Nested model of attachment: societal level

Today I want to get back to a discussion of the nested model of attachment proposed by Jessica Fern in her book polysecure: Attachment, Trauma and Consensual Nonmonogamy.

There are a couple more levels I’ve yet to discuss and today I want to focus on the societal level. This is the level that looks at the larger societal systems and structures that help shape our attachment and are made up of our legal, medical, economic, religious and political systems. This is the level at which systems of oppression operate and are internalized.

Whether or not you and your people have access to healthcare and education, if your legal status is secure, if your rights as a parent can be questioned, and so much more can all impact parenting and attachment, and how safe we feel in the world.

As a therapist, I am looking around at what is going on in our country and looking for how things like ICE raids, state violence, and the systematic targeting of the trans community by our government affects families and people’s sense of safety.

And as always, there is so much nuance depending on the various pieces of our identity and how they intersect with how society treats us is complex. The more socially marginalized identities one holds, the strong the impact is going to be on systems of attachments and perceptions of safety.