At times all parents feel lost or without a clue about what our child might need from us. Imagine what it might feel like if you were able to make sense of what your child was really asking from you. The Circle of Security Parenting™ program is based on decades of research about how secure parent-child relationships can be supported and strengthened.
Learning Objectives of the Program:
• Understand your child’s emotional world by learning to read the emotional needs
• Support your child’s ability to successfully manage emotions
• Enhance the development of your child’s self esteem
• Honor your innate wisdom and desire for your child to be secure
Circle of Security parenting is offered as an individual program, as well as in an intimate group setting with a small group of parents. It is a 10 week commitment and each session is an hour and a half.
In further detail…
Circle of Security Parenting, is a relationship program for caregivers. It was developed with the goal in mind of finding ways to enhance secure attachment in caregiving relationships, because as caregivers we all want to do the best we can, and of course, we want to have secure relationships with our children.
But what does that mean, ‘to enhance secure attachment’? We all want to have secure relationships, but here’s the problem: Children don’t come with an owner’s manual. It can be hard to know how to respond to difficult behaviors and how to manage them. And, of course, every child is different. But here’s the good news: Children are born experts on the Circle of Security. Circle of Security is like an owner’s manual that’s been written by your child. Learning how to use the Circle of Security helps us figure out caring ways to get the job done. Because it is no secret, caregiving can be the hardest job on the planet.
Having an owner’s manual makes it easier to know the questions to ask that can help us find helpful answers. But sometimes when we are trying to make sense of what is going on with our children, the way we ask the question, can get it our way of finding caring ways to help. “What’s wrong with my child?” “Why do they keep doing this?” “Why don’t they listen?” “What does my child want from me?” We all want to get it right, so what if we asked the question in a different way? The Circle of Security roadmap helps us ask the question in a different way. When we think about behavior, we think about reinforcing the behavior we like. We might use stickers, or treats, or give compliments. And when we think about behavior we don’t like, we try to find ways to stop the behavior. We might do things like time outs, or spankings, or ignoring the behavior.
Circle of Security gives us a way to think differently about either trying to reward the behavior we like, or trying to get rid of the behavior we don’t like. The Circle is about thinking outside of the box. And when we start to use the Circle of Security roadmap, we start to switch the focus. And instead of focusing on the behavior and trying to figure out what to do with it, we start to focus on the behavior as communication of a need, and the need within the relationship.
Oak Tree Therapy 