Lessons Learned from
the Circle of Security
Neil W. Boris, M.D.
Tulane University Health Sciences
Center and Institute for Infant and
Early Childhood Mental Health
www.infantinstitute.org
nboris@tulane.edu
Exploration with Colleagues!

Glen Cooper, Kent Hoffman, and Bert Powell


Center for Creative Intervention, Spokane, WA
Bob Marvin and Bill Whelan

Mary D. Ainsworth Child-Parent Attachment Clinic,
Charlottesville, VA
 www.circleofsecurity.org
Acknowledgements
My colleagues at Tulane
especially those at the
Tulane Institute for Infant
and Early Childhood
Mental Health…visit us
at www.infantinstitute.org

Exploration with Drug-Abusing
Mothers

A debt of gratitude to Veronica and the brave
mothers who have come into treatment

Perhaps the greatest gift is agreeing to share one’s
life story and struggles with others…
The Circle of Security is a Story of…



Passion and friendship
Technology as a tool for connection
Leveraging science and creativity to improve
clinical practice

Finally, an answer to how we can seamlessly link
careful assessment to intensive intervention!
The Circle Team set out to create
an intervention:
1.
2.
3.
4.
That is consistent with attachment theory and
research
That focuses on the caregiver as the partner in
the dyad with the greater degrees of freedom for
initiating change
That focuses on both the caregiver’s Internal
Working Models of self and child and on
his/her caregiving behavior
That can be used as either group or individual
therapy models
Components of Infant-Parent
Relationship
Developing
Attachment
System
RBaby
IBBaby
Adapted from Bruschweiler –
Stern and Stern, 1989
IBParent
What you see
RParent
What you
hear
What set attachment apart from
other developmental theories?

Linked to natural selection as driving force:


Protection of young = protection of genes
Based theory on observations; de-emphasized
the role of “meeting oral needs”
Ethology and Harry Harlow’s monkeys
 The concept of “imprinting” as a cross-species
phenomenon

Definition of Attachment




Inborn system— “feedback loop”
Operative throughout life
External goal in infancy is to balance
exploration and proximity to caregiver (“the
secure base”)
Internal goal to achieve sense of “felt security”
Circle of Security
Parent Attending to the Child’s Needs
I need
you to
I need
you to
Support My
Exploration




Watch over me
Help me
Enjoy with me
Delight in me
I need
you to
I need
you to




Protect me
Comfort me
Delight in me
Organize my feelings
Welcome My
Coming To You
© Cooper, Hoffman, Marvin and Powell, 2000
Experience in Relationships….


As our brain has evolved in complexity our
dependence at birth on caregivers has increased.
Each of us, as caregivers, have “working
models” in our minds--expectations and
emotions about relationships derived from
experience.
Attachment-- The “Internal
Working Model”
Story of the
Relationship
Attachment-- The “Internal
Working Model”




Relationship template (‘structure of the mind’)
Formed by experience (influenced by
temperament
genes?)
Accessible in adults by interview
Predicts later patterns of behavior in
relationships (stable though malleable)
Neural Plasticity
EXPERIENCE MOLDS THE BRAIN (and vice versa)
Schore, 1999
Peck, S. D. (2003) Measuring sensitivity moment-bymoment: A microanalytic look at the transmission of
attachment. Attachment and Human Development, 5, 3863.
Why All The Fuss?
1.
Selection of neuronal
pathways
2.
Emotions—development
and regulation
3.
Shaping of Internal Working
Models/Representations
Basics of COS Protocol



Pre-intervention videotaped, structured
assessment to inform treatment goals
Group-based parent education and
psychotherapy lasting ~20-weeks using
videotaped intervention
Goals of video review are to:
increase sensitivity to the child’s cues
 increase self-other reflective capacity
 explore new representations and interaction patterns

Assessment

Strange Situation Procedure


Augmented with a cleanup of toys, a reading session
and blowing bubbles!
Narrative Interview-Circle of Security Interview
Parent perception about their child’s needs, their
relationship with the child and childhood
relationship with their own caregivers
 Other narrative interviews (e.g., the Working Model
of the Child Interview, Insightfulness Assessment)
are equally useful

Platforms for COS Intervention-I

Susan McDonough’s Interaction Guidance
One of the earliest parent-infant therapies that used
videotape to build relationship
 Therapy focused relentlessly on positive moments of
connection in order to engage caregivers

Platforms for COS InterventionII

Attachment Research
Both study of interactive behavior using the Strange
Situation Procedure, and…
 Study of the importance of representations in
shaping parental behavior, and…
 Study of the importance of reflective capacity in
reshaping representations.

Platforms for COS Intervention-III

Parent-Child Psychotherapy, for which goals
include:


Gaining an understanding of how parents
experiences are impacting perceptions, feelings, and
behaviors toward infant
Changes are sought at 3 levels:
representation of the child
 representation of the self as parent
 representation of the self as adult individual

Leveraging Group Process

Insights of peers can be incredibly helpful
Distancing from the “expert” (who may not be
trusted)
 Sense of shared challenge in parenting is a huge
benefit



Welcome to the Club
Seeing the struggles (and successes) of others is
highly motivating and can also externalize painful
patterns so that they can be ‘seen’
Welcome to the Club
Being a parent may just be the most difficult job on the planet.
Everyday, parents – the world over – want the best for their
children. And everyday, parents – the world over – fail to meet
some of the needs of their children. “Help me” moments go
unseen. “Watch over me” moments get interrupted. “Comfort
me” and “Organize my feelings” moments end up being pushed
away, or lost in the rush and stress of everyday life.
Welcome to the club.
Of course, it’s hard to know that we make mistakes. The good news
is that as parents, we all have an inner wisdom that helps us work
with these mistakes.
Excerpt from a reading that is part of the group
Let’s Meet Veronica




Woman in her late 30’s; mother of 5 children, 4
of whom are in custody of the State
15-month old named Dalton is with her in a
residential treatment program
Participates in a weekly open-ended Circle of
Security group which is held on site at the
treatment program
3 year history of cocaine dependence, major
depression and chronic pain
COSI
Veronica’s Representational World
Hurt,
Ashamed
and Empty
“He
doesn’t
need me”
I am a
failure as
a mother
Old Working
Model
Self
Protection
Reflective
Dialogue
Confident
and
Worthy
He needs
me and
will signal
me
I can read
his signals
and
respond
New
Working
Model
What About Interactive Behavior?

Veronica will need to see how her wish to have
her son “fill her void” is influencing her
behavior
She is very intrusive
 He is very avoidant
 She experiences his avoidance as not “needing her”
and, with the weight of having lost her other
children, pushes harder for connection

R2 Clip
Circle of Limited Security
Child Anxious about the Parent’s Needs
First Things First
1.
2.
Establish a “Holding Environment” for the Parent
Provide Parent a User-friendly Map of Secure
Parent-Child Interaction……….
Technology as a Tool for Connection

Current editing software allow for extremely
creative approaches to engagement

Adobe Premiere Elements is available at reasonable
cost with incredible ease-of-use even for non-geeks
like me!
Beauty Tape!
COS Protocol Sequence
1.
2.
Establish a “Holding Environment” for the Parent
Provide Parent a User-friendly Map of Secure
Parent-Child Interaction……….
Circle of Security
Parent Attending to the Child’s Needs
I need
you to
I need
you to
Support My
Exploration




Watch over me
Help me
Enjoy with me
Delight in me
I need
you to
I need
you to




Protect me
Comfort me
Delight in me
Organize my feelings
Welcome My
Coming To You
© Cooper, Hoffman, Marvin and Powell, 2000
COS Protocol Sequence
1.
2.
Establish a “Holding Environment” for the
Parent
Provide Parent a User-friendly Map of Secure
Parent-Child Interaction
--Then, through video review of her child and herself—
3.
4.
5.
Develop the Parent’s Observational Skills
Increase Parental Reflective Functioning
Facilitate an Empathic Shift in the Parent Toward
the Child
Specific Goals of the Videotape Reviews
• To enhance the parents’ feeling of being understood,
valued and supported while reducing their anxiety
regarding criticism and humiliation
• To engage the parents in reflective dialogue (“Reflective
Capacity”)
• To increase the parents’ ability to have empathy for their
children even when their children’s needs make the
parent uncomfortable
• To help the parents develop a sense of themselves as
successful in responding to their children’s needs
Support and Reflect with Veronica

Need to help Veronica see that her need to make
up for losing her other kids by pushing Dalton
to “bond” is not going to work
Can she understand the link between intrusiveness
and avoidance?
 Can she tone down the pressure she feels and
respond to his cues not her own fear?
 Can she understand what it has been like for him to
live through her depression and drug abuse?

Going Deeper

There are moments in our interactions with
others during which the needs of the other set
off a reaction


Perhaps fear, withdrawal, dread, anger etc
These moments are EXPLICITLY recognized
using the theme song from the Movie “Jaws”

Parents learn half-way through the group about
“shark music”—the idea that each of us has
moments in which we hear the Jaws theme
Behavior and Emotion
Regulation Across Development
Mutual
regulation:
Regulated
with the
help of the
caregiver
Selfregulation
of behavior
and
emotions
Trauma May
Impair Both
Mutual and SelfRegulation
Shark Music



This concept becomes a central focus of the
Tape Review for each parent
Moments of struggle, of missed opportunity are
reviewed and the parent is asked to think about
their response and why it occurred.
These are key moments in the reflective dialogue
and it is here that the “empathic shift” is sought
Tape Review 2
Circle of Limited Security
Child Anxious about the Parent’s Needs
Circle of Limited Security
Child Anxious about the Parent’s Needs
STEPPING OFF THE CIRCLE…..
Celebrating Change


Goal is to highlight shifts in behavior and to
create a “living memory” of progress
One effective method is a music video of key
moments…
F/U reunion and Song
Attachment-Based Therapy



The Circle of Security model not only provides
a roadmap of attachment that parents can
understand and relate to….
The model ALSO supports the therapist by
providing a protocol to follow
The use of video ‘externalizes’ the struggles and
allows the therapist to face the caregiver’s
struggles with them
Applications of the COS-I

Open-ended groups
Well-suited to certain situations including substanceabuse programs
 Requires more of the therapist in that there is
constant “catching up” of new group members and
need for recreating the holding environment serially

Applications of the COS-II

Model being used in individual or couples’
therapy

Allows for wider latitude to explore related themes

Ability to focus on issues like abdication of hands on the
circle and role reversal
Loses the “punch” of group input
 Can add in parenting partners more easily than with
groups

Applications of the COS-III

Focus on different child age groups
Infants using the Still Face procedure as key to
interactive assessment
 School-aged children using Story Stems as key to
interactive assessment
 Adolescents using “Relational Play” procedures or
shared narratives

CIRCLE OF SECURITY
PARENT ATTENDING TO THE CHILD’S NEEDS
I need
you to...
 Monitor me (texting!)
 Delight in me
 See cues for help but
ask before helping
 Enjoy with me
Support My
Exploration
I need
you to...
Welcome My
Coming To You




Help me protect myself
Comfort me
Delight in me
Organize my feelings
Always: be BIGGER, STRONGER, WISER, and KIND.
Whenever possible: follow my child’s need.
Whenever necessary: take charge.
© 2000 Cooper, Hoffman, Marvin & Powell
安全感の輪
子どもの要求に目を向けよう
こういう
ことをして
欲しいな
みててね
手伝ってね
緒に楽しんでね
緒に喜ぼうよ
いろんなことを
するからみててね
こういう
ことをして
欲しいな
まもってね
なぐさめてね
大好きってうけとめて
気持ちを落ち着かせてね
今行くから
おいでよって
待っててね
いつだって:子どもより大きく、子どもより強く、子どもより賢く、
そして優しい存在でいよう。
できるときは:子どもの要求にこたえよう。
必要なときは：毅然とふるまおう。
Bibliography on The Circle of
Security

www.circleofsecurity.org

Cooper, G., Hoffman, K., Powell, B. and Marvin, R. (2005) The
Circle of Security intervention: Differential diagnosis and
differential treatment. In Berlin, L.J., Ziv, Y., Amaya-Jackson, L.
M., & Greenberg, M. T. (eds.) Enhancing early attachments:
Theory, research, intervention, and policy. New York: Guilford
Press.
Marvin, R., Cooper, G., Hoffman, K., and Powell, B. (2002) The
Circle of Security project: Attachment based therapy with
caregiver-pre-school child dyads. Attachment & Human
Development 4(1):107–124

nboris@tulane.edu