Reflections on My Journey with the Circle of Security

Presented by Neil W. Boris

This webinar was presented live on Wednesday December 4th, 2024 at 4pm US Eastern time. Through the kindness of the presenter, a recording of the webinar is available here.

Neil W. Boris, MD

It seems that uncertainty surrounds us these days–and that’s put me in a reflective space.  In this webinar, I’ll share aspects of my personal and professional journey over 20+ years leveraging the science of attachment using the Circle of Security models of intervention.  The Circle of Security is used as part of a few flexible and user-friendly clinical tools designed to support primary caregivers to see children’s behavior through the lens of attachment needs.  Parents, early learning providers, foster and adoptive caregivers all play the role of secure base and safe haven for the children in their care.  But what does being a secure base and safe haven really mean?  And how does understanding attachment needs help caregivers give care?  I’ll mix case material in with a basic overview of the Circle to share some of my reflections and hopefully bring forth some of your reflections as well.

Neil W. Boris is a member of the Circle of Security International Leadership Team. Neil trains, coaches, and supports providers around the world.  He is the lead architect of the COS-Intensive series of courses (now available online) and the Human Condition online guided learning experience.

Neil's background as a physician who focused on child psychiatry and his time in academia as a professor are the roots of lifelong passions in clinical work and research. As a professor in public health and medicine at Tulane University for more than a decade, he co-led the mental health service for children with medical illness, worked with parents struggling with substance misuse, developed a statewide program for high-risk children under five and helped create programs for orphaned children in Malawi and Rwanda.

Neil was an early adopter of the Circle of Security-Intensive model, connecting with the founders of the model in the late 1990's. By 2003, he was working with clients in a residential substance abuse program that served women and their young children, doing a video-based weekly psychotherapy group that was open-ended and ran for almost 2 years straight.  Neil also worked extensively with the other COS pathways; he started as a COSP trainer in 2014, joined COSI part time in 2017 and has been part of the Leadership Team at COS-International since 2018. 

He practices the Circle at home under the guidance of his wife, Adena; together they find much joy in caring for their three kids and the family's rambunctious Portuguese Water Dog. When he can, he enjoys riding his bike, cooking, reading and pondering spiritual dimensions.


Through the kindness of the presenter, a recording of the webinar is available here.

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