TY - JOUR T1 - Bowlby, Balint, and the doctor–patient relationship: towards a theory of human relationships in medical practice JF - British Journal of General Practice JO - Br J Gen Pract SP - 384 LP - 385 DO - 10.3399/bjgp16X686053 VL - 66 IS - 648 AU - Jeremy Holmes AU - Andrew Elder Y1 - 2016/07/01 UR - http://bjgp.org/content/66/648/384.abstract N2 - Despite continuing technological advance, there is a widespread view that something is missing in current medical culture. This arises in part at least from the lack of a theoretical framework that describes the complexity of patient-centred clinical practice. Attachment theory, working in tandem with the ideas of Michael Balint, provides just such an account.Developed originally by John Bowlby and Mary Ainsworth, Attachment theory is an evidence-based psychobiological theory of human development and relationships.1 Although originally focused on parent–child relationships, it soon became clear that throughout the life-cycle, when feeling ill, stressed, or threatened, people seek out an ‘older, stronger, wiser’ attachment figure, or ‘secure base’, for comfort and security. Only when attachment needs are assuaged can people return to more relaxed exploratory behaviour. It seems legitimate therefore to apply the principles of Attachment to the doctor–patient relationship, given that, when consulting their doctors, patients are typically in a state of anxiety, thereby restricting their capacity to communicate fully or to absorb information.Individual differences in attachment patterns laid down in childhood impact on the ways in which people react to those they perceive as current care-givers, for example, their GP. Anxiety assuaged, the securely attached revert … ER -