Attachment is the inborn mammalian dynamism that organises our earliest search for connection, protection, and belonging. At its most fundamental, physiological level, attachment increases the likelihood of infant survival through the pursuit and preservation of proximity (Siegel, 2020; McElhaney et al., 2009). Yet it is far more than instinct. It is a relational synchronicity, a biological imperative imbued with embodied and emergent resonance.
Across the arc of development, attachment unfolds as a progressive evolution of proximity: from the physical nearness that soothes the infant’s body, to the emotional closeness that anchors the child’s heart, and ultimately to an internalised, embodied sense of felt security within the adult Self (McElhaney et al., 2009; Neufeld & Maté, 2019). This journey is not linear but rhythmic and dynamic—an ebb and flow of connection and rupture, integration and repair.
Significantly, attachment is the primary relational process through which the brain develops in the context of consistent, contingent interactions. Through sensation, perception, and interpretation of these exchanges, attachment becomes the medium through which communicative meaning is made. It shapes the integrative processes that link the physiological, psychological, and relational domains of experience (Siegel, 2020).
In times of both distress and delight, attachment is the embodied and relational manner in which humans orientate and connect (Neufeld & Maté, 2019; Siegel, 2020). It is the felt experience of being known, seen, and safe—first in the arms of another, and later within the sanctuary of one’s own being. As such, attachment is not simply a developmental milestone; it is the living pulse of how we come to be with others, and with ourselves.
