These three volumes on attachment from Holmes and Farnfield offer a major new synthesis of information and resources applicable to both research and clinical practice. Holmes and Farnfield edit, organise, and collate recent developments from a substantial group of scientific practitioners from this field, based mainly in the United Kingdom and Europe. Attachment literature has been subject to frequent academic reflection and debate since the 1960s. However, from a practitioner perspective, many attachment-related resources have been very difficult to apply, being highly theoretical or offering highly specialised and relatively inaccessible assessment tools and materials.
Holmes and Farnfields’ efforts are a welcome addition, which not only build on previous efforts (e.g., Cassidy & Shaver, Reference Cassidy and Shaver2008), but also provide an organised overview of substantial contemporary developments in the field of attachment. Their stated purpose is to help practitioners respond to growing evidence about, and heightened awareness of, the impact of attachment on children's wellbeing. They aim to address the need for more accessible information to guide quality practice in child welfare and protection, and adult–child interaction support. As such, the volumes provide guidance for psychologists wishing to update their knowledge of attachment literature or to expand their evidence-based practice in assessments, interventions, and their evaluation.
The three Holmes and Farnfield edited volumes are clearly organised to direct readers to content appropriate to their interests and needs through several different strategies. First, as their titles suggest, each of the volumes focuses on either, theory, assessment, or implications for practice. In addition, the volumes use common approaches to attachment and attachment terminology. They compare and contrast developments that flow from the seminal approaches to attachment of Bowlby-Ainsworth (ABC-D model) and Crittenden (Dynamic Maturational Model). By contrasting these two approaches and by systematically reviewing the work which has ensued from them, Holmes and Farnfield enable the reader to understand more about the place of different contributions to the study of attachment and to make decisions about assessment and intervention options with relatively greater ease. For example, in the assessment volume, the range, purposes and types of assessment instruments are reviewed, compared and contrasted, providing an extremely helpful resource that is collated for ready selection of those best suited to readers’ purposes.
In summary, these three volumes are intended to strengthen scientist–practitioner approaches to assessment and intervention of children with attachment issues, and psychologists’ presentation of attachment information to others including in legal proceedings. The clear explanations and terminology make the volumes readily accessible to higher degree students, psychology practitioners and researchers alike. As such, they provide an important contribution to the field that will be not only appreciated but regarded as essential reading by all those with an ongoing interest in the development and communication of psychological understanding about children's attachment.
