Press & Reviews

"Now in a newly released book, Raising a Secure Child, the group for the first time offers up parenting strategies in a self-help, nonacademic format geared to parents and caregivers. Their guidance is based on long-standing attachment research and the clinicians' more than three decades of working with struggling families in Spokane."

"Psychotherapists Hoffman, Cooper, and Powell, who have shared a clinical practice since 1985, provide a clearly drawn map to the circle of security, their attachment theory–based program for attuning parents to child needs. Defining attachment as children relying on caregivers for physical and emotional nourishment, the authors cite research showing how secure attachment prepares children to have better health, relationships, and performance in school."

"Parenting for a secure attachment has two themes:

1. Providing comfort when needed and
2. offering the freedom to explore when desired.

It's a simple concept, but one that can be complex to manifest in the rush of everyday life. That's why a book like this can be a crucial tool for parents."

"According to Hoffman, the Raising a Secure Child co-author, kids who are temperamentally sensitive need lots of support for "organizing their emotions": someone who can sit them on their lap and say, "This is a moment of sadness, this is a moment of fear, this is a moment of anger, and I will help you talk about it." They also need to see that their own volatility doesn't spill over onto the parent. The child needs to know that the caregiver isn't afraid of their emotionality, and the caregiver needs to show that they're not going to be terrified if the kid's upset."

"Raising a secure and confident child is every parent's goal. These authors explain how that process happens by exploring topics such as: ensuring a child's safety while still fostering his or her ability to independently explore, how a parent's upbringing can affect parenting styles, and how a child's behavior can provide insight into his or her emotional world. By utilizing real life stories and providing ways to put recommendations into practice, these authors give direction to how to raise a secure child."

"One of the best resources for how to parent for a secure attachment in the first few years of life is the new book Raising A Secure Child by Kent Hoffman, Glen Cooper, and Bert Powell, all therapists who have worked with many different kinds of families for decades. Their work is based squarely on the science of attachment, and they call their approach the Circle of Security. The circle represents the seamless ebb and flow of how babies and young children need their caregivers, at times coming close for care and comfort, and at other times following their inspiration to explore the world around them."