Hope Street's TBRI® Caregiver Mindfulness

Ashley DeClue

Christy Sellers (Instructor)

Jennifer Bradstreet

Lesley Matheson (Instructor)

TBRI® In Depth: Caregiver Mindfulness

In times of stress, children and caregivers might lean on survival strategies and “maladaptive” coping skills as reactions to difficult moments. This stress response often has origins in our relational attachment styles, which were established in our early years of life. Even for caregivers with a history of secure attachment, or for those who have done significant self-work to become “earned secure,” an acute life event or accumulated stressors can disrupt an otherwise healthy pattern of relating and regulating if left unattended.

In “TBRI® In Depth: Caregiver Mindfulness,” we will use the framework of Trust-Based Relational Intervention® (TBRI®) to explore how and why insecure attachment styles might manifest during stressful times for children and caregivers. We will examine how TBRI® shifts the paradigm for caregiver and child from “maladaptive behavior” to “survival strategy.” We will develop an awareness of how these strategies often impede connection and healing when they are unaddressed, and consider trauma-informed mindfulness strategies for fostering connection, felt-safety, and mutual healing. We will define and normalize relationship “ruptures” as opportunities for re-dos. We will explore the “good enough” caregiver, and the healing potential of imperfect caregiving. In this way, we will promote mindfulness, self-compassion, and self-awareness as models for healing for children, families, and caregivers.

Prerequisite: Must have previously attended a 2, 4, 8, or 18-hour TBRI® Training by Hope Street. This training builds on previous presentations, and background knowledge is required.

Objectives:

1. Understand how and why stressors might activate insecure attachment styles in caregivers and children;

2. Develop an awareness of how these “survival strategies” might impede connection, healing, and growth when they are not addressed;

3. Define and normalize relationship ruptures;

4. Promote mindfulness, self-compassion, and self-awareness in caregivers as models for healing;

5. Identify strategies to foster connection, felt-safety, and mutual healing between caregivers and children.