References
The theorists, models and psychological frameworks that inform the courses.
The courses draw on established psychological theory and research. This page lists the theorists, models and frameworks that inform the work — both as an acknowledgement and as an invitation to read further. Full citations appear within the course materials themselves.
Theorists
John Bowlby
Bowlby’s work established that the bonds formed with early caregivers shape our expectations of love, safety and closeness throughout life. His attachment framework underpins the course material on relational patterns and emotional wounds.
Mary Ainsworth
Ainsworth’s research identified the distinct patterns of secure, anxious and avoidant attachment, giving the theory its empirical foundation and the styles referenced throughout the course.
Carl Rogers
Rogers described the self as a process of becoming, and growth as something that unfolds in conditions of genuineness, acceptance and empathy. The course’s name and spirit owe much to his work.
Donald Winnicott
Winnicott’s ideas about the true and false self describe how children adapt to their environment by hiding parts of themselves — a thread the course follows into adult identity and people-pleasing.
Erik Erikson
Erikson mapped identity as something built across life stages, each with its own task and crisis. His framework informs the course material on identity formation and development.
Alice Miller
Miller wrote about children who survive by attuning to their parents’ needs at the cost of their own feelings — work that informs the course’s treatment of conditional love and self-abandonment.
Frameworks & Models
- Attachment theory and adult attachment styles
- Humanistic and person-centred psychology
- Developmental psychology
- Inner child work
- Personality theory: MBTI and cognitive functions
- The Enneagram: motivation, fear and defence patterns
- Emotional regulation
- Trauma-informed self-awareness