Developing the children's workforce

The attachment network offers training courses that provide a psychodynamic, therapeutic approach to the residential and fostering task and equips frontline staff and their managers with the knowledge base and skills to work with vulnerable children and young people with Attachment in mind. The basis of a psychodynamic approach is that any individual’s current experience is most effectively understood with some reference to their inner world: their early childhood experiences and their mental processes. Key to this work is unpacking and developing the practice skills that workers require. Training focuses on ongoing relationships, rather than maladaptive behaviours, and considers how to create and sustain a safe place in which recovery from early childhood trauma can begin, taking account of the child’s real life experiences and their mind sets.

Providing a holist approach to the therapeutic task, courses are underpinned by a coherent theoretical position, drawing on attachment theory, humanistic psychology, social learning theory and contemporary cognitive psychology. The training takes account of current research and the extensive practice experience of the trainers. The child is seen not as an adult in waiting, but as a competent being in their own right, full of potential, and expert in their own experience, a view of childhood now adopted by social pedagogy.

We can also offer workshop days tailored to your organization’s requirements. These days are often used to supplement more formal training and help staff integrate the training fully into their practice.

Visit www.attachment-network.org and find out more