Understanding and supporting attachment difficulties and complex trauma. How they can affect children and young people’s development, including their communication skills
About this course
Understanding how attachment works and what happens when it is compromised, is often important in understanding children’s behaviour. Sadly, many children and young people who have SEMH have also experienced complex trauma which can also affect their development and their ability to interact effectively. It is important to try to understand their experiences and be familiar with effective ways to support them. This course covers things we can all do and touches on specialist interventions.
Attend this course if you:
- Want to know about types of traumas and their potential impact on development
- Need to understand the relevant neuroscience
- Gain practical, evidence-based, ways to support children with attachment issues
Course Times
The course duration is 9.00 am to 1.00 pm (UK Time) on consecutive weeks. Both sessions must be attended to complete the course. For a list of course dates and times please go to the Booking page
Course pricing
| Book and pay online | Organisational payment | Student / Returner | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Course price per person (course before 1st April 2026) | £132 | £154 | £77 |
| Course price per person (for course after 1st April 2026) | £145.20 | £169.40 | £84.70 |
Please book your place here or alternatively, you can contact us if you are you would like to:
- Book four or more courses (we can offer you a discount)
- Make a block booking for a group
- Book a closed course
Course presenter
Melanie Cross
Speech and Language Therapist
Melanie Cross is a Speech and Language Therapist (SLT) who worked with Looked After Children for many years. This has resulted in publications including Branagan A, Cross M & Parsons S (2020) ‘Language for Behaviour and Emotions’ http://thinkingtalking.co.uk/lfbe/.
Melanie has also worked with the Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists (RCSLT) to help develop their clinical guidelines on Social Emotional and Mental Health (SEMH) for SLTs. She has also worked on the RCSLTs learning journey for practitioners working with children and young people who experience SEMH & Speech Language and Communication Needs (SLCN) https://www.rcslt.org/learning/mind-your-words/.
Melanie Cross is also a freelance clinical supervisor, trainer, consultant and Video Interaction Guider and supervisor.
Course topics
During this course, we will cover:
- Attachment, how it develops, what can impair it and types of attachment
- The Impact of attachment style on child development, attachment disorders, impact on language and communication, & adult attachment styles
- Trauma; single event and complex, the impact of trauma
- Interventions-what works for both and what we can all do
- Evidence-based specialist attachment and trauma interventions
- There will also be:
- Opportunities to reflect
- Consideration of the potential impact of this work on you
Who this course is suitable for
This course is suitable for: Returners to Speech and Language Therapy, Speech and Language Therapists (SLTs), Speech and Language Therapy Students, Teachers
Booking information
This course is presented Virtual Live – Online over Zoom
This course is available on various dates throughout the year. To view available course dates, select your preferred date and book your place, please click here.
During the booking process, you can select to reserve a place instead (while you confirm you can attend or to organise payment through your employer for example). We can hold your place for up to four weeks, if we have not heard from you after this time, we may need to cancel your reservation so other people can attend the training.
Course Beetle is an approved supplier for NHS Trusts, Local Authorities and Schools.
Course testimonials
“Really inspiring and thought-provoking training. Helped to put professional and personal experiences into context. Lots of things to take back to my team and disseminate more widely. Thank you!”
“Thank you – I have learned so much!”
“Implementing/suggesting new approaches is often met with resistance, but this training has given me the evidence base and knowledge to attempt it and be confident. “
semh, SEMH, melanie cross, melanie
