The Relational Foundations of Reflection: Supporting the Development of Attachment and Symbolization in Young Children and their Caregivers
"Reflective parenting" is built on the foundations of safety (the absence of threat and fear), the capacity to regulate (quiet mind and body), and an openness and trust in relationships. These are the relational foundations of reflection. For some parents, reflection comes easily, usually because they themselves have felt safe and heard. For parents who suffered grave assaults and adversity as children, or who live in chronically stressful environments, safety, regulation, and connection are often in short supply, greatly challenging the capacity to listen and feel heard. This presentation will address ways that practitioners, educators, and communities can support parents in developing these foundations and so provide a safe and secure environment in which their children can flourish.
Arietta Slade ’73, Ph.D. is a Clinical Psychologist whose passion for understanding early development took hold while she was an undergraduate at Sarah Lawrence. Now Professor of Clinical Child Psychology at the Yale Child Study Center, and Professor Emerita in the doctoral program in Clinical Psychology at the City College of New York, she is an internationally recognized theoretician, clinician, researcher, and teacher.
Learn more about the Longfellow Lecture and the Child Development Institute.
The Longfellow Lecture series, inaugurated in 1987, honors the memory of Cynthia Longfellow '72, who devoted her professional life to bettering the lives of young children. This lecture is funded by an endowment established by family and friends.