Background: Attachment patterns and personality traits are becoming more widely acknowledged as being the determinants of the ways individuals cope with emotions, their relations with others, and how they will react to therapy. However such factors are frequently studied individually and it is, therefore, more difficult to determine how they co-exist in clinical practice. The review is dedicated to the interaction between the two systems and its importance in the problem of supporting emotional autonomy in adults. Approach: The literature published in 2020-25 was reviewed in the areas of counseling psychology, emotion science, and psychotherapy research. The comparison of the findings was done in terms of experimental work, clinical samples and qualitative reports. The overlap of attachment-based needs, personality-driven tendencies, and therapeutic processes was considered in a particular way. Findings: Insecure attachment, regardless of the studies, had been associated with heightened emotional responsiveness, dependence on others, or automatic emotional avoidance. Such patterns were more significant in combination with other personality characteristics particularly, high emotional sensitivity or low interpersonal flexibility. It was also revealed that instilling in clients the aspect of an attachment history alongside dispositional tendencies resulted in the greatest benefit outcomes. The experiential techniques aided clients to have access to deep emotions, cognitive techniques enabled them to achieve changes in beliefs that they had held for a long time and the relational work provided the stability that they required to revise their old relational expectations. Collectively, these results point to the possibility of enhancing emotional autonomy through an integrated approach and help to take on the functions of a healthier, more robust, and resilient functioning.
Research Article
Open Access