Relation of Client Attachment to Therapist First- and Second-Order Assessments

The relation between client working models of attachment and therapist type of change assessments (first- vs. second-order) was examined in a sample of firsttime clients (N=46) seeking services through a university-based outpatient clinic. Results indicated that the problems and goals of clients who exhibited relatively secure working models of attachment were assessed by their therapists as being of a first-order nature, whereas the problems and goals of clients with more insecure working models of the world were assessed as being congruent with second-order conceptualizations. Implications for clinical research and the practice of cognitive psychotherapy are discussed.