision (Pistole & Watkins, 1995). The supervision process is a pivotal aspect in any counselor's development, and considerations related to integration and clinical supervision have been tremendously assisted by a recent special issue of the Journal of Psychology and Christianity ("Clinical", 2007). We propose that supervisors serve as a secure base during this transition, working not only to foster an effective clinical self, but also to aid in personal development. When supervision takes place between those who share a Christian worldview, and the necessary informed consent and attention has been given to ethical considerations, there is also opportunity for the supervisor to mentor the supervisee's spiritual development (Bufford, 2007; Campbell, 2007; Tan, 2007).

Pistole and Watkins (1995) assert, "Important elements of attachment relationships (e.g., holding) are captured by and reflected within the supervision relationship itself" (p. 468). This is not too surprising given that a dominant model of supervision is developmental in nature, and attachment concepts are as well (Pistole & Watkins, 1995; Stoltenberg, 2005). As discussed above, Ainsworth (1985, 1989) described four features that must be met in order for an attachment bond to be present. Each of these may be seen in clinical supervision, particularly in the early development of the novice counselor. In many practica and internships, the student-therapist is overly dependent on the supervisor, looking to the supervisor for clear direction, encouragement and support, and close monitoring (Worthington, 1987). Stoltenberg and colleagues (Stoltenberg, 2005; Stoltenberg, McNeill, & Crethar, 1994) have written much on aspects of supervision where "supervisees demonstrate various characteristics and needs at different levels of development" (Stoltenberg, 2005, p. 860). Indeed, as experiences build upon each other and confidence is gained, counselors "need less close involvement and monitoring, and they increasingly move toward being able to function independently as a counselor" (Pistole & Watkins, 1995, p. 469). Indeed, even as counselors feel more adept at moving further away from their supervisor's secure base, there is evidence that, when the clinical content is more anxiety-provoking, even a seasoned clinician desires greater structure and detailed supervision, theoretically moving closer to their security source as needed (Tracey, Ellickson, & Sherry, 1989). Foster, Lichtenberg, and Peyton (2007) provided empirical support to show that supervisees had similar attachment styles in both their close relationships and their supervisory relationship, and that, indeed, "100% of supervisees were classified as attached to their supervisor" (p. 347).

Additionally, Pistole & Watkins (1995) describe how the supervisor may be seen as a secure base, allowing the novice therapist to develop exploratory behavior and, "ultimately, facilitate the process of counselor identity development and consolidation as well" (p. 469). This is where we now turn our focus, moving from the supervisor as one who develops a supervisee's clinical competence to one who also acts as a secure base who plays a role in the supervisee's personal, and often spiritual, development.

Is the sole role of the supervisor to provide direction in case conceptualization and matters of clinical standards and expectations? Johnson (2007) describes a supervisory relationship which "moves along the continuum from transactional to transformational" (p. 260), where "supervisory assignments may become rich developmental relationships in which the supervisor provides support for enhancing the supervisee's professional, career, and even personal development" (p. 261). In this context, the supervisor is able to serve as a secure base not only for clinical matters, but also for personal growth as it relates to clinical intervention. In order for this to occur, the trainee must understand from the outset that this is one of the purposes of supervision. In instances where this is not clearly communicated or received, there can be confusion and frustration experienced by both the supervisee and supervisor as goals and functions become muddied and uncertain. The trainee must be prepared and willing to engage in this appropriate examination of self as it relates to clinical development. Anxiety connected to fear of exposure decreases once the supervisor has been established as a safe and secure base. Supervisees report higher satisfaction with the supervisory experience when there is a strong emotional bond between the supervisor and supervisee (Ladany, Ellis, & Friedlander, 1999).

Supervision should not be personal therapy for the trainee. Nonetheless, there are elements of personality and interpersonal dynamics that will be necessary for the novice therapist to explore as the supervisee develops his or her professional identity. Watkins (1995) notes, "When a supervisee's working model and attachment style are pathological in nature, serious problems will tend to emerge in the clinical supervision process, which have implications not only for the supervisor-supervisee relationship but also have implications for the supervisee-patient relationship as well" (p. 335). The therapeutic alliance has been repeatedly shown to be instrumental in the effectiveness of treatment (Martin, Garske, & Davis, 2000). Furthermore, a correlation has been shown to exist between securely-attached therapists and generally good therapeutic alliance and anxiously-attached therapists and poor therapeutic alliance (Black, Hardy, Turpin, and Parry, 2005). By examining and exploring the supervisee's attachment style, there is an opportunity for exploration in interpersonal aspects that have a direct relation to the supervisee's development. It has been shown that trainees who are not secure in their attachment to their supervisor report lower levels of overall professional development, although it should be noted that this finding was not apparent when the supervisors rated the supervisee's development (Foster et al., 2007). It can be hypothesized that, because these trainees perceive their development to be lower--whether or not this is actually true--they will be less likely to develop the confidence and professional autonomy necessary as they enter the field.

Considerations, Concerns, and Conclusion

This proposal outlined how the ever-increasing body of attachment research might serve as a comprehensive rubric for counselor education programs, particularly those operating from a distinctively Christian worldview perspective. While this material exposed our rationale, we will conclude by recognizing five considerations and ongoing concerns.

1. The merit of any reliance on an attachment orientation as a unifying conceptual framework for Christian-oriented counselor training programs could be questioned on the grounds that this is not explicitly biblical or derived from an historically Christian set of premises. The integrative exploration of attachment theory and the IWMs is both essential and ongoing. Attachment constructs are not to replace or dilute theological or biblical commitments that are foundational to a counseling degree program in a Christian setting. Rather, when programs pursue accreditation by professional organizations that represent diverse worldviews, this perspective may offer a language, an empirical basis, and clinical relevance to facilitate communication of the elements of Christian mission as they inform counselor preparation. In addition, counseling internships are not exclusively fulfilled in settings with an explicit Christian orientation. It is necessary to have a common language to share priorities and values of the educational program to form partnerships with external counseling professionals.

2. It is necessary to compare and contrast assumptions regarding how worldview, Christian theology, and theoretical orientation is internalized in doctoral programs that primarily train PhD psychologists verses education programs that mainly train counselors at the MA level. The period of exposure to faculty and program oversight is cut by 40% to 60% in a master's versus a doctoral program. There is no extensive independent research project facilitated by faculty mentors. More compact educational programs demand explicit and specific strategies to accomplish their mission.

3. Engagement in extensive self-reflection that ultimately improves one's ability to connect with others in a therapeutic context is an essential requirement for aspiring counselors. Conditions, internal or external, that inhibit the effectiveness of such self-examination are potential impediments to successfully proceeding through the curricular requirements of counselor education. Students can be made aware of this process requirement during admission, orientation, and at established junctures. This will allow defined opportunities to coach students to extend time or exit this particular training track. Planned excursions into guided self-reflection and documentation of response to feedback provided may afford the objective data necessary to regrettably but wisely dismiss a student from a counseling program.

4. Extensive attachment research has generated a variety of assessment protocols and tools. Might select measures be adopted or adapted to assess growth in the ability to engage in therapeutic relationships, supervision, teamwork, ministry-related partnerships, and connection to God? Outcome assessment and program evaluation requires a robust assessment technology, and techniques in the area of attachment research may be of use. This is a crucial matter for further discussion and future research.

5. It may be productive to imagine counseling faculty and students functioning as a supportive Christian community forming a stable base to explore the nuances of ideas, concepts, spiritual formation and use of self in helping relationships. Educational programs can use this image to construct surveys, exit interviews, and other feedback mechanisms. Beyond conveying information, does the program strive for an atmosphere that is supportive and conducive to student ventures into anxiety-provoking exploration on three fronts: professional counseling as a viable career, self as a relationally adaptable counselor, and believer in relationship to a loving Creator through Christ our redeemer? Christian counseling education programs purpose to promote a progression to professional competence that honors and nurtures the Attachment Relationship.

Our counseling degree program has not completed the CACREP accreditation process. This proposal regarding an attachment conceptualization as a unifying framework is merely one suggestion offered by two who actively participated in a comprehensive curricular review. Further discussion of this and alternative conceptualizations will be welcomed, not only at local department gatherings, but within the forum of the Christian Association of Psychological Studies (CAPS) in publication and conversation.

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Stephen P. Greggo

Stephen P. Becker

Trinity Evangelical Divinity School Miami University

Note

(1.) This proposal emerged following a curricular evaluation relative to CACREP standards conducted by the authors. The perspective here is from the authors and not the counseling department as a whole.

Rev. Stephen P. Greggo, Psy.D. is Professor of Counseling at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, Deerfield, IL. Dr. Greggo is also Director of Professional Practice at Christian Counseling Associates in Delmar, NY. His interest areas for teaching and writing are in the connection between counseling and a Christian worldview, contemporary clinical practice, helping groups, supervision and raising up the next generation of counselors.

Stephen P. Becker, M.A., is a doctoral student in clinical psychology at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio. He received his bachelor's degree from Taylor Unversity and contributed to the present article while completing his master's degree from Trinity International University. Focused on adolescence and developmental psychopathology, his research and clinical interests are in the areas of attachment, juvenile delinquency, trauma and PTSD, and wilderness therapy.

Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Stephen P. Greggo, Counseling Department, Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, 2065 Half Day Road, Deerfield, IL 60015; sgreggo@trin.edu