Foundations of Narrative Attachment Assessment with Adults

Facilitated by Prof. Jenn McIntosh

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.

Facilitator
Prof. Jenn McIntosh is Professor of Systemic Practice (Family Therapy) at the Bouverie Centre, La Trobe University and is a clinical and developmental psychologist, family therapist, and researcher. She has a particular interest in research translation and making developmental theories “user friendly”, enabling parents, carers and professionals to consider the experience of children more sensitively in the context of family trauma. Jenn has a strong publication and category 1-4 grant track. In 2019, Professor McIntosh was appointed as a Member of the Order of Australia for her contribution to child developmental psychology.

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.