The International Association for the Study of Attachment (IASA) is a multi-disciplinary association of mental health professionals who wish to improve mental health treatment. To this end, our focus is on how humans cope with threat and the effects of this on later adaptation or maladaptation.

IASA was established in 2007. We invite founder members (both individuals and organizations) to contribute to the association up to our first biennial conference to be held in Bertinoro, Italy, October 5-7, 2008. We are also opening annual membership through this website.

It’s time for change.

Every mental health professional has seen desperately troubled people whom they couldn’t help. Everyone has received patients who recounted their experience in an earlier course of treatment and we thought: ‘What was that therapist thinking of?!!’ All of us have felt confident that we were helpful only to hear that the person returned to treatment in worse shape – or committed suicide.

Years of empirical studies indicate that treatment is only 15% more helpful than not having treatment. Recent studies indicate that it might also be 15% detrimental. For citations, click here. We are equally helpful and harmful and, more than anything, we have overall no more effect than being on the waiting list! It’s clear: our methods are powerful, but we don’t know when and with whom to use them.

We think that fundamental changes are needed in mental health services and seek, through research and applications, to contribute to improving mental health services. Read more about our goals here. To contact us email: admin@iasa-dmm.org

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