Circle of Security

What is Circle of Security?

COS is an early intervention program designed to enhance attachment between parents/guardians and children. Built upon decades of research, COS sessions are intended to help increase a parent’s awareness of their children’s needs and whether their own responses meet those needs. This in turn positively impacts their children’s sense of safety and ability to receive emotional co-regulation and experience self-regulation.

Using the COSP™ model developed by the Circle of Security originators, our trained Facilitators work with parents and care-givers to help them to:

Understand their child’s emotional world by learning to read emotional needs
Support their child’s ability to successfully manage emotions
Enhance the development of their child’s self esteem
Honor the innate wisdom and desire for their child to be secure

Why is it helpful?

Here are some 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.