Being a parent can feel overwhelming at times, especially if your child is having difficulties. Here you can learn about parent training, which will support you in doing the best for your child.
Lark provides parent training using the Circle of Security protocol. This is a set of eight sessions which focus on understanding your child’s emotional world by learning to read emotional needs, supporting your child’s ability to successfully manage emotions, enhancing the development of your child’s self-esteem, and helping your child to become securely attached.
It is recommended that both parents or carers attend sessions, although understandably, this can be difficult at times. Additional and booster sessions are also available, on an as-needed basis.
You can learn more about the ‘Circle of Security’ and the process involved below this short introductory video.
What is Circle of Security Parenting?
Circle of Security Parenting is a parent training course which focuses on developing and strengthening secure attachment relationships between parents and their children. It is based on the following premises:
- Human beings are hard-wired for relationships
- Parents have positive intentions to do the best for their children, and have an innate desire for their children to feel secure
- Our children’s needs can feel confusing, but are consistent and easy to see when we know what to look for
- The quality of the parent-child relationship shapes behaviour
- The way that we were parented affects how we parent, in ways that we can be unaware of. Security in our relationships with our children can be enhanced by becoming aware of our parenting strengths and struggles
Using DVD footage, handouts, and discussion, parents are encouraged to reflect on their parenting style, and learn how to enhance secure attachment relationships with their children. The development of secure attachment relationships can affect children’s confidence, friendships, close relationships, behaviour, learning and competence, stress management, and mental health.
What can I expect to learn?
Over the eight weeks, the goals of the program are to help you as a parent to:
- Increase the security of your attachment to your child
- Increase your ability to read your child’s cues
- Increase your empathy for your child
- Decrease negative beliefs about your child’s motivations, for example, ‘they’re being naughty to manipulate me’.
- Increase your capacity to self-reflect
- Increase your capacity to pause, reflect, and chose the most helpful parenting behaviours
- Increase your capacity to regulate stressful emotional states
- Increase your ability to recognize when your relationship with your child is not working, and help to repair it
- Increase your capacity to provide comfort when your child is in distress
What is covered across the eight sessions?
Session 1: Welcome to Circle of Security Parenting
Session 2: Exploring Our Children’s needs all the way around the circle
Session 3: ‘Being With’ on the circle – helping your child to manage their emotions
Session 4: ‘Being With’ infants on the circle
Session 5: The path to security
Session 6: Exploring our struggles
Session 7: Rupture and repair in relationships
Session 8: Summary and celebration
Who is it suitable for?
The course is suitable for any parent and child relationship; both for parents who are struggling with parenting, and for those who want to enhance already strong relationships. The material is aimed at parenting younger children but the principles are applicable to all ages, and remain relevant to ourselves as adults.