Mills College - United States
AUTHOR PROFILE
📚 EARLY ACADEMIC PURSUITS
Dr. Carol George’s academic journey began with distinction at the University of Southern California, where she earned her B.A. in Psychology with Summa Cum Laude honors and membership in Phi Beta Kappa. She pursued her graduate education at the University of California, Berkeley, where she completed both her M.A. and Ph.D. in Developmental Psychology. Her early academic training was marked by intense engagement in developmental and attachment theory, with formative roles as a teaching assistant, instructor, and cluster seminar director. At Berkeley and later at UCSF’s Langley Porter Institute, she developed a deep understanding of developmental pathways, emotional regulation, and psychopathology in infants and adults. These formative years laid the foundation for a prolific career at the intersection of developmental psychology and attachment science.
🏛️ PROFESSIONAL ENDEAVORS
Over more than three decades at Mills College in Oakland, Dr. George rose from Assistant Professor to Professor Emerita. She held multiple leadership roles, including Division Dean of Natural Sciences and Mathematics, Department Head, and Co-Director of both the Infant Mental Health Master’s Program and the Early Childhood and Family Research Laboratory. She also held prestigious endowed professorships, including the Lee Mirmow Chair and Letts-Villard Chair in the Natural Sciences. Through these roles, she shaped curriculum, mentored generations of students, and advanced interdisciplinary collaboration. Her teaching and administrative contributions were pivotal to the evolution of psychology and infant mental health education at Mills College.
🔬 CONTRIBUTIONS AND RESEARCH FOCUS
Dr. George is globally recognized for her pioneering work on adult and child attachment. She co-developed the Adult Attachment Projective Picture System (AAP)—a breakthrough tool for assessing adult attachment representations. Her empirical research encompasses attachment trauma, caregiving disorganization, pathological mourning, and intergenerational transmission of caregiving patterns. Dr. George has authored foundational texts and edited volumes including Attachment Disorganization, The Adult Attachment Projective Picture System, and Disorganized Attachment and Caregiving. Her work spans clinical applications, neuroscientific collaborations, and the development of attachment-based assessment tools, bridging research and therapeutic practice to transform the understanding of attachment across the lifespan.
🏅 ACCOLADES AND RECOGNITION
Throughout her career, Dr. George has been honored with numerous accolades. These include the Mary Metz Teaching Award and several Faculty Development Grants at Mills College. She received the Excellence in Psychological Assessment Award from Psychodiagnostics Corporation in 2013 for her clinical case study in Journal of Personality Assessment. Her named professorships and longstanding editorial board memberships in top-tier journals such as Attachment and Human Development and Developmental Psychology underscore her academic influence. These recognitions reflect her excellence not only in research but also in mentorship, assessment innovation, and leadership in the academic community.
🌍 IMPACT AND INFLUENCE
Dr. George’s influence extends beyond academic institutions to clinical, legal, and policy domains. Her attachment-based frameworks are used internationally in court custody cases, therapeutic assessments, and child protection systems. Through workshops, keynote lectures, and international symposia, she has trained professionals across North America, Europe, and Australia in applying attachment science in real-world contexts. She has been a scientific consultant on major grants, a reviewer for prominent psychology journals and grant agencies, and an advisor on projects related to maternal mental health, infant development, and therapeutic interventions. Her scholarship and training programs continue to shape modern psychological assessment and clinical practice globally.
🧠 LEGACY IN ATTACHMENT SCIENCE
Dr. George’s legacy lies in revolutionizing how attachment is conceptualized and assessed, especially in adults. Her integrative model—linking neuroscience, developmental psychology, and clinical application—has influenced generations of psychologists and mental health professionals. The Adult Attachment Projective Picture System is now a global standard in both research and therapy. Her extensive collaborations with scholars in Europe and North America have furthered the scientific understanding of attachment disorganization, maternal depression, trauma, and caregiving dynamics. Her tools and methodologies are now foundational to attachment research, embedded in clinical training programs, and cited extensively in scholarly literature.
🔮 FUTURE CONTRIBUTIONS AND VISION
Now Professor Emerita, Dr. George continues to contribute as a Distinguished Research Fellow, author, and international consultant. Her recent work focuses on attachment trauma, transgenerational caregiving disruption, and the application of the AAP in therapeutic settings. Her future vision involves advancing the clinical utility of attachment theory, particularly in cross-cultural and neurobiological research. She remains actively engaged in guiding research teams, consulting on high-impact clinical projects, and publishing work that bridges science and psychotherapy. Her enduring mission is to promote secure attachments through research-informed practices that heal trauma and support healthy relational development across generations.
NOTABLE PUBLICATION
Title: Adult attachment interview
Authors: C. George, M. Main, N. Kaplan
Journal: Interpersona: An International Journal on Personal Relationships
Title: Social interactions of young abused children: Approach, avoidance, and aggression
Authors: C. George, M. Main
Journal: Child Development
Title: Probabilidad y estadística aplicadas a la ingeniería
Authors: D.C. Montgomery, G.C. Runger, E.G.U. Medal
Journal: McGraw-Hill (Publisher; this is a book, not a journal article)
Title: Attachment and caregiving: The caregiving behavioral system
Authors: C. George, J. Solomon
Journal: Handbook of Attachment: Theory, Research, and Clinical Applications (Book chapter)
Title: Early acute kidney injury and sepsis: A multicentre evaluation
Authors: S.M. Bagshaw, C. George, R. Bellomo, et al.
Journal: Critical Care
Title: Representational models of relationships: Links between caregiving and attachment
Authors: C. George, J. Solomon
Journal: Infant Mental Health Journal