I've taken two different versions of April Steele's Developing a Secure Self course. Each time I learned more about creating good, strong, attachment experiences in clients with unfortunate childhoods. (Most of my caseload!) April teaches assessment, therapeutic stance, and has scripted protocols for bringing clients' loving adult attention to their infant and toddler selves. Clients can take home Cd's of the soothing protocols to enhance their experience of loving containment. Most of my attachment disordered clients loved them. A few, with phobias of their smaller selves, hated them, until we did enough trauma work that they could accept all parts. No matter what kind of therapy you do, April's training manual and scripted Cd's are very helpful.
April just came out with a distant learning course, complete with DVDs of lecture, power-point, and wonderful client videos. Because she's "practicing for retirement", she's no longer doing in person training. Here's what she says about it:
"Imaginal Nurturing, Ego States, and Attachment: An Integrated Approach to Early Deficits is the most up-to-date material on the Developing a Secure Self approach. It is not simply a video of a workshop you were unable to attend, but rather was created specifically for distance learning. In it, you will have the opportunity to "sit in on" segments of numerous sessions with a client who generously allowed some of her therapy to be videotaped to foster the learning of other therapists in the Developing a Secure Self approach. Many other clinical examples are given throughout the training. There are also two experiential segments so you have some personal experience of what you will be asking clients to do.
The 12-hour program consists of 6 DVDs, 2 CDs, and a comprehensive 53-page manual. It requires only a DVD player and CD player. More information is available at http://april-steele.ca/training-information.php or you can contact April directly at april@april-steele.ca."
It's $200 and for a bit more you can get 12 CE's for taking the post-test. I think everyone should have this training. If you need consultation after the training, April is available by Skype or phone from her home on Gabriola Island in British Colombia.
I got it wrong. Since I last took the course, six years ago, it’s changed. There are no more scripted protocols, because April now teaches how to connect with every younger age of the client. (This is more the way I work with most clients.)
Yes, Developing a Secure Self is really an attachment-based ego state approach that helps the client develop a new relationship with self by facilitating positive experiences of connectedness in the present. The therapeutic relationship is recognized as being one of attachment.
This gentle approach complements trauma work beautifully and can be valuable in stabilizing clients who are not ready for working with memories. In the program we cover how to work with clients who reject the younger parts of self. My motto for therapists is “talk to the child!” because s/he is usually right there wanting acknowledgement. Thanks, Robin!