Self-taught: Coding the Meaning of the Child Interview

A self-taught course. Start at any time and work through it at your own pace.

Redesigned to accompany 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 course requires the Introduction to the MotC (Principles of Practice), or previous MotC training.

It teaches the skills and understanding needed to use the Meaning of the Child Interview as a formal tool in practice: the process of analysing parental discourse, elicited by an interview, in order to make sense of the parent-child relationship. It extends the learning of the introductory course towards proficiency in coding — formally classifying and interpreting — the MotC. Those who complete the reliability test to the required standard may be accredited as reliable coders, and code for themselves or for others.

The course may also suit practitioners who have done earlier MotC training and now wish to work towards reliability; please choose the refresher ticket.

Course tutors: Dr Ben Grey and Juliet Kesteven.

How the course is taught

Teaching is asynchronous, from videos and course materials, with practice tuition supported by email, and participants work at their own pace. The course is arranged in two parts, so that interviews can be coded for practice in between. Taken together it is the equivalent of five days of teaching. Each participant is allocated a mentor to support the email practice, and the reliability test is certificated for those who want it.

Learning to classify parenting interviews using the MotC asks for commitment and self-motivation, since it is learned by doing as much as by being taught.

About the Meaning of the Child Interview

The MotC is a method of understanding the parent-child relationship through evaluating the way a parent thinks about their child. It uses a semi-structured interview in which parents talk about their child, their relationship with that child, and their parenting, which is then carefully analysed using a manualised system.

What participants say

“The MotC training was pivotal in increasing my knowledge of both attachment and the assessment of psychological risks posed to a child by their parent.”

Barry Tilzey
Consultant Practice Development Lead, London Borough of Wandsworth

“The Meaning of the Child Interview has proved to be one of the most powerful and informative clinical tools used in our clinical practice, and has helped make sense of some very complex cases. Dr Grey and Juliet Kesteven have a particularly engaging and effective teaching style, and a generous approach to sharing their extensive clinical and academic knowledge and experience.”

Dr Emma Hunnisett
Consultant Clinical Psychologist, Child and Family Psychology Clinic, Norwich

Booking and access

Tickets are paid securely by credit or debit card. A reduced rate is available to students, those who are unwaged, and those who have previously undertaken the MotC coding course. If you need us to invoice your employer, or would prefer to pay by bank transfer, please email enquiries@attachment.services.

You will get an automatic confirmation email on booking. Access instructions are sent out by us personally at the first available opportunity, usually within a few days, though occasionally a little longer over holiday periods. Please bear with us.

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.