Researching relationships: Attachment, affairs, and sex and intimacy over 65

In her inaugural lecture, Naomi Moller, Professor in Psychology and Psychotherapy in the School of Psychology and Counselling in the OU’s Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, will talk about her research into relationships.

She will ask how do (good) relationships contribute to our wellbeing? How does research on relationships, relationship therapy, and relationships in therapy support improved relationships? This lecture examines these questions through a focus on her research on attachment, affairs and emotional, physical and sexual intimacy for older adults.

Abstract

This talk is a reflection on Professor Moller’s work as both a researcher and a psychotherapy practitioner on researching relationships. It will combine a semi-chronological survey of her research on relationships with (anonymised) client case examples that illustrate the relevance of her work for psychotherapy practice, and considerations of the personal history and circumstances that shaped her engagement with these research projects.

Professor Moller’s early work focussed on attachment, a theory of the purpose and functioning of the closest human relationships, those between parents and children, adult romantic/sexual partners, family members and best friends. She will talk about her doctoral work on attachment mental schemas, as well as work on ‘earned’ attachment security – both concepts highly relevant to psychotherapy practice.

According to Professor Moller, affairs are a very common reason for couples to seek couple counselling but couple counsellors report finding them challenging to work with. In this section, Professor Moller will talk about her research (with OU colleague, Dr Andreas Vossler) that led to a national newspaper headline: ‘Infidelity can make relationships stronger’ (!) as well as to a paper that explored the definitions of infidelity used in research and by practitioners and argued for a socially-constructed definition of affairs. Their infidelity research revealed the impact of digitally-mediated communication in modern affairs, leading them to study how online spaces and interactions may increase the likelihood of affairs. After COVID-19 forced counselling and psychotherapy sessions online globally, this in turn led to investigation of how online delivery impacts counselling.

Lastly, Professor Moller will talk about a current project, that explores emotional, physical and sexual intimacy for older adults (aged 65+). This project is a response to the fact that older adults are an under-served population in psychotherapy, despite the fact that they may experience significant relational challenges, including bereavement, being a carer, physical ill-health and sexual dysfunction.

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