Promoting attachment, attuned responsiveness and positive emotional relationships

Intervention guide editors: Clare Gates and Jenny Peters

This intervention guide enables practitioners to support parents reinforce their children’s desired behaviour and shape challenging behaviour using a range of strategies, by helping parents to help:

  • younger children, so that parents understand what attachment is, can balance the child’s need for both security and exploration, and address disorganised attachment responses
  • older children using one-on-one time
  • adolescents, so that parents understand the way attachments develop during adolescence, how apparently challenging behaviour can represent attachment needs, and how to provide a positive emotional charge for young people

Purchase the guide

The guide can be purchased from Child and Family Training at a cost of £25.00 per copy plus postage and packing.

Please click here to buy now

Download previews of the guide:

Training

Cost for delivering a one day course are:

  • Fees for a group of 12 trainees (including a copy of this guide per person) – £1,080.00 plus trainer's expenses + VAT.
  • Fees for a group of 24 trainees (including a copy of this guide per person) – £2,160.00 plus trainer's expenses + VAT.

If you wish to discuss any training courses or require further information please contact us.

Film clips

These two clips consist of two scenarios showing different ways a young person returning from school in some distress is responded to by her mother. The aim is to illustrate the way parents can provide ‘attuned emotional support’. This is an essential component of reinforcing and promoting the attachment security of young people at key moments of their development when they are managing the transition from relationships with their families, and beginning to find security and identity in relationships with their peer group. The first scenario illustrates how it can go wrong and reinforce distress, and insecurity. The second how the ‘emotional charge’ provided by a parent can help the young person cope with adversity and move forward.

Promoting Secure Attachment

Scenario 1

Promoting Secure Attachment

Scenario 2