Who We Are

The International Attachment Network (IAN UK)

The International Attachment Network (IAN UK) brings together clinicians, researchers, academics and practitioners with a shared interest in attachment theory, research and attachment-informed practice.

Founded in 1992, IAN has grown from the rich tradition of attachment thinking established by John Bowlby and Mary Ainsworth, while continuing to engage with contemporary developments in psychotherapy, psychology, neuroscience, relationships and developmental research.

Our Directors and Executive Committee bring together a wide range of professional perspectives. What connects us is a commitment to thoughtful, evidence-informed exploration of attachment and its importance throughout human life.

We believe attachment theory develops through conversation — between research and clinical practice, between different disciplines, and between established ideas and new questions.

Discover the history of the International Attachment Network

Meet the IAN Directors

Meet the IAN Executive Committee

Meet IAN’s founding members

A Network Connecting Research and Practice

The International Attachment Network brings together people from different professional traditions around a shared interest in understanding attachment and human relationships.

Attachment theory developed through dialogue between observation, research, psychoanalysis, developmental psychology and clinical practice. IAN continues to encourage conversations across disciplines rather than treating attachment as a single therapeutic technique or a simple set of personality categories.

Our aim is to support rigorous, thoughtful and clinically meaningful engagement with attachment theory, including its possibilities, its continuing development and its limitations.

Explore Attachment Theory → here.

Discover Attachment Research → here.

Explore IAN Training & Events →here.

Read the History of IAN → here.

Join the International Attachment Network →here.