Trauma, neglect, and disrupted attachments can profoundly affect a child’s brain, emotions, behavior, and sense of safety in relationships. Children often develop survival behaviors—such as lying, stealing, defiance, avoidance, or chronic anger—to protect themselves from further hurt. This training helps parents and professionals understand the child’s internal world, decode challenging behaviors, and support meaningful relational healing through emotional attunement and developmentally informed intervention.
LEARNING OBJECTIVES:
> Understand relational and developmental trauma and their impact on attachment and behavior.|
> Review attachment theory to strengthen caregiver emotional attunement.
> Learn to use a developmental lens to interpret and respond to attachment-deflecting behaviors.
> Apply emotional-intelligence concepts to better read and respond to a child’s cues and triggers.
> Explore internal working models and interventions that promote secure attachment and reduce defensive behaviors.
Two Opportunities to Attend:
1. Tues., January 13, 2026, 10am - 12pm (2 hours)
2. Fri., January 16, 2026, 10am - 12pm (2 hours)
Allison Davis Maxon, M.S., LMFT is a nationally recognized expert in the fields of child welfare and children’s mental health specializing in Attachment, Developmental Trauma and Permanency/Adoption. She is the Executive Director of the National Center on Adoption and Permanency and was the foster care consultant for the Paramount Pictures movie Instant Family. Allison was honored in 2017 with the Congressional Coalition on Adoption Institute ‘Angels in Adoption’ award and is the co-author of Seven Core Issues in Adoption and Permanency: A Guide to Promoting Understanding and Healing in Adoption, Foster Care, Kinship Families and Third Party Reproduction, Jessica Kingsley Publishers (2019) and The Seven Core Issues Workbook for Parents of Traumatized Children and Teens: A Guide to Help You Explore Feelings and Overcome Emotional Challenges in Your Family, Jessica Kingsley Publishers (2022). Her newest book is The Seven Core Issues for in Adoption and Permanency Workbook for Children and Teens: A Trauma-Informed Resource, Jessica Kingsley Publishers (2023).
IMPORTANT- PLEASE READ BEFORE REGISTERING:
This training will be presented in the ZOOM platform (please be sure you have the most up-to-date version).
You MUST attend the entire training. Any early sign-offs will result in no credit for the training. Any late logins or early logouts that result in more than 15 minutes of missed time in relation to the total presentation length will result in no credit given for attending.
Your camera MUST be on the entire time of the training. Please use a computer that has a functioning camera--test out your camera before attending.
DO NOT share your confirmation link with anyone. Each link is unique to the individual registered to attend. Sharing your link will result in either you or the other person not receiving credit for attending.
It is recommended that you sign on a few minutes early to avoid connection difficulties.