Applying Attachment, Trauma and Mentalization Principles in Social Work Practice
This two-day training programme equips practitioners with practical, evidence-informed approaches to understanding and supporting families through the lenses of attachment, mentalization and trauma. Participants leave with a range of tools, reflective exercises and practice frameworks that can be applied immediately within assessment, intervention and supervision.
Day 1: Attachment and Mentalization
Applying Attachment Theory
Explore how attachment influences child development, emotional regulation and parent-child relationships. This workshop helps practitioners apply attachment theory to assessments and interventions, while also reflecting on how their own attachment patterns may influence professional practice. Participants receive practical supervision questions and implementation checklists to support ongoing practice.
Applying Mentalization
Develop an understanding of mentalization and its role in strengthening relationships with families. Practitioners learn practical tools to explore the parents’ capacity to connect with their children’s thoughts, feelings and behaviours, while supporting them to better understand their children’s emotional experiences. The session also encourages reflective practice and provides supervision resources and checklists to embed a mentalizing approach.
Day 2: Attachment Trauma and Integrating Practice
Applying an Attachment Trauma Framework
Learn how unresolved childhood trauma can shape parenting behaviours, relationships and engagement with professionals. This workshop explores how to move beyond being trauma-informed practice towards becoming trauma-responsive, providing practical guidance for discussing childhood experiences with parents and implementing relationship-based practice.
Bringing the Frameworks Together
The final workshop integrates attachment, mentalization and trauma into a cohesive approach to assessment and intervention. Using a structured observation tool and case-based learning, participants apply the frameworks to real practice scenarios, developing formulations and support plans that can be translated directly into their work with families.
Feedback
‘I highly recommend Dr Alice’s training for organisations who want to develop their staff into curious and empathetic professionals. The training helped workers better understand important theories around attachment that made sense to them in their daily practice. We now have better tools and language to be focussed in our support and, more importantly we can better understand the likely future harm. The post training focus groups have allowed us to check back with Dr Alice on how we have used our knowledge and skills in practice, which is invaluable to maintain learning. Everyone from support workers / ASYE’s, as well as those well into their careers were motivated and enthusiastic after the training, and I continue to hear the concepts used in conversations, that tells me it has made a difference’
‘I had the pleasure of working with Alice Loving in the curriculum team at Frontline, where her insights were instrumental in shaping a curriculum that empowers social workers with the empathy and skills needed to support marginalised families. Alice’s ability to navigate complex topics and translate them into accessible, engaging learning opportunities is truly impressive. I would highly recommend Alice to anyone seeking high-quality training in these areas. She brings professionalism, creativity, and an ability to connect with her audience, ensuring that complex concepts are not just understood but applied effectively.’
‘Alice has a real understanding of the parents and families we work with and their needs. Her insight into this means that the tools she has developed and shared are practical and doable within our busy roles and can be implemented straight away to make a real difference’
Ongoing Learning
To support implementation beyond the training, optional monthly reflective focus groups are available. These sessions provide opportunities to discuss cases, explore challenges, refine practice and receive ongoing guidance in applying the course tools and frameworks.
‘The focus groups have taken place on a monthly basis following the training Alice has provided. These have been invaluable in supporting practitioners to embed the tools, knowledge and skills learnt within the training. The focus groups provide practitioners with a space to reflect on how to structure conversations with parents using the tools, what to focus on within particular situations and the opportunity to plan their next session with a family, or reflect on what they have learnt so far and where to go next when they are feeling ‘stuck’. They also serve as a reminder about what the tools are and what context they can be used in, so even if they are not discussing a family they are working directly with, it provides reminders and prompts for how to embed the learning with families they are working with’.