Attachment and Caregiving-based Practice using the MotC

Newly redesigned to coincide with the publication of The Meaning of the Child Interview: Making Sense of Parent-Child Relationships, edited by Ben Grey (Palgrave Texts in Counselling and Psychotherapy, 2026).

This two-day course teaches participants how to use the MotC as a model for applying attachment and caregiving theory to child welfare, safeguarding or mental health practice. It offers a pathway for practitioners to think with their clients about the difficulties they encounter and to arrive at solutions. Report writing and feedback to parents are also covered.

Live online via Zoom, 17 to 18 May 2027, 10am to 4.30pm UK time. Sessions are recorded where possible.

Course tutors: Dr Ben Grey and Juliet Kesteven.

What the course covers

The approach of the MotC is not about providing a diagnosis of generalised pathology, but about building an in-depth understanding of resources and difficulties in the context in which they occur, from which to think about support, intervention and, in some cases, risk. The two days focus on using information gained from the MotC, or from case history and practice observations, to think about families and how to help them.

It does not teach or recommend a specific therapeutic approach. Instead it supports practitioners, in whatever service or context they work in, to use the MotC to make sense of parent-child relationships in ways that let them make the best use of the tools, powers and resources at their disposal.

The MotC can help in forensic and therapeutic settings by bringing to light the positive intentions of parents to offer love and nurture to their children, by giving insight into the obstacles the relationship faces, in particular the impact of traumatic experience, and by guiding work with parents to tackle problems in their lives and their parenting rather than blaming them for complex and multi-faceted difficulties. A more systemic and relational understanding of risk and of mental health can contribute to the broadest possible understanding of the challenges faced by everyone concerned with the welfare of a particular child or adult, without glossing over the need for effective action where it is warranted. Smith et al.’s 2018 study of the Norfolk PIMAP project shows how this kind of formulation-based approach using the MotC achieved significant reductions in children coming into care and in the need for child protective services, among children at high risk of removal, while also supporting better decisions about risk (see also McPherson et al. 2018). Therapeutically, the MotC approach has been directly incorporated into Attachment Narrative Therapy (see Dallos, ed., Attachment Narrative Therapy: Applications and Developments, Palgrave Macmillan, 2022) and Sensory Attachment Intervention (see Bhreathnach, Grey and West, ch. 14 in The Meaning of the Child Interview, 2026), among other approaches, but can be used to inform all those working with parents in any medium.

Who the course is for

Attendance at the MotC Introduction (Principles of Practice) course is required. Attendance at the Coding the MotC course, or previous full MotC training, is recommended. You do not need to be a reliable coder. The course can, however, lead to accreditation as an experienced coder, on submission of a coding report, confirmation of peer support and CPD arrangements, and a year of coding for others.

Booking and payment

The price includes course materials. Tickets are paid securely by credit or debit card. An early bird rate is available until the end of March 2027, and a reduced rate to students, those who are unwaged, and those returning as a refresher. If you need us to invoice your employer, or would prefer to pay by bank transfer, please email enquiries@attachment.services.

Cancellation

Should Cambridge Centre for Attachment need to cancel a training for any reason, a full refund will be issued.

Further information about the MotC is at meaningofthechild.org.