Dr Nicola Diamond
Psychoanalytic Psychotherapist | Author | Clinical Scholar | Attachment, Trauma & the Body
About Dr Nicola Diamond
Dr Nicola Diamond is a psychoanalytic psychotherapist, author, clinical scholar and founding member of the International Attachment Network (IAN UK).
Her clinical and academic work spans more than three decades and brings together attachment theory, psychoanalysis, trauma, intersubjectivity and the embodied dimensions of psychological experience.
Nicola trained as a psychoanalytic psychotherapist and has worked across clinical, academic and specialist therapeutic settings. She was formerly Senior Lecturer in Psychosocial Studies at the University of East London and has taught at the Tavistock Clinic.
Her clinical experience has included work at the Women’s Therapy Centre and the Helen Bamber Foundation, where she worked therapeutically with survivors of torture and trauma.
A distinctive focus of Nicola’s work is the relationship between attachment, psychoanalysis and the body. Her writing explores how bodily and emotional experience, trauma, sexuality, intersubjectivity and the therapeutic relationship can be understood within contemporary psychoanalytic and attachment-informed thinking.
Nicola has published extensively in these areas and is the author of Between Skins: The Body in Psychoanalysis – Contemporary Developments and co-author, with Dr Mario Marrone, of Attachment and Intersubjectivity.
Areas of Expertise
Attachment theory and its clinical applications
Psychoanalysis and psychoanalytic psychotherapy
Attachment and intersubjectivity
Trauma and dissociation
The body and embodied experience
Psychosomatic and bodily experience
Sexuality and psychoanalysis
Countertransference and the therapeutic relationship
Philosophy and psychoanalysis
Psychosocial and cultural perspectives
Books & Selected Publications
Dr Nicola Diamond has written extensively on attachment, psychoanalysis, trauma, embodiment and the therapeutic relationship. Her work explores the relationship between psychological and bodily experience and its significance within contemporary psychoanalytic and attachment-informed practice.
Between Skins: The Body in Psychoanalysis – Contemporary Developments
Nicola Diamond
Published in 2013, Between Skins explores the place of the body within contemporary psychoanalysis, bringing together psychoanalytic thinking with perspectives on embodiment, trauma, sexuality and intersubjectivity.
Attachment and Intersubjectivity
Nicola Diamond and Mario Marrone
Published in 2003, Attachment and Intersubjectivity explores the relationship between attachment theory, psychoanalysis and intersubjectivity and considers their implications for psychological development and clinical practice.
Explore Dr Mario Marrone →here
Selected Chapters & Journal Publications
Nicola Diamond has published widely on trauma, embodiment, sexuality, countertransference and the therapeutic relationship. Selected publications include:
Between Bodies: Working on the Liminal Zone with Traumatised Clients
With Paola Valerio. In Introduction to Countertransference in Therapeutic Practice: A Myriad of Mirrors (Routledge).
A Case of Missing Identity: Countertransference and Multiple Dissociation
With Mario Marrone. In Introduction to Countertransference in Therapeutic Practice: A Myriad of Mirrors (Routledge).
Explore Dr Mario Marrone → here
Exploring Some Vicissitudes of Feminine Sexuality
Published in Free Associations (2013).
The Body and Film: Estranged Body States – A Case of Das Unheimlich
Published in the Journal of Psychosocial Studies (2013).
Between the Body and Social Trauma: Working with the Aftermath of Torture
In Emotion: Psychosocial Perspectives (Palgrave Macmillan, 2009).
Between Touches
In Touch Papers: Dialogues on Touch in the Psychoanalytic Space (Karnac, 2007).
When Thought Is Not Enough
In How Does Therapy Work? (Karnac, 2005).
Attachment, the Body and Trauma
In Attachment Theory and the Psychoanalytic Process, edited by Mauricio Cortina and Mario Marrone.
Attachment, Trauma & the Body
A distinctive focus of Dr Nicola Diamond’s work is the relationship between attachment, psychoanalysis and embodied experience.
Her clinical and academic work explores how experiences of attachment, trauma and relationships may be expressed not only psychologically and emotionally, but also through bodily experience.
Nicola’s writing has examined areas including trauma and dissociation, sexuality, touch, psychosomatic experience, intersubjectivity and the role of the body within the therapeutic relationship.
This perspective brings attachment theory into dialogue with contemporary psychoanalytic thinking about embodiment and provides an important contribution to understanding the complex relationship between mind, body and relationships in clinical practice.
Dr Nicola Diamond and IAN
Dr Nicola Diamond is a founding member of the International Attachment Network and has been closely involved with IAN since its early development.
Through her clinical work, teaching, writing and contribution to IAN, Nicola has helped develop dialogue between attachment theory, psychoanalysis and contemporary therapeutic practice.
Her particular interests in trauma, embodiment, intersubjectivity and the therapeutic relationship contribute to IAN’s broader work connecting attachment theory and research with thoughtful, attachment-informed clinical practice.
Nicola continues to contribute to IAN through professional education, discussion and clinical learning, including teaching and supervision.
Explore Attachment Theory → here
Explore IAN Research → here
Explore Attachment Theory Training & CPD → here