This flagship course provides a grounding in the conceptual foundations of Neufeld’s formulation of the attachment-based developmental approach. The three conceptual keys to making sense of children are addressed: attachment, vulnerability and maturation. Dr. Deborah MacNamara weaves these factors together into a three-dimensional map that can be used to locate children and teens developmentally as well as discover how to get them moving in the right direction. This course is designed for all those involved in raising, teaching and working with children and teens, and provides insight into working with stuck adults too.

The Neufeld Intensive Level 1 equips participants to use the constructs of attachment, maturation and vulnerability to view their kids and their problems three-dimensionally. Using this insight, we will move to opening doors for deep-rooted change. Participants will learn to recognize the signs of stuckness, determine the causes of this condition, and get children unstuck. Course participants are also equipped to use a working model of attachment that can be applied to children of all ages and levels of challenge, to assess for the appropriate depth and development of attachment, and to employ strategies for cultivating a context of connection with the immature. Although the course is focused on children and youth, the material applies to all ages and is applicable across all settings. This course consistently receives outstanding accolades from registrants and many return to reflect on the rich content.

The main objective is to make sense of the children in our care. Intervention must be based on insight if it is to transform children from inside out and be long lasting in its effects. The aim is do to more than simply modify behaviour but rather to unlock the processes of inner change. By removing the impediments to the innate maturational processes, we can lift the ceiling on functioning and move closer to realising the child`s developmental potential, whatever that may be. Some problems cannot be fixed but the stuckness surrounding the problem can still be addressed. The goal of this course is to equip the participants with the conceptual tools to make sense of kids and to provide the instruments of intervention that will bring lasting change.

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