Advanced Attachment, the Brain and Behavior of Children with Trauma Histories

Level: Advanced Practice – (Lineworker, Supervisor, Manager)

Credits: 6

Intended Audience: Line workers, supervisors and managers who would like increased knowledge and skills regarding attachment, development of the brain and effective behavior management strategies for children with histories of trauma. Particularly indicated for those staff who work directly with birth parents and/or caregivers.

Description of Course: This course will look in depth at the attachment cycle, and the resulting foundational brain development for nurtured children, and for those children who have experienced chronic trauma. The class will also briefly explore compromised development of children with trauma histories, and will facilitate understanding of effective behavior management skills for this population.

Intended Objectives:

• The participant will understand and be able to apply attachment theory and resulting brain development when working with children
• The participant will be able to recognize compromised developmental domains in children with trauma histories
• The participant will understand and be able to demonstrate/explain why traditional behavior management strategies are largely ineffective for children with trauma histories
• The participant will be able to model discipline strategies that build connection and assist in strengthening foundational brain structure
• The participant will be able to facilitate caregivers’ understanding and use of relationship-based discipline strategies. (behaviorally specific using verbs such as list, describe, review)

Topics Include:

• Attachment Cycle and resulting foundational brain development, for nurtured/nonnurtured children
• Short review of developmental domains (physical, emotional, social, cognitive) and the impact of chronic trauma
• Traditional behavior management strategies (time-out, consequences of behavior, reward systems, etc)
• Philosophy of ‘re-parenting’ with relationship-based, connection-focused discipline