Promoting Attachment and Wellbeing Part 2: In Practice for Dietitians

This session is the second of two in a series focusing on attachment and wellbeing. The first session provided an overview of attachment theory and highlighted the importance of sensitive, responsive caregiving for the optimal development of the child's brain and the development of secure attachment. 

This second session therefore explores how an understanding of attachment theory might help the practitioner to consider helpful ways of undertaking both assessments and interventions that take into account the many factors that influence the way that parents interact with their children and the impact that this can have on the child's development and behaviour.

Learning objectives

By the end of this session you will be able to:

• List the factors and symptoms that might be indicative of problems within the parent-infant relationship
• Describe ways in which attachment theory can inform both assessments and interventions
• Discuss the links between interventions that are underpinned by attachment theory and the expected benefits for families
• List a range of local services or interventions that are available to meet the needs of parents and children and help to foster secure attachments

This session provides an overview of some of the ways that practitioners can use their knowledge about attachment theory to help them to understand the behaviour of children in their care, the interactions that they observe between parents and their infants and between infants/children and others.