Nicola Jones
Psychotherapist | Attachment Theory | Couples & Relationships
About Nicola Jones
Nicola Jones is an experienced psychotherapist, trainer and supervisor whose work is strongly informed by attachment theory and its application to relationships and therapeutic practice.
She works in private practice with individuals and couples, bringing an attachment-informed perspective to understanding patterns of relating, careseeking and caregiving, intimacy and the ways earlier relational experiences can influence present relationships.
Nicola trained with Relate and the Institute of Family Therapy and has undertaken further study in attachment theory. She also holds an MA in Gender Studies from SOAS, University of London.
Alongside her clinical practice, Nicola teaches attachment theory and provides training and supervision for therapists and counsellors. She developed IAN’s Advanced Certificate in the Clinical Application of Attachment Theory, a seven-module professional training programme designed to help practitioners integrate contemporary attachment theory and research into clinical practice.
Nicola is Vice-Chair and a Trustee of the International Attachment Network (IAN UK) and has been a longstanding advocate for the thoughtful application of attachment theory within psychotherapy, couples work, supervision and professional education.
Areas of Expertise
Nicola’s professional interests and experience include:
Attachment theory and attachment-informed practice
Couples and relationship psychotherapy
Individual psychotherapy
Adult intimate relationships and attachment
Careseeking and caregiving in relationships
Parental and couple conflict
Intergenerational patterns of relating
Clinical supervision
Training and professional development for therapists and counsellors
Applying attachment theory within clinical practice
A particular focus of Nicola’s work is understanding how attachment experiences can influence adult relationships, including our expectations of others and our capacity to seek, receive and provide care.
Her teaching and clinical work aim to translate attachment theory into practical ways of thinking about clients, couples and therapeutic relationships.
Couples, Relationships & Attachment
A particular area of Nicola’s clinical and teaching work is the application of attachment theory to couples and adult intimate relationships.
Attachment theory offers a valuable framework for understanding how people seek closeness, reassurance and support within relationships, as well as how they respond when connection feels threatened or uncertain.
Nicola is interested in the ways earlier relational experiences can influence expectations within adult relationships, including patterns of careseeking and caregiving, emotional availability, conflict and the capacity to depend on and respond to a partner.
Her work with couples considers these patterns relationally rather than treating them simply as characteristics of one individual. This can help illuminate how partners respond to one another and how recurring patterns of interaction may become established within a relationship.
Nicola has taught extensively for IAN on the application of attachment theory to couple relationships, including Attachment and the Couple as part of IAN’s professional attachment training programmes.
Attachment Training & Professional Development
Nicola has played a central role in developing IAN’s professional education in the clinical application of attachment theory.
She developed the Advanced Certificate in the Clinical Application of Attachment Theory, IAN’s structured seven-module training programme for therapists, counsellors and other appropriately qualified practitioners.
The programme is designed to help practitioners move from understanding attachment theory conceptually to applying contemporary attachment thinking thoughtfully within clinical practice. Across the training, participants explore areas including attachment-informed therapy, the Adult Attachment Interview and mentalizing, couple relationships, parenthood, complex trauma, sexuality and the practitioner’s own experiences of careseeking and caregiving.
Nicola’s teaching places particular emphasis on translating attachment theory and research into practical clinical understanding rather than presenting attachment-informed therapy as a separate therapeutic modality.
Alongside the Advanced Certificate, Nicola contributes to IAN’s wider programme of professional learning through teaching, workshops, supervision and facilitated discussion and reading groups.
Explore IAN’s Attachment Theory Training → here.
Nicola Jones & the International Attachment Network
Nicola is Vice-Chair and a Trustee of the International Attachment Network (IAN UK) and plays an active role in the Network’s professional education and development.
She has been a longstanding advocate for attachment theory and its thoughtful application within psychotherapy, relationships, supervision and professional practice.
Nicola developed IAN’s Advanced Certificate in the Clinical Application of Attachment Theory and contributes to the Network’s wider programme of training, workshops, reading groups and professional learning.
Her teaching has included work on attachment and couple relationships, parental conflict and the clinical application of attachment theory. Through this work, Nicola helps connect contemporary attachment thinking with the realities of therapeutic practice.
Her contribution to IAN reflects the Network’s wider aim of bringing attachment theory, research and professional practice into meaningful dialogue.
Clinical Practice
Nicola works in private practice with individuals and couples, bringing an attachment-informed and relational perspective to her therapeutic work.
Her approach pays particular attention to our capacity to give and receive care and to the ways in which current relationships may be influenced by earlier experiences, including patterns that can be carried across generations.
Attachment theory provides a framework for exploring how people understand themselves, what they expect from others and how they respond to closeness, dependency, conflict and emotional needs within relationships.
Alongside her therapeutic practice, Nicola provides clinical supervision and brings her experience as a therapist into her teaching and professional training.
Nicola is an IAN-recognised attachment-informed therapist and is listed in the International Attachment Network Therapist Directory. She works from Portishead, North Somerset, and online.
View Nicola Jones in the IAN Therapist Directory → here.
Nicola Jones and IAN
Nicola Jones plays a significant role within the International Attachment Network (IAN UK) as Vice-Chair and Trustee, contributing to the Network’s professional education and the development of attachment-informed practice.
Her work reflects IAN’s commitment to bringing contemporary attachment theory and research into meaningful dialogue with psychotherapy and clinical practice, and to supporting practitioners in developing a thoughtful and relational understanding of attachment.
Nicola developed IAN’s Advanced Certificate in the Clinical Application of Attachment Theory, a structured professional training programme designed to help therapists and other practitioners deepen their understanding of attachment theory and apply it within clinical work.
Alongside her training role, Nicola contributes to IAN’s wider programme of professional learning through teaching, workshops, supervision, reading groups and discussions. Her particular interests include attachment in adult relationships, couples work, careseeking and caregiving, and the ways relational experiences can influence therapeutic practice.
Explore IAN Attachment Theory Training → here
Explore IAN Events & CPD → here
View Nicola in the IAN Therapist Directory → here