For Professionals Working with Families
Of 159 parents who finished a Circle of Security Parenting (COSP) group in County Clare, Ireland, 98% said they would recommend it to other parents. Ninety percent said it changed the way they see their role as a parent, and 86% said their child’s behavior had improved.
Parents who finished the group said:
Would recommend it to other parents
Found it helpful to meet with a group of parents
Said the group leaders did a good job
Said it changed the way they see their role as a parent
Reported their child's behavior had improved
n = 159 parents. Parent-reported.
Source: Clare Primary Care Child & Family Psychology Service, Circle of Security Parenting five-year evaluation, 2019 to 2024.
Those numbers come from a five-year evaluation (2019 to 2024) by the Clare Primary Care Child & Family Psychology Service, summarized in August 2026. The groups ran across primary care psychology, child and adolescent mental health, adult mental health, disability services, and family support centers, all using the same COSP model.
Who took part
159
parents
5
years of groups
2019 to 2024
5
kinds of services
Primary care psychology
Child and adolescent mental health
Adult mental health
Disability services
Family support centers
1
county
Clare, Ireland
Source: Clare Primary Care Child & Family Psychology Service, Circle of Security Parenting five-year evaluation, 2019 to 2024.
What Parents Noticed First
Before and after the group, parents rated themselves on a set of statements. The biggest shift was on this one: “I step back and think about what my child’s behavior is telling me about his/her needs before I react.” Next came confidence that they could meet their child’s needs, and noticing when their child needed support to explore or needed comfort.
What changed most: parents' own before-and-after ratings
Large change (0.8 and above)
Stepping back to think before reacting
Confidence in meeting my child's needs
Noticing and responding to my child's need to explore or be comforted
Recognizing what triggers my own negative reactions
Looking for a way to repair after things go wrong
Having a positive relationship with my child
Size of change (effect size, d)
Retrospective before-and-after ratings. Larger dots mean larger change. All six were statistically significant.
Source: Clare Primary Care Child & Family Psychology Service, Circle of Security Parenting five-year evaluation, 2019 to 2024.
“The Circle of Security helped lift a fog. I can now see through it to what my child is really trying to tell me.”
Another parent said, “Hearing other parents’ stories made me feel less alone and gave me new ideas to try.”
What the Evaluation Can and Can’t Say
The findings are parent reports of perceived change, collected after the group. There was no control group, and the authors say so. They call for more rigorous research. What the evaluation does show is that parents across very different services found COSP relevant and worth finishing.
What It Means for Facilitators
Ninety-one percent of parents said the group leaders did a good job. The report’s recommendations for services include long-term investment in facilitator training and coaching, and expanding COSP into community and school settings beyond referral-based services. All of that depends on trained facilitators.
If you work with families in Ireland or nearby, our in-person COSP Facilitator Training in Dublin runs Nov 16 to 19.
