CareNet therapists Elizabeth “Betsey” Brooks, LCMHC, of the Piedmont Triad region, and Esmé Bieberly, LCMHC, of the Northwest region, say they expect to be able to use their recent training in the Circle of Security Parenting program to bring knowledge and skill to parents and caregivers.

Brooks says she learned about the training from Mark Siler, LCSW, a CareNet Western region therapist and fellow residency Class of 2022 member, who had taken the facilitator training in Asheville.

“I was interested in it because it sounded very simple and effective in providing psychoeducation and experiential learning on the topic of attachment theory in action that resonates with people,” Brooks says. “The content and its delivery are helpful in aiding understanding, facilitating mindset shifts and nurturing attachment.”

Circle of Security International is an early intervention program for parents and children founded by three clinicians in Washington state that offers training to people who work with children and parents. The training attended by Brooks and Bieberly was held at the Revolution Mill complex in Greensboro. Those who become Circle of Security facilitators such as Brooks and Bieberly offer parents and caregivers an eight-week “relationship program for caregivers” with 90-minutes sessions; the program uses Circle of Security video material and handouts to aid in the reflective process.

Brooks says one of her key takeaways from training is how the Circle of Security curriculum is not so much about skills as reflection.

“Participants are asked to dig deep and be vulnerable in their engagement,” she says. “I think this approach will be helpful in reinforcing the essential wisdom of the material, having it feel true and a combination of healing, hopeful and sustainable.”

Bieberly says she sees what she learned in training as being particularly helpful during her school-based therapy services.

“The children I see in this setting are often dealing with more challenging home environments or higher levels of trauma, or both, than my in-office clients,” she says. “I was initially intrigued by Circle of Security because I felt it had the potential to bridge a gap I’ve identified in my own therapeutic care when working with children—effectively supporting and resourcing parents and caregivers.

“Within the Circle of Security model, behavior modification is deemphasized in favor of understanding the attachment needs children may be communicating through their behavior. I appreciate the way COSP supports caregivers as they expand their capacity to identify, reflect upon and respond to the attachment needs that children express behaviorally.”

That, Bieberly says, nurtures secure attachment and connection in the process.

Brooks says she envisions the training helping her in her two different roles as a therapist in the Piedmont Triad.

“I am working on offering Circle of Security workshops at local Ralph Lauren facilities through my BestHealth for Business program role,” she says. CareNet is the behavioral health provider for businesses that contract with Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist’s BestHealth for Business program.

In addition, Brooks says, she believes what she learned through the Circle of Security program will help in her outpatient therapy in the Piedmont Triad region’s Kernersville office.

“The workshops will be offered to parents and guardians of children in their early youth,” she says.