Circle of Security® Parenting: Building Connection, Confidence, and Calm
An 8-Week Parenting Group Coming to Changing Tides Counselling in March 2026
Parenting can be one of the most meaningful, beautiful experiences in our lives and one of the most challenging. Every day, parents navigate emotions, behaviour, schedules, transitions, and the endless question: “Am I doing this right?” In moments of stress, frustration, or overwhelm, many caregivers wonder how they can best support their child’s needs while still caring for themselves.
At Changing Tides Counselling, we know that parents aren’t looking for perfection. They’re looking for understanding, tools, and support. That’s why we’re excited to introduce our Circle of Security® Parenting Group, beginning March 2026 in both Guelph and online. This evidence-based, attachment-focused program helps parents deepen their connection with their children while increasing confidence in their day-to-day parenting choices.
This blog post will walk you through what Circle of Security® is, why it’s so impactful, and what caregivers can expect from joining our upcoming group.
What Is Circle of Security® Parenting?
Circle of Security® Parenting (COS-P) is an internationally recognized, research-informed program designed to help caregivers understand their child’s emotional world and respond to their needs with sensitivity, clarity, and confidence. Developed from decades of attachment research, the program uses a simple yet powerful visual map—the "circle"—to help adults understand their child’s journey between exploring the world and returning for connection, comfort, and support.
The Circle of Security Diagram
Rather than focusing on rules, discipline techniques, or rigid parenting formulas, COS-P teaches parents how to “see beneath” behaviour and recognize the deeper emotional needs driving their child’s actions. It offers a compassionate, shame-free approach that normalizes the ups and downs of parenting while equipping caregivers with a clearer understanding of what their child needs at different moments throughout the day.
Caregivers often describe the program as transformative because it provides a framework that immediately shifts how they interpret their child’s emotions, behaviours, and bids for connection.
Why Does Connection Matter So Much?
Children don’t come with instructions—but they do come wired for connection. Research shows that secure attachment is one of the strongest predictors of lifelong mental and emotional well-being. Secure attachment is linked to:
Better emotion regulation
Stronger self-esteem
Increased resilience
Healthier peer relationships
Improved behaviour and coping skills
Greater ability to navigate stress
When children experience their caregivers as “bigger, stronger, wiser, and kind,” they feel safe exploring, playing, learning, and being themselves. They also feel safe returning for comfort when they’re overwhelmed or unsure.
Circle of Security® helps caregivers learn how to step into this role with confidence—even when parenting feels confusing or stressful.
How Circle of Security® Supports Parents
One of the unique strengths of COS-P is its focus not only on children’s needs but also on the caregiver’s internal experience. Parenting often brings up old patterns, beliefs, or wounds from our own childhoods. Many caregivers carry messages like:
“I’m supposed to stay calm all the time.”
“My child is acting out because I did something wrong.”
“My child shouldn’t need this much from me.”
“If I don’t fix this immediately, I’m failing.”
Circle of Security® gently guides participants through understanding where these beliefs come from, how they show up in daily interactions, and how to shift them in a supportive, compassionate way. The goal is not perfection—it’s awareness, connection, and growth.
Throughout the program, parents learn how to:
Identify their child’s needs in different moments
Respond to challenging behaviours without shame or fear
Tune into their own emotional reactions
Use attuned, connected responses when parenting feels hard
Repair moments of disconnection
Hold boundaries with both kindness and clarity
Build secure attachment through everyday interactions
These skills support long-term emotional health for both the caregiver and the child.
Who Is the Program For?
Our Circle of Security® Parenting group is designed for parents, caregivers, and guardians of children aged 0–8. It is helpful for:
First-time parents
Parents of neurodivergent or highly sensitive children
Caregivers who feel overwhelmed or unsure
Co-parents seeking more consistent approaches
Parents wanting to understand their child's emotional landscape
Adults working to break cycles from their own upbringing
Anyone interested in attachment-based parenting
Whether you’re struggling with tantrums, transitions, bedtime battles, emotional outbursts, or simply wanting a deeper connection with your child, this program offers clarity and support.
What to Expect in the 8-Week Group
Circle of Security® Parenting is structured yet gentle. Over eight weekly 90-minute sessions, caregivers explore video content, reflective discussion, and practical exercises. You do not need to share personal details unless you choose to. The group environment is designed to be warm, non-judgmental, and supportive.
Each week builds on the last as we explore:
1. Understanding the Circle — Your Child’s Need to Explore and Return
Children naturally move between curiosity and connection. You’ll learn how to identify which need they’re showing in the moment.
2. Reading Behaviour as Communication
Instead of viewing behaviours as “acting out,” we explore the needs beneath them—comfort, reassurance, independence, regulation, or help.
3. Being Bigger, Stronger, Wiser, and Kind
This phrase becomes a guide for balancing boundaries, support, and emotional leadership.
4. Understanding Co-Regulation
You’ll learn how your child depends on your emotional presence to help regulate their nervous system.
5. Identifying Parenting Patterns
Gently explore how your own childhood experiences shape your responses, triggers, and strengths.
6. Repairing Moments of Disconnection
Learn practical steps for reconnecting with your child after conflict, stress, or emotional overwhelm.
7. Building Secure Attachment Through Everyday Moments
Small interactions—like eye contact, naming emotions, or offering calm presence—build long-term emotional health.
8. Integrating the Tools
You’ll finish with a deeper understanding of your child, your own patterns, and new ways to support connection and regulation.
Details for the March 2026 Group
Start Date: March 2026 (Start date TBD, there will be one online group and one in-person group)
Duration: 8 weeks
Session Length: 90 minutes weekly
Format: In-person in Guelph + virtual option
Facilitators: Colleen Boehme, MSW, RSW and Nicole Godreau, RP(qualifying)
Fees: To be announced
Insurance: Receipts provided under Social Work or Psychotherapy
Why Join?
Parents often say they wish they had learned this material years earlier. Circle of Security® offers a framework that makes sense of the most challenging parts of parenting. It helps caregivers see their child with more compassion, react with more clarity, and feel more confident—even in the tough moments.
If you're hoping to strengthen connection, support emotional regulation, and bring more calm into your home, this group is for you.
Ready to Learn More or Join the Waitlist?
Registration Information:
Registration is now open for our March 2026 group. To register, please fill out our “contact us” form here. In the subject line, please include Circle of Security Group.
If you have questions, reach out anytime at info@changingtidescounselling.com, contact us here or call us at 226-706-8544 ext. 115.
You don’t have to parent alone. Let us walk alongside you, one circle at a time, supported by the calming waves that guide everything we do at Changing Tides.
