Love Sense

Outline

Love Sense (2013) explains the science behind lasting love. Sue Johnson shows that adults need secure emotional bonds just as children need their parents, and that many conflicts between partners are really protests against feeling disconnected. Drawing on attachment research and decades of work with couples, she explains how bonds form, why they break down, and how partners can rebuild closeness and trust.

• Adults need secure emotional bonds with a partner in the same way children need their parents.
• Many arguments between partners are really protests against feeling disconnected, not fights about the surface issue.
• Lasting love can be understood through science, drawing on attachment research and decades of work with couples.
• Understanding how bonds form and why they break down helps partners see what is going wrong between them.
• Partners can rebuild closeness and trust by responding to each other's emotional needs.

Sue Johnson (1947–2024) was a British-born Canadian clinical psychologist and one of the most influential figures in couples therapy. She developed Emotionally Focused Therapy, an approach based on attachment science that is used by therapists around the world. Her books include Hold Me Tight, Love Sense, and Attachment Theory in Practice.