Foundations of Narrative Attachment Assessment with Adults

This workshop takes you through narrative, projective and questionnaire methods for assessing teen and adult attachment, with case examples. Validated methods for including attachment in clinical assessments are described and practiced, and interventions to support dyadic attachment security in families are detailed.

Prof. Jenn McIntosh shares ideas for clinical application of the Gold Standards Frameworks including the Strange Situation, the Adult Attachment Interview and scales designed for clinicians to observe and monitor the progress of attachment relationships.

What will you learn?
You will be exposed to Gold Standard observational and narrative methods that are invaluable assets in any clinical tool kit, when supporting relational security is a shared goal.

Relevant Audience
Practitioners from a diverse spectrum of service contexts across the life-course, involved in supporting relational health between parents/carers and infants, children, and teens, and between adult family members.

Familiarity with foundational attachment concepts is an advantage but not a pre-requisite.

Workshop Style
This is full day interactive workshop. Art and science of attachment observation across the life-course is described and practiced in large and small groups. There is an opportunity for questions about the application to diverse contexts and populations.

Facilitator
Jenn McIntosh (PhD, AM) is the inaugural Professor of Systemic Practice and Family Therapy at The Bouverie Centre, La Trobe University, and is the Director of the Melbourne Attachment and Caregiving Lab, Australian Temperament Project – Generation 3 study. Jenn is a clinical psychologist, family therapist and researcher, with a particular interest in translation, specifically making developmental and family theories ‘user friendly’.

Over 35 years, Jenn has also developed and delivered extensive training programs nationally and internationally. She has worked closely with the child and adolescent mental health, child protection and out-of-home care, family law, and family relationships sectors. In 2019, she was awarded a Member of the Order of Australia for her services to developmental psychology.