Help Your Child
THRIVE
Una Archer MSc
I am passionate about creating secure relationships that support the unfolding of who each child is. I developed this interest during my MSc in educational psychology and, since then, I trained in and worked with attachment theory, systemic practice with families and trauma therapy. I have been in private practice since 2014, working with individuals, couples, children and families.
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Secure attachment provides a foundation for children to explore the world and develop emotional resilience and healthy relationships. Through my experience of working with families, I learned that relationship security is essential when navigating different parenting challenges: behaviour and emotional difficulties, neurodiversity, illness, separation, bereavement, and the list goes on...
I work with parents over a number months. We use the Circle of Security Parenting framework to explore their relationship with their children as a starting point to discover what comes up for them emotionally and how that can get in the way of them forming secure attachments. Through this awareness and insight, parents can better regulate and manage their own emotions and those of their children, ultimately leading to more connected relationships.
If needed, we can support this exploration with Brainspotting therapy. Brainspotting therapy offers a gentle, respectful and effective way to find and heal the traumas we carry in our nervous systems. Brainspotting can help nurture secure attachment by addressing attachment wounds and unresolved traumas stored within the brain and body. These experiences can influence our relationships with our children in ways we don’t realise at the time. Once healed, it can free up space to connect with our children in the present moment, we can see more of who our children are and share more of ourselves with them.
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I listed my qualifications below.
Psychology
Member of the British Psychological Society, 2006-currently
Educational Psychology, MSc, Vilnius University, Lithuania, 2002
Psychology, BSc, Vilnius University, Lithuania, 1999
I spent six years in full-time studies and graduated with my Master's Degree in Educational Psychology in 2002. I've learned a lot about what can compromise a child's development, how to recognise it and what we can do about it. It sparked my passion for learning about what we can do to support healthy development, which eventually led me to focusing on secure attachment in parent-child relationships.
Circle of Security Parenting
Registered Circle of Security Parenting Classroom Facilitator, 2023
Registered Circle of Security Parenting Facilitator, 2014
I trained as a Circle of Security Parenting facilitator in 2014, and it is still my primary tool for helping parents, caregivers, and teachers figure out how they can support their children. Circle of Security Parenting is an attachment-based parenting course that guides parents, caregivers, and teachers through a step-by-step process that strengthens the security of their relationship with their children.
Brainspotting
Certified Brainsptting therapist since 2021
Brainspotting Therapy Level 2, BSPUK, 2020
Brainspotting for Addictions, BSPUK, 2018
Brainspotting with Children, BSPUK, 2018
Brainspotting Therapy Level 1, BSPUK, 2016
Soon after I started facilitating Circle of Security Parenting courses, I noticed that even when we have the knowledge and a huge desire to be there for our children, our own trauma of unmet attachment needs can get in the way of connecting with our children and parenting how we really want to. Brainspotting is a gentle and effective way to locate and heal those traumas to help parents feel more present, relaxed and available when they are with their children.
Systemic Practice with Families and Couples
Postgraduate Certificate in Systemic Practice with Families and Couples, Institute of Family Therapy, 2022
Certificate in Applied Systemic Theory and Practice, Chiron Training, 2020
Two more years of postgraduate studies during which I explored how parent-child relationships are affected by broader context - the relationship between parents and wider family, cultural ideas, religion, race, socio-economic status, etc. It also helped me further develop my skills in working with individuals, couples, families and groups.
My role is to help you take the guesswork out of supporting your child. If you'd like to find out what it could look like for you, I invite you to click the button below, open Getting to Know You Form and share a little bit about the challenges you are dealing with at the moment and what you would like to be different. This will give me an idea about how best I can support you. Once I've received your form, I'll be in touch with you within two working days.
"Una provides strong support, gently and without judgement. This, coupled with her deep understanding of parenting and children, has helped me to unravel my thoughts and emotions, from which I have gained clarity and understanding that has helped me to parent with more ease and presence."