Trauma and Attachment Training

Latest research suggests that early childhood trauma should be treated as a public health crisis. The Journal of the American Medical Association suggests early childhood trauma, should be viewed as influenza or hepatitis is viewed, as the outcomes are as or more severe. All of the research suggests that children who have experienced trauma, are disadvantaged in later life, much higher risk of attachment issues, addictions, mental health issues and poverty. Again adults who have experienced trauma as a child are likely to experience health problems, participate in risky behaviour, struggle financially, and have violent relationships or problems making friends. And the more childhood trauma a person experienced, the more likely they were to have those problems in adulthood.

Disrupted and anxious attachment not only leads to emotional and social, problems, but also results in biochemical consequences in the developing brain. Infants raised without loving touch and security have abnormally high levels of stress hormones, which can impair the growth and development of their brains and bodies.

The neurobiological consequences of emotional neglect can leave children behaviourally disordered, depressed, apathetic, slow to learn, and prone to chronic illness. Compared to securely attached children, attachment disordered children are significantly more likely to be aggressive, disruptive and antisocial.

Disruption of attachment during the crucial first three years of life can lead to what has been called “affectionless psychopathy”, the inability to form meaningful emotional relationships, coupled with chronic anger, poor impulse control, and a lack of remorse.

This course focuses on understanding children who have experienced trauma and a lack of secure attachments using therapeutic caring practices in order to provide the children and young people what they need to develop positively.

This course meets the requirements of the Training, Support and Development Standards for foster care: 3.4 b, 5.1 a, b, c, 5.6 c, 6.3 b, 7.3 d, e