Online training via Zoom for the attachment-based Meaning of the Child (MotC) interview is offered in 2020 by the Cambridge Centre for Attachment (CCA). The program will be taught by Dr. Benedict Grey and Juliet Kesteven October through December, 2020. An optional follow up certification program will be available. Zoom class room sessions will be available to watch at any time convenient for participants who cannot attend the live sessions. The MotC interview is a parent-child attachment assessment.
MotC description
The Meaning of the Child interview is a brief attachment-based assessment which assesses the parent-child attachment relationship. Specifically, it assesses a parent’s attachment pattern, the parent’s level of sensitivity and responsiveness to their child, and the degree and form of control a parent may use with their child. It also assesses the ability of the parent to reflect on their parenting experiences and their own childhood experiences, and how those experiences might impact their parenting.
The MotC is based on attachment science principles from the Dynamic Maturational Model of Attachment and Adaptation (DMM) and reflective function (Peter Fonagy’s Mentalization) concepts. Similar to the Adult Attachment Interview (AAI), the MotC involves transcribing an interview of a parent and using AAI coding techniques to understand how the parent feels about and psychologically perceives their child. The data revealed by coding highlights where parenting improvements might be made.
Prerequisite training is not required. Attachment, psychology and social work backgrounds are not required. Prior training in DMM attachment science measures are not required. The program is useful for social workers, mental health therapists, occupational and physical therapists, psychologists, psychiatrists, as well as any parenting professional, lawyer or other legal professional.
The MotC is an good attachment assessment to learn if you are new to attachment science. It is also an excellent assessment to add to your existing assessment toolbox. Many forensic experts feel the MotC helps uncover critical and unique information which other assessments do not find.
Training program details
The online training involves six days of “classroom” time and weekly homework between classroom sessions, between October 5 and December 7, 2020. Class sessions will be by Zoom video meeting once a week in two 3-week blocks. The first block has one session each Monday on October 5, 12, and 19, 2020. The second block has one session each Monday on November 23, 30, and December 7, 2020. Each class session is 5.5 hours and the total class room time is 33 hours.
Live class room sessions are from 1:00 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. London time (BST). Thus, the sessions start live in Miami at 8:00 a.m., in Seattle at 5:00 a.m., in Sydney Australia on Tuesday at 8:00 p.m., and in Bangkok at 7:00 p.m.. The live sessions will happen over Zoom and will be recorded so participants who cannot attend the live sessions (some or all) can watch the Zoom session at any convenient time (asynchronously).
Cost for the program is £795 (about €879 Euros, $1,037 US dollars, $1,447 AUS dollars). The cost includes all teaching and materials (provided electronically). A reduced price is available for people who have taken the program before (contact the Cambridge Centre for Attachment for discount pricing).
You can find more information and register for the program at http://attachment.services/event/online-international-motc-training
Homework during program will involve coding interview transcripts. Follow up practice transcripts after the program will also be available.
This training program may offer additional live class sessions via Zoom during convenient times in the United States, Australia, and Asia if there is a sufficient number of attendees from the relevant time zone.
For more information:
The Meaning of the Child Interview homepage is at http://www.meaningofthechild.org/.
The Cambridge Centre for Attachment works closely with the University of Roehampton Attachment Studies programme where Dr. Ben Grey is the program convenor (director). The MotC training is a component in the Roehampton Master of Science in attachment studies. Ben Grey co-developed the MotC with Dr. Steve Farnfield.
Dr. Grey and Dr. Steve Farnfield introduced the interview in the following journal article:
Grey B, and Farnfield S, (2017), The Meaning of the Child Interview: A new procedure for assessing and understanding parent-child relationships of ‘at-risk families, Clinical Child Psychology and Psychiatry, Vol 22, Issue 2, pp. 204 – 218, DOI: 10.1177/1359104516633495. Available here through Research Gate.
For more information see the attachment studies short courses page at https://www.roehampton.ac.uk/professional-development-courses/attachment-studies-short-courses/. Contact Dr. Ben Grey directly for more information at benedict.grey@roehampton.ac.uk.
Dr. Grey’s introduction of the MotC in DMM Coffee House #14 is available for replay upon request to the Conflict Science Institute:
The Conflict Science Institute supports the work of Dr. Ben Grey, but is not associated with the Cambridge Centre for Attachment, nor Roehampton University, nor this attachment training online 2020.