Preferred Name
Tara Pollnitz
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License
ORCID
https://orcid.org/0009-0000-3182-086X
Date of Graduation
5-15-2025
Semester of Graduation
Spring
Degree Name
Educational Specialist (EdS)
Department
Department of Graduate Psychology
First Advisor
Kenson Hiatt
Second Advisor
Renee Staton
Abstract
Attachment avoidance is marked by a deep-seated mistrust of others, excessive self-reliance, and suppression of attachment needs. Feelings of boredom, disengagement, and uncertainty regarding how to proceed with treatment are common among practitioners treating avoidant clients. In this paper, the author examines attachment avoidance as a clinical concern, presents a conceptualization of attachment avoidance as a process related to emotional overcontrol, and explores the potential impact of intervention during college to provide a rationale for a counseling group to address attachment avoidance through radically open dialectical behavior therapy. Subsequently, the origins and theoretical foundation of radically open dialectical behavior therapy are explained. Finally, a structure for using these concepts in a college counseling center and materials for the proposed group are provided.
