Emotional Availability: Clinical Populations and Clinical Applications

Abstract

Emotional availability (EA) is the ability to share an emotional connection within a dyad. The observational EA System includes the EA Scales and the EA Zones. The EA Scales consist of four adult dimensions (sensitivity, structuring, nonintrusiveness, nonhostility) and two child dimensions (responsiveness, involvement). Based on the EA Scales, EA Zones refer to “emotional attachment styles” and are patterned after traditional attachment categories (Ainsworth et al., 1978). Since the review on EA by Biringen et al. (2014), extensive research on EA has utilized the EA Scales or the EA Zones, especially with respect to clinical populations and applications. We address topics absent from the 2014 review, namely, utilizing the EA System for at-risk populations and in prevention and intervention studies. We consider EA research accounting for fathers or alternative caregivers and suggest using the whole EA system versus specific dimensions. We conclude with new directions in clinical applications of EA.