What Jonathan Shedler thinks about Attachment theory

@jonathan-shedler · 12 positions · On ppll ↗

Clinical psychologist and clinical professor of psychiatry at UCSF. Author of the 2010 meta-analysis that established psychodynamic therapy as an evidence-based treatment, and a persistent critic of how the phrase "evidence-based therapy" is used.

Jonathan Shedler did not write this page.

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Only Jonathan Shedler on Attachment theory. See everyone on Attachment theory

1 dated position, 2026, in their own words. Our reading of what Jonathan Shedler has said — not written or endorsed by them.

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1. 21 Sept 2026

   Our readingThe expectation that another person can make everything better originates in early childhood experiences of parents as all-powerful.

   Their wordsThis expectation is a vestige of early childhood and the small child's experience of their parents as omnipotent-able to provide whatever is needed to make everything all better.

   ↗Masochism: When Suffering Becomes a Way of Lifejonathanshedler.substack.com 3rd of 3 in this piece