DOES TRAINING IN THE CIRCLE OF SECURITY FRAMEWORK INCREASE RELATIONAL UNDERSTANDING IN INFANT/CHILD AND FAMILY WORKERS?. Issue 5 (23rd August 2017)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: McMahon, Catherine; Huber, Anna; Kohlhoff, Jane; Camberis, Anna‐Lisa
• Is Part Of: Infant mental health journal. Volume 38:Issue 5(2017)
• Page Start: 658
• Page End: 668
• Publication Date: 2017-08-23
• Subjects: Circle of Security -- attachment theory -- Infant Mental Health training -- Círculo de Seguridad -- teoría de la afectividad -- entrenamiento de salud mental infantil -- Cercle De Sécurité -- théorie de l'attachement -- formation de santé mentale du nourrisson -- Kreis der Sicherheit -- Bindungstheorie -- mentales Gesundheitstraining für Säuglinge -- 安心感の輪Circle of Security -- 愛着理論 -- 乳幼児精神保健訓練 -- 安全圈 -- 依附理論 -- 嬰兒心理健康訓練 -- كلمات مفتاحية: دائرة الأمن -- نظرية التعلق -- تدريب الصحة النفسية للرضع; Infant psychiatry -- Periodicals; Infant psychology -- Periodicals; 618.9289
• DOI: 10.1002/imhj.21661
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0163-9641

Abstract

ABSTRACT: This article evaluated whether attendance at Circle of Security training workshops resulted in attendees showing greater empathy and attachment‐related knowledge and understanding, and fewer judgmental responses to viewing a stressful parent–child interaction. Participants were 202 practitioners who attended and completed a 2‐day ( n = 70), 4‐day ( n = 105), or 10‐day ( n = 27) COS training workshop in Australia or New Zealand in 2015. In a pre/post design, participant reactions to a video clip of a challenging parent–child interaction were coded for empathic, judgmental, or attachment‐focused language. Attachment understanding was coded in response to questions about the greatest challenge that the dyad faced. In all training conditions, participants provided significantly more attachment‐focused descriptors and showed significantly greater attachment understanding after training, but significantly fewer empathic descriptors. While participants at the longer workshops provided significantly fewer judgmental/critical descriptors, there was no change for those attending the 2‐day workshop. Irrespective of workshop duration or professional background, participants took a more relational perspective on the vignette after the training workshops. More detailed research is required to establish the extent to which this increased knowledge and understanding is retained and integrated into infant mental health practice with parents and young children.