Neufeld`s Model of Attachment

Sessions: 4 

Lecture: 5h 43m

Certificate: 8+ hrs

100 CAD

This course unfolds Neufeld's ground-breaking model of attachment – the result of decades of synthesis, inspired by the physical and natural sciences, and built upon the most recent understandings of the brain, emotion and development. In distilling the drive for togetherness to its essence, it expands into a comprehensive model that applies universally to every human arena where relationship exists or should exist.

As is the case with all our courses, this course features lectures by Dr. Neufeld, carefully curated support for enriched study, study aides, the opportunity to ask questions of trained faculty or course facilitators, a year's access to the campus to enable study at one's own pace, and a certificate of attendance upon completion. For more information, consult the 'about our courses' page.

COURSE SUMMARY

Reaching deep into the physical and natural sciences, Dr. Neufeld's breakthrough model of attachment is inspired by two of the most powerful illustrations of attachment in the natural world - the atom and the plant - and built upon a solid conceptual foundation provided by current understandings of the brain, emotion and development. Once attachment is distilled to the essence, a comprehensive model unfolds to capture all the dynamics and nuances of the drive for togetherness as applied to the human experience. Neufeld's model offers a refreshing alternative to more restricted typology models of attachment as well as to the prevailing non-attachment models of learning and disorder. What is surprising is how easy Neufeld's model of attachment is to use, both for making sense of ourselves and others, as well as for guiding effective interaction.

Attachment has always been our primary drive as well as the primary context for living, but like any context, is seldom put into the kind of words that can generate insight and interaction. As science continues to confirm over and over again, there is no more important factor in parenting, teaching or treatment, than relationship. Dr. Neufeld's model of attachment brings what was previously only in our instinctive unconscious or stored as cultural wisdom, into the forefront of our consciousness where we can harness its phenomenal power to fulfill our responsibilities. The time for a consciousness of attachment is now, and this course promises to bring the best of the science of relationship to those who should be in the know.

Models of human behaviour are evaluated not only upon a lack of conflicting evidence, but also upon their power to explain and predict, and the clarity of implications for practice. This model has received high praise on all accounts. The implications for implementation are certainly clear and, in many cases, surprisingly opposite to current practice. In addition, this model of attachment sheds light on various dynamics and phenomena that have puzzled experts for years.

SUITABILITY/APPLICABILITY

These insights and resulting practices are applicable to every venue – home, school and treatment, as well as every age group – infancy through old age. As always, Dr. Neufeld focuses on how problems develop in childhood and adolescence as a way of creating a foundation for healing and treatment throughout the lifespan. Although the course is addressed primarily to helping professionals and educators, the material is very helpful to parents as well as for self-understanding and healing.

SAMPLE TOPICS

  • how the capacity for relationship is developed and what can go wrong
  • the stress response as viewed through the lens of attachment
  • the profound emotional impact of threats to togetherness
  • the fundamental role of attachment in anxiety and aggression
  • how attachment becomes sexualized and what can go wrong
  • the instincts of counterwill and shyness as serving attachment
  • how the quest for sameness is a derivative of attachment
  • how the quest for significance is a derivative of attachment
  • the phenomenon of peer orientation and its impact
  • how social media is a derivative of attachment
  • how attachment becomes depersonalized into fixes and fixations
  • how bullying can result from alpha attachment instincts gone awry
  • the role of defensive detachment and shyness in reactive attachment disorder

COURSE OUTLINE

The course is structured into 4 sessions with each session including approximately 1 ½ hours of instructional video by Dr. Neufeld.

  • Session 1 – The WORK of Attachment
    There is no way of truly making sense of attachment – and what can go wrong - without having a sense of its purpose in our lives. In this session we uncover the foundational role of attachment in survival, in caring, in stress and in the spontaneous unfolding of human potential.
  • Session 2 – The NATURE of Attachment
    There are three basic properties of attachment that must be understood to truly make sense of human behaviour: its developmental nature, its hierarchical nature, and its polarized nature.
  • Session 3 – The POWER of Attachment
    Attachment is the most powerful force in the universe. This is obvious when thinking of the physical forces of attachment: gravity, fusion and magnetism. This is less obvious when invisible in human relationships, but no less true, for better or for worse.
  • Session 4 – The INSTRUMENTS of Attachment
    A viable model of attachment should not only provide insight into ourselves and others, but also have clear implications for implementation and practice.

Inquiries

If you have questions or require additional information that you cannot find on our website or FAQ page, you may contact our office on our Inquiries page.

Charity & Non-Profit Status

The Neufeld Institute is a registered Canadian charitable organization under the name Neufeld Institute Foundation and is also registered as a NPO in British Columbia. If you would like to make a contribution to us, please go to our donation page.

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