Movement & Attachment Play -Sherborne

Movement & Attachment Play -Sherborne International Course Leaders Sherborne Developmental Movement specialised in parent-child and trauma

MOVED BY CONNECTIONThe past years we have been visiting Latvia 4 times to train professionals in Movement & Attachment P...
17/06/2025

MOVED BY CONNECTION

The past years we have been visiting Latvia 4 times to train professionals in Movement & Attachment Play (MAP).

In Latvia the idea to include parents/caregivers in therapy is quite new, let alone combining this with movement and recording that on video for video feedback.

So the participants of our courses did not only learn a new approach and acquainted a traumasensitive attitude, they were also courageous overcoming cultural obstacles and opening new doors within the Latvian social work structure.

Last week we had the last day of the course and we saw some wonderful footage of how professionals had implemented MAP in their work. These captured touching moments of connection, joy, growth and potential that gave us goosebumps! We are all often focused on skills and goals with our clients. But this method is about answering the emotional needs that are often underneath the behaviour. When universal human needs of feeling safe, seen and stimulated are met, magic happens!
We were able to certify the first Latvian Movement & Attachment Play Practitioners and more will follow coming months.

It has been a wonderful adventure together!
Who could have known that an email Diana Semerova sent to our international cooperation would lead to this wonderful teamwork, mutual inspiration and friendship.

* Are you also looking for a refreshing way to help children in need?
* To be a trauma informed professional and implement playful elements in your treatment?
* Do you wish to go beyond words and behavioural focus in your interventions and instead tune into the emotional needs of your clients?
* Do you want your work to be touching and moving, literally as well as metaphorically?

Contact us! info@hechter.nu
We work all over the world. In person and online. We are very passionate about sharing our knowledge and experience and providing tailor-made answers to the needs of your team. Please feel free to discuss the possibilities together.

ENG: In 2022 we traveled to Riga for the first time for a course in Sherborne Movement Movement. So happy how we were ab...
23/05/2025

ENG: In 2022 we traveled to Riga for the first time for a course in Sherborne Movement Movement. So happy how we were able to teach Samenspel (in English MAP - movement & Attachment Play) in Latvia in the years that followed. Yesterday we had the first online supervision of MAP Latvia in which we could see so beautifully how families benefit from this way of guidance and the passionate MAP practitioners who were at work. In two weeks we will leave for Riga again for the last training days: proud that this positive and playful way of guiding families towards a better parent-child relationship is now also being implemented in Latvia!
All the credits for Diana Semerova and her team !

The coming days we’ll dive into the Polyvagal theory again with two different groups. When it comes to trauma, we tend t...
08/01/2025

The coming days we’ll dive into the Polyvagal theory again with two different groups. When it comes to trauma, we tend to look at survival strategies such as fight, flight, freeze. But did you know that our autonomic nervous system has another strategy at its disposal? These are the so-called ventral nerve pathways that activate when we feel safe and connected. And these can be our anchor under stressful circumstances.
Of course, we therefore ensure that our own ventral system is nicely activated these days. Rituals are very helpful for that purpose.

31/12/2024

Happy New Year!

What’s the status of your social battery?The holidays can be so much fun and fulfilling, but also overstimulating and ti...
29/12/2024

What’s the status of your social battery?

The holidays can be so much fun and fulfilling, but also overstimulating and tiring. You can feel lonely - even in the midst of a large group. Or be missing someone extra bad. Family meetings are the playfield of old triggers and patterns.
Of course, it could also be that you simply enjoyed these special days full of traditions and warm encounters.
During the holidays, everything there is - good or bad - lays under a magnifying glass.

Was your battery nicely recharged last week or did it run empty?

And what do you need today to shine (again) on the inside? ✨

A SUITCASE FULL OF LOVEWe all carry with us an invisible suitcase full of memories. Soon you might be sitting at the Chr...
25/12/2024

A SUITCASE FULL OF LOVE

We all carry with us an invisible suitcase full of memories.
Soon you might be sitting at the Christmas table, or under a blanket on the couch, making a mandatory visit or walking around outside in the drizzling rain.
With your suitcase.
And I imagine that everyone is walking or sitting there with their own suitcase. And that invisible baggage can sometimes lead to challenges.
While at the same time we all deeply desire the same thing: safety and connection.
That puts a smile on my face. And I realize that every sincere smile, a wink that brings things into perspective or an unexpected gesture can serve as gentle healing for all the times it was not there.
And in that small moment of connection lies the power of great transformation.

I imagine we'll be throwing hearts into suitcases! And occasionally will put one in mine too!

We wish you a wonderful Christmas!

19/12/2024

The 'see-saw', as we call it, is an example of a ‘together-relationship’, where you can only achieve the desired result if you work together. You could never do this without the other! It requires continuous attunement in the movement. During the movement, a role change takes place, where one person takes care of the other and you have to rely on each other. If you manage to get into a flow, it will become easier and more and more fun!

If you want to try it out for yourself, keep the following in mind:
- Make sure you have good grip on the floor (bare feet or studded socks)!
- A floor that has the right resistance (e.g. not on a sliding rug but also not on a hard floor on which you could hurt yourself).
- Keep your arms straight, especially when lying down! When you bend your arms, you fall on top of each other.
- If you are the one who is going to lie down, first bend your knees to a sitting position and you will then automatically pull the other person up to a standing position. Once lying down, you carry the other person on your outstretched arms. For this you have to use a lot of muscle power!
- You can also do this movement as an adult with a child, but then you keep your weight on your own feet instead of leaning (completely) on the child. Build it up slowly so that you can first feel what effect your height difference has.

Have fun!

BASIC SECURITY THROUGH ATTACHMENT PLAYLast week we gave this workshop at the Young Child Conference, organized by Publis...
12/11/2024

BASIC SECURITY THROUGH ATTACHMENT PLAY

Last week we gave this workshop at the Young Child Conference, organized by Publisher SWP.

Children may forget what you say, but they will never forget how you made them feel. Developing basic security is about being in contact with your feelings and your caregivers connecting with you in a playful way.
How to apply this within your work with young children?

Our contact with the Publisher SWP arose through Micheline Mets, who described 101 games in her popular book 'Playfully Connecting and Attaching'. Since her retirement, we have taken over the work surrounding the book and we regularly provide training in which games from the book, and games that just didn't make it into the book, are combined with knowledge about the building blocks for secure attachment.

It was nice to meet colleagues from the SWP and to introduce people to the building blocks in combination with movement and attachment play.

We have a new friend: Paddington Bear. Curious what Paddington Bear has to do with attachment? Read it below!Paddington ...
19/10/2024

We have a new friend: Paddington Bear. Curious what Paddington Bear has to do with attachment? Read it below!

Paddington is a creation of children's book writer Michael Bond. As a child, Michael had a great passion for trains. When he was a 9-year-old boy at the start of World War II, he was surprised to see groups of children - traveling without their parents - arriving at the station where he loved to watch trains. When he asked the children, he discovered that they were fleeing from the big city to the countryside, looking for a safe new home.
These same children were the start of John Bowlby's research into attachment after the war. As a young child psychiatrist, he was confronted with specific complaints in these children, which were consistent with war trauma. It made him wonder how these complaints were caused, since these children had not experienced war violence. He could only conclude that the separation of their attachment figures must have played a role in this. This was the impetus for all the insights that followed and from which we are still reaping the benefits. The children from the so-called children's transports later became Michael's inspiration for Paddington Bear. A bear who, stranded alone at Paddington station, searches for a new home. The story of Paddington has lead to popular children’s movies and the iconic bear has now become a symbol for all children in need of a safe haven.

During our trip to Oxford, we came across 'our Paddy' at a London station. Of course we couldn't leave him there, so he is travelling with us from now on. With him on our lap we can tell this beautiful story in our courses as an introduction to the theme of attachment. Paddy is also a great helper with the instruction of movement & attachment play, where he also takes his shoes off just like us! Finally, Paddy always carries a briefcase with him. What's inside of it, is invisible. And we cover that theme in day 3 of our course. Because … don't we all carry an invisible suitcase with us?

THE STORY MY BODY TELLS“While it may seem like our brain plays the most important role in how we navigate the world, we ...
24/09/2024

THE STORY MY BODY TELLS

“While it may seem like our brain plays the most important role in how we navigate the world, we experience the world primarily in our bodies. Our bodies are where the stories are created about who we are and how the world works”
~ Deb Dana

This Thursday we will again be teaching about polyvagal theory. Stephen Porges' books have been on my shelf for years and it was only after I took my first course with Deb Dana that I slowly began to understand its contents.
We have now read piles of books and followed tons of lectures. Recently we have even had the opportunity to meet Stephen Porges in person. Not only our heads now understand what is meant by the polyvagal theory, but so do our bodies. We have been touched by it and sense a deeper, more embodied understanding. Now we are on a mission to spread this vision in mental health care. The polyvagal theory is the science of safety. It is a complicated story about the functioning of the nervous system. And simultaneously it is a simple story: you can only connect and develop when you feel safe. This is not about actual safety, but about perceived safety. Offering safety signals is an efficient and profound antidote to trauma. The body that eventually - or at first maybe just for a moment - dares to believe: I am okay, I am loved and protected. That is the start of all change and healing. It sounds obvious, but it actually shifts the entire paradigm from which we work!
Working in this way also gives us so much more joy and trust!

WALK YOUR TALKYesterday we were lucky enough to meet one of our great inspirators: Stephen Porges.And of course he could...
13/09/2024

WALK YOUR TALK

Yesterday we were lucky enough to meet one of our great inspirators: Stephen Porges.

And of course he could have just taken a quick photo with us, but instead he indicated that he wanted to take a short break and then come back. “But first… let's hug!”
Who would have expected that? And this all went in such a respectful, inviting and authentic way. So we got a hug from Stephen Porges, then waited for him to return. After which he took the time to answer our questions, take a picture and of course, as true fans, receive an autograph in our notebook.

A fantastic example of someone who is not only transforming the world of mental health care in a fascinating way with his knowledge and skills. But also someone who, even in this setting, lives the heart of the matter: kindness, peacefulness, connection, humor, curiosity, co-humanity and healthy boundaries.

“There is nothing fundamentally wrong with anybody. Any kind of problem is caused by stuff that happened to them or stuf...
12/09/2024

“There is nothing fundamentally wrong with anybody. Any kind of problem is caused by stuff that happened to them or stuff that should have happened, but didn't.”

This week we are in Oxford at Europe's biggest conference in the field of trauma & mental health.

In a beautiful historic setting we were able to immerse ourselves in the wisdom of Gabor Mate for a whole day.
It's courageous how he interweaves his own story with knowledge transfer. Inspiring answers to questions. And every sentence felt like a quote to remember.
And this was only day 1!

Adres

The Hague

Website

https://movementandattachmentplay.com/

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