Tag: attachment theory
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Therapeutic Love In Residential Child Care, with Kate Brown
The word “love” can feel risky in child protection, but we keep coming back to it because the best care is never just a checklist. I’m joined by Kate Brown, an attachment-based psychoanalytic psychotherapist and supervisor, former therapeutic community practitioner, and editor-in-chief of the Attachment journal. Kate also completed a PhD on the Cotswold Community,…
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Residential Care Should Be A Thoughtful First Choice For Some Kids, with Martha Holden
“Residential care is the last resort” sounds like a policy line, but it lands as a verdict on children and on the people who care for them. In this podcast conversation, Co-Director of the Residential Child Care Project at Cornell University, Martha Holden, and I push back on that idea and explore what happens when…
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Small Moments Build Safety And Hope, with Mary-anne Hodd
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in Care Leavers & Aftercare | The Secure Start Podcast, Care-Experienced Voices | The Secure Start Podcast, Child Protection Services | The Secure Start Podcast, Foster Care & OOHC | The Secure Start Podcast, Residential Child Care | The Secure Start Podcast, Trauma Informed Care | The Secure Start Podcast, Trauma Informed Practice | The Secure Start PodcastA child can walk into a house with a full fridge and a clean bed and still feel terrified. That’s the gap we’re trying to close, and it’s why this conversation matters. I’m joined by Mary-anne Hodd, founder of Journeys That Care, a CPD accredited training and consultancy that blends lived experience with psychology, teaching,…
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Making The Unbearable Bearable In Trauma-Informed Care, with Dr Laura Steckley
When people are overwhelmed, they don’t need a lecture. They need someone who can help them think again. That’s the heart of our conversation with Dr Laura Steckley, a leading researcher in therapeutic residential childcare, as we tackle one of the most misunderstood ideas in trauma-informed practice: containment. We start by naming the problem. “Containment”…
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What Children In Care Say Matters Most – Lisa Holmes
Rethinking Outcomes In Care Children’s social care often treats “outcomes” as whatever can be counted: placement moves, school results, budgets, compliance targets. In this Secure Start Podcast conversation, Colby Pearce and Professor Lisa Holmes push back on that narrow frame and argue for trauma-informed care that starts with care-experienced voices. When we ask children and…
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Attachment in Supervision – Dr Alex Rowell
Recently, I had the opportunity to speak to Dr Alex Rowell on The Secure Start Podcast, on the topic of attachment informed supervision. Alex was a highly engaging and informed speaker on the topic of supervision, and I took a lot from him I hope you do too. How Supervisors Create A Secure Base For…
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How Barbara Docker-Drysdale Built Therapeutic Skill In Care Teams – John Whitwell
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in Foster Care & OOHC | The Secure Start Podcast, Leadership in Children’s Services | The Secure Start Podcast, Residential Child Care | The Secure Start Podcast, Social Care Management | The Secure Start Podcast, Supervision in Social Care | The Secure Start Podcast, Trauma Informed Care | The Secure Start Podcast, Trauma Informed Management | The Secure Start Podcast, Trauma Informed Practice | The Secure Start PodcastThe Consultant Who Changed A Community Barbara Docker-Drysdale, often called Mrs D or Pip, shaped modern therapeutic communities by focusing less on “fixing” children directly and more on building therapeutic skill in the adults around them. At the Cotswold Community she was brought in as a consultant psychotherapist to work primarily with staff teams, meeting…
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What If Behaviour Is Just Armour For Hurt? Vicki McKeown
What If Behaviour Is Just Armour For Hurt? Shame sits at the heart of so many behaviours we worry about, yet most systems still respond to the surface and miss the story underneath. This conversation turns a clear eye to shame as part of the attachment system, showing how fear of rejection ignites protective strategies…
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What if Child Safeguarding Began with Love? A Podcast Interview with Carla Keyte
What if Child Safeguarding Began with Love? What if the most powerful safeguarding tool isn’t another form, but a steady adult who shows up with love? That’s the heart of my conversation with Carla Keyte, founder of Lighthouse and a leading voice in UK residential care, as we unpack how safe, stable, loving homes are…
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Truth First: Caring Beyond The System – A Podcast interview with Louise Allen
Louise Allen shares powerful insights into care leaver voice, identity, belonging and systemic reform. We discuss trauma, hope, and what genuinely improves outcomes for young people after care. Authentic, challenging and full of lived-experience wisdom.
