Acceptance
Actively showing a person that you unconditionally accept her internal experience – whatever thoughts, feelings, wishes, perceptions and motives may underlie her outer behaviour. Acceptance communicates that that the person’s…
Adaptive behaviours
How a person adapts their behaviour, over time, in an attempt to manage and survive difficult experiences in their life. A person’s adaptive options when faced with any given stressor…
Affect
The biological expression of an emotional state, not the emotional state itself. It is how the emotion is expressed through the voice, body language, eye contact, facial expression. For example,…
Arousal
How the brain and the body respond to the combination of external and internal experiences and sensations. Too much or too little arousal is often unhelpful.
Attachment
Patterns of a child’s behavior directed toward the caregiver in order to achieve physical and psychological safety. In attachment theory this describes the particular emotional relationship a child forms with…
Attunement
When two people are sharing an emotional experience, attunement means the emotional connections between them such as when one person mirrors or matches the affect (biological expression of the emotion)…
Avoidant attachment
When used as a child attachment classification it means the attachment style displayed by a child who tries to avoid paying attention to her own emotion, avoids outward expression of…
Child
Use of child also refers to adolescents.
Child development
The process of moving from dependence toward independence and interdependence that involves change at neurological, psychological, physical, emotional, social and intellectual levels.
Co-construction of narrative
Often a child will find it hard to make sense of his experiences without first developing an understanding of his life together with a caregiver or safe adult. Co-construction is…
Co-regulation of affect
One person supports another to regulate her affect and her associated emotional state. For example, if a child becomes angry and dysregulated and an adult matches the child’s affect (how…
Cognitive
Conscious thinking processes
Coherent narrative
A spoken or written account that connects events, memories and experiences. Individuals have a psychological need to make sense of the events and memories of their lives. When the life story is…
Curiosity
This is a not-knowing, non-judgmental open, engaged, and sometimes tentative, stance towards another person’s inner life. It arises from a deep interest in, and wish to make sense of, the…
Developmental Trauma
The impact on a child of repeated experiences of abuse and/or neglect, that started early in life and occurred within the family by adults who had the role of caring…
Developmental Trauma Disorder
Not a formal diagnosis but many child trauma experts agree that children exposed to abuse and/or neglect are at risk in certain domains – attachment, biology, emotional regulation, dissociation, behavioural…
Disorganised attachment
A research classification within Attachment Theory given to about 10% of children who have not developed an organised pattern of attachment due to abuse and/or neglect from unpredictable, rejecting caregivers…
Dissociation
A natural and universal defense against overwhelmingly negative experiences, and involves a disconnect of the mind from outside realities, most often as a response to trauma. In severe forms, disconnection…
Dysregulate
A loss of emotional regulation where emotional arousal has reached a point where a person is unable to control or manage the experience. For a dysregulating child, fear becomes terror,…
Emotionally regulated
The ability to identify, monitor and adjust feelings, changes in emotional arousal level, body functions and behavioural responses. It is when a person can recognise increases or decreases in the…
Creating connections for developing relationships