Course | Attachment and Trauma

Price

£800
The price listed is for an annual subscription. An additional pricing option is available for this course at £100 for monthly subscription.

For further information, please visit OnLineTraining website.

Description

Attachment theory explains the importance of a child’s emotional bond with their primary caregivers. If this bond is disrupted or lost it can adversely affect a child’s emotional and psychological wellbeing and may lead to trauma. Left unaided, attachment and trauma difficulties, such as bereavement, abuse, neglect or war, can have a lasting impact on a child’s social and cognitive development.

A learner with attachment and trauma difficulties may have problems forming strong attachments and relationships. They may display a consistent pattern of withdrawn behaviours or have episodes of unexplained irritability sadness or fearfulness. They may also be prone to lashing out or running away. Helping a learner to ‘engage and achieve’ in the curriculum and lead emotionally resilient lives requires access to educational experiences that foster confidence in abilities, teach self-regulation skills and model how to build secure and nonthreatening relationships.

The course content draws on the attachment-informed practice of Yarra Me School (a specialist school in Melbourne, Australia, delivering therapeutic education programmes) and the model of attachment training and research carried out by Bath Spa University. The content relates to learners in compulsory education (4-18 years), however, the theory and many of the assessment and intervention strategies can be contextualised and implemented in early years settings too.

This course aims to develop the knowledge, skills and practice of all education professionals working with children and young people (CYP) with attachment and trauma difficulties. You will learn how to assess the needs of the learner and go on to develop a support plan consisting of SMART goals and interventions, which you will implement and later review to determine how well it has met the learner’s specific developmental needs.

Course Learning Outcomes

On successful completion of the course, you will be able to:
• explain the importance of inclusive practices in ensuring good life outcomes
• discuss the origins of attachment theory and evaluate its strengths and weaknesses
• describe the four attachment styles
• use simple assessment tools and teacher checklists to Identify attachment difficulties
• describe strategies for working with each type of attachment style
• discuss the power of relationships and apply the process of personalising learning
• respond effectively to challenging incidents including self-care
• offer personalised support within a Response to Intervention Framework
• create a support plan for a pupil/group of pupils in your school

Course Content

• Understanding
Develop an overview of attachment theory, including its origins, and learn about the 4 types of attachment disorder and the characteristics of attachment types.

1. Section objectives and your learner’s profile
2. Introduction to Kevin’s story
3. Child trauma
4. What is attachment theory?
5. The origins of attachment theory
6. The attachment behavioural system
7. Impact on cognitive and emotional development
8. The strange situation procedure (Mary Ainsworth)
9. The 4 types of attachment
10. The dimensions of attachment
11. Why is attachment an important concept?
12. Emotions and learning
13. Criticisms of attachment theory
14. What does the theory enable us to do?
15. End of section quiz
16. Section summary

• Assessment
Learn definitions of the different types of attachment disorder, and criteria for assessing behaviours and co-occurring difficulties, and the impact on learning.

1. Section objectives and your learner profile
2. Definitions
3. Reactive Attachment Disorder (RAD)
4. Disinhibited Attachment Disorder
5. Who is at risk?
6. Assessment tools
7. Distinguishing RAD from other conditions
8. Co-occurring difficulties: learning difficulties
9. Co-occurring difficulties: mental health issues
10. End of section quiz
11. Course assignment: Your Learner’s three SMART goals
12. Section summary

• Interventions
Develop an awareness of your own reactions to challenging behaviour, how to respond to incidents, and the importance of a whole school approach.

1. Section objectives
2. Relating to those with attachment difficulties
3. Being aware of our own response
4. The power of relationships
5. The school as a secure base
6. Building relationships
7. Creating a safe place
8. In the classroom
9. Personalising learning
10. Whole school approaches - attachment aware schools
11. Managing incidents
12. Following an incident
13. Supporting staff following an incident
14. The team around the learner
15. Concluding Kevin’s story
16. End of section quiz
17. Course assignment: Your learner’s interventions
18. Section summary

• Case Studies
View examples of individual experiences, and the assessments and interventions carried out to meet the needs, including attachment-focused therapy.

1. Section objectives
2. Case study: My exclusion story
3. Case study: Jimmy and Adam
4. Case study: Speech and Language assessment
5. Case study: Attachment focused therapy
6. Case study: Film ‘Removed’ (Part 1 and 2)