Circle of Security Facilitator Training

The Circle of Security Parenting training is open to professionals and paraprofessionals alike. Each provider will learn to use an eight-chapter video-based manualized program that presents examples of secure and problematic parent/child interaction, healthy options in caregiving, and animated graphics designed to clarify principles central to COS. Circle of Security Parenting implements decades of attachment research in an accessible step-by-step process for use in group settings, home visitation, individual counseling, among many other applications.

Next Training:

Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, all U.S-based COSP training are currently being held online. Please visit the Circle of Security International for information on upcoming trainings.

Watch a sample of the DVD:

Training Details

For more information, please contact: Nancy Sowa at [email protected]

Anyone providing parenting education and/or counseling to parents of young children can benefit from training in the Circle of Security Parenting approach – including social workers, pediatricians, early childhood educators, marriage and family therapists, mental health counselors, home visitors, family support workers, outreach workers and behavior support specialists.

Circle of Security® Parenting can be used with individuals and in groups, in agencies or private practice, and in a variety of community settings, such as preschools, primary schools, faith-based organizations, adoption agencies, pediatric or OB/gyn offices, La Leche League, mental health clinics, substance abuse programs, departments of social services, prisons, public health clinics, community health centers, and family medicine practices.

  1. To learn how to facilitate the COSP 2018 edition.
  2. Describe the attachment research that provides the underpinnings for the Circle of Security® Parenting program.
  3. To review the theory and science behind COSP.
  4. To practice seeing attachment behavior and guessing about attachment need so as to further develop your observational skills and those of caregivers.
  5. To gain a deeper understanding of the Path to Secure Attachment and the important role that facilitators play in helping caregivers learn COSP.
  6. To learn how to use the COSP video clips to help deepen the learning for parents as you unpack what is Hidden in Plain Sight--the Circle of Security.
  7. To consider the theory behind the development of the language of COSP including concepts like Being With (affect co-regulation), Shark Music (state of mind), Limited Top, Bottom and Hands (insecure and disorganized attachment), Rupture and Repair (building coherence).
  8. To practice reflection to improve your facilitator skills.
  9. To use a Reflection Journal to guide your journey of discovery and enhance your learning experience.

Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, all U.S.-based COSP training are currently being held online. Please visit the Circle of Security International for information on upcoming trainings.

$1,000. Group discounts are available.

To encourage participation by North Carolina non-profit organizations serving disadvantaged families with young children, the Psychoanalytic Center of the Carolinas will award grants to selected NC non-profit organizations to cover half ($500) of the cost of tuition for up to two staff members or volunteers from each organization. Organizations must commit to delivering at least two Circle of Security® Parenting™ groups to the community in the year following completion of the training.

All scholarships that were available for the March, 2020 training have been awarded, and will be honored. Please contact Nancy Sowa, PCC Programs Manager, with questions about scholarships: [email protected].

For online trainings, go to COSP Live Online Training. For questions, contact the COSI Registrar at [email protected].

 The course has been approved for 24 CEU hours, and you should anticipate that it will take approximately 24 hours of work to complete the content.