Raising a Secure Child

Today’s parents are constantly pressured to be perfect. But in striving to do everything right, we risk missing what children really need for lifelong emotional security. Now the simple, powerful “Circle of Security” parenting strategies that Kent Hoffman, Glen Cooper, and Bert Powell have taught thousands of families are available in self-help form for the first time.

You will learn: How to balance nurturing and protectiveness with promoting your child’s independence. What emotional needs a toddler or older child may be expressing through difficult behavior. How your own upbringing affects your parenting style—and what you can do about it.

Filled with vivid stories and unique practical tools, this book puts the keys to healthy attachment within everyone’s reach—self-understanding, flexibility, and the willingness to make and learn from mistakes. Self-assessment checklists can be downloaded and printed for ease of use.

Mental health professionals, see also The Circle of Security Intervention, written for practitioners working with parents and young children.

Author Biography

Kent Hoffman, RelD, has been a psychotherapist since 1972. Certified in psychoanalytic psychotherapy by The Masterson Institute in New York City, he has worked with prison and homeless populations as well as adults seeking psychoanalytic psychotherapy. His primary focus since the 1990s has been working with and designing treatment interventions for street-dependent teens with young children. The underlying theme of his life’s work can be found in a TEDx talk titled “Infinite Worth.” Since 1985, Dr. Hoffman has had a shared clinical practice in Spokane, Washington, with Glen Cooper and Bert Powell. Together, they have created and disseminated the Circle of Security, for which each has received the New York Attachment Consortium’s Bowlby–Ainsworth Award, among other honors. They are coauthors of The Circle of Security Intervention (for mental health professionals) and Raising a Secure Child: How Circle of Security Parenting Can Help You Nurture Your Child’s Attachment, Emotional Resilience, and Freedom to Explore (for parents).

Glen Cooper, MA, has worked as a psychotherapist with individuals and families in both agency and private practice settings since the 1970s. He has extensive training in family systems, object relations, attachment theory, and infant mental health assessment. Mr. Cooper also works as a treatment foster parent and long-time Head Start consultant. Since 1985, he has had a shared clinical practice in Spokane, Washington, with Kent Hoffman and Bert Powell. Much of their work has focused on the creation and dissemination of the Circle of Security, for which each has received theNew York Attachment Consortium’s Bowlby–Ainsworth Award, among other honors. They are coauthors of The Circle of Security Intervention (for mental health professionals) and Raising a Secure Child: How Circle of Security Parenting Can Help You Nurture Your Child’s Attachment, Emotional Resilience, and Freedom to Explore (for parents). Bert Powell, MA, began his clinical work as an outpatient family therapist in a community mental health center, where he helped a broad range of families find and use unacknowledged strengths to address their problems. Mr. Powell is certified in psychoanalytic psychotherapy by The Masterson Institute in New York City. He is Adjunct Assistant Professor in the Graduate School of Counseling Psychology at Gonzaga University and serves as an international advisor to the editorial board of the Journal of Attachment and Human Development. Since 1985, he has had a shared clinical practice in Spokane, Washington, with Kent Hoffman and Glen Cooper. Much of their work has focused on the creation and dissemination of the Circle of Security, for which each has received the New York Attachment Consortium’s Bowlby–Ainsworth Award, among other honors. They are coauthors of The Circle of Security Intervention (for mental health professionals) and Raising a Secure Child: How Circle of Security Parenting Can Help You Nurture Your Child’s Attachment, Emotional Resilience, and Freedom to Explore (for parents). Christine M. Benton is a Chicago-based writer and editor.