We are proud to be founding member of the Central New York Attachment Network, which offers the Circle of Security^® Parenting series in Oswego County and surrounding areas.

The Circle of Security is an internationally recognized intervention/prevention program for parents.

The COS understands that attachment security is one of the most important gifts that parents can give their children. When children trust that their parents will always be there for them, they are on trajectories for happy and healthy lives.

The COS gives parents the practical tools they need to be available, responsive, and sensitive caregivers. Parents learn the overall importance of attachment security and how to promote it in their children.

Program Summary

• The COS program is group-based: Parents will participate in 1½-hour group meetings once a week for 8 weeks with at least 5-10 other parents.
  • Week 1: Welcome to Circle of Security Parenting
  • Week 2: Exploring Our Children’s Needs All the Way Around the Circle
  • Week 3: “Being ‘With’ on the Circle”
  • Week 4: Being with Infants on the Circle
  • Week 5: The Path to Security
  • Week 6: Exploring Our Struggles
  • Week 7: Rupture and Repair in Relationships
  • Week 8: Summary and Celebration

• This program is meant for all parents: Biological parents, grandparents, adoptive parents, and foster parents can benefit from this program. Many themes discussed in the COS can be applied to a variety of different contexts.

• This program is based on enhancing strengths. The COS is non-judgmental and helps parents find their inner strengths to deal effectively with their children.

• COS groups are led by a certified COS Facilitator.

• The program is currently free to any parent/caregiver.

After graduating from the COS, parents should:

• Better understand their child’s emotions/behaviors and how to help their child manage them. Better manage tantrums and emotional fits. · Have more cooperation and joy with their child. · Engage in greater perspective taking and reflective functioning.

About the Circle of Security®

Since 1998, the Circle of Security^® program has aimed to promote secure child-parent attachment relationships. Its main goal is to translate decades of university-based attachment research into a user-friendly format for parents to learn how to provide both secure bases and safe havens for their children.  Empirical research describing the effectiveness of this parenting program has been published in Attachment & Human Development, the Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, and Development and Psychopathology. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Office on Child Abuse and Neglect (OCAN) has declared the COS a Reported Effective Program. More information about the COS program can be found at their website in the published book.