Circle of Security Parenting
At times, all parents feel lost or unsure about what their child might need from them. Imagine how it would feel to be able to make sense of what your child is really asking from you. The Circle of Security Parenting™ program is based on decades of research about how to support and strengthen secure parent-child relationships.
Learning objectives of the program:
Understand your child's emotional world by learning to read their 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.
The program is administered across Eight Sessions, each lasting up to 75 minutes and is delivered in a weekly group setting via telehealth. During sessions, parents learn about the four domains of the Circle of Security, which are:
Secure Base: providing a safe and nurturing environment for the child to explore the world.
Safe Haven: providing a safe and comforting place for the child to return to when they are upset or distressed.
Co-Regulation: helping the child regulate their emotions and behavior.
Exploration: encouraging the child to explore and learn about the world.
Addressing Common Parenting Challenges with the Circle of Security Parenting (COSP) Model
Enhancing Communication
Many parents struggle to understand their children's needs, desires, or problems. The Circle of Security Parenting (COSP) model equips parents with skills to interpret their children's emotional signals and respond appropriately. This fosters better communication and strengthens the parent-child bond.
Managing Behavioural Issues
Children often exhibit challenging behaviours like tantrums, aggression, or withdrawal. COSP helps parents identify the underlying needs driving these behaviours and respond in ways that provide security. Over time, this can lead to a reduction in problem behaviours.
Promoting Secure Attachment
Insecure or unattached children can face various emotional and developmental issues. COSP emphasizes the importance of secure attachment, teaching parents how to be a "safe haven" and a "secure base" for their children, thus promoting a sense of security and stability.
Balancing Discipline
Finding the right balance between being too strict or too lenient can be challenging for parents. COSP guides parents in setting clear expectations while remaining supportive and understanding, helping to create a consistent and nurturing environment.
Reducing Parental Stress
Parenting is inherently stressful and can lead to impatience or anger. COSP offers strategies for parents to manage their stress effectively, enabling them to respond to their children with calmness and empathy.
Boosting Parental Confidence
Many parents doubt their parenting abilities. COSP boosts confidence by providing knowledge about children's emotional needs and effective ways to meet them. This empowerment helps parents feel more capable and assured in their parenting roles.
Balancing Family Needs
Parents often find it challenging to balance their own needs with those of their children. COSP encourages parents to recognize and address their own emotional needs, allowing them to be more present and effective for their children.
Supporting Transitions
Transitions such as moving houses, starting school, or welcoming a new sibling can be difficult for children. COSP equips parents to support their children through these changes by providing a sense of security and predictability.
Teaching Emotional Regulation
Children often struggle to regulate their emotions. COSP helps parents respond in ways that teach children how to manage their emotions constructively, fostering better emotional health and resilience.
Establishing Healthy Boundaries
Setting and maintaining boundaries can be difficult for parents. The COSP model helps parents provide a secure base from which children can explore and a safe haven to which they can return, promoting healthy independence and interdependence.
Here are the founding principles that underlie the Circle of Security models of intervention:
Attachment problems in infancy and early childhood increase the probability of psychopathology later on in life.
Secure attachment relationships with caregivers are a protective factor for infants and preschoolers, setting the foundation for social competence and promoting effective functioning of the emotion regulation and stress response systems.
The quality of the attachment relationship is amenable to change.
Learning, including therapeutic change, occurs from within a secure base relationship.
Lasting change in the attachment relationship comes from caregivers’ developing specific relationship capacities rather than learning techniques to manage behavior.
All caregivers want what is best for their children.
Investment and Location
Investment & Location Group (minimum 4 participants): Cost $500 p/p upfront, covering all 8 sessions (abbreviated program). Partners receive 50% discount if attending as a couple ($750).
With a valid Mental Health Care Plan (MHCP), you can receive a rebate of $32.30 after each week. That's out an out-of-pocket investment of only $241.60 for the entire program.
All group sessions are conducted online.
Individual/Couple: Contact the clinic for one-on-one prices.
Individual or couple sessions can be conducted online or face-to-face.
Dates & Times:
The groups run in accordance with schooling terms. Please contact the clinic for further details.
