New Program Available in Simcoe County to Support Families of Young Children up to Six Years of Age
New Path Youth & Family Services is pleased to announce the launch of a new program to help parents of children, four months to six years of age, support healthy relationships with their children. The Circle of Security Parenting™ program is based on decades of research about how secure parent-child relationships can be supported and strengthened. This free, 8-week group for parents helps them learn strategies to strengthen the attachment critical to a child’s current and future wellbeing.
“Positive relationships are central to positive mental health and well-being. Circle of Security focuses on the importance of connecting with our children to build relationships and knowing that it is never too late to do so,” says Holly Kehoe, Early Years Counsellor at New Path Youth and Family Services. “This builds a secure attachment that helps in all areas of a child’s life. For example, it may lead to more confidence, better outcomes in school, and the ability to have more positive and lasting relationships with others beyond caregivers.”
The program is a partnership between New Path, EarlyON Child and Family Centres across Simcoe, and Simcoe Muskoka Family Connexions with a goal of helping as many families in our region as possible. For now, the program will be run virtually. To find out if this program is a good fit for your family, parents and caregivers are encouraged make an appointment through the Quick Access Child and Youth Mental Health Clinic: www.newpath.ca/book-now/ or if you do not have internet access, call New Path Youth & Family Services at 705-725-7656.
“Circle of Security is an incredible program helping caregivers understand and look at their children in a different way; as young people with thoughts and feelings and needing to connect with their caregiver. As a facilitator of the program, it was such an astounding experience to see caregivers go from “I don’t know what’s wrong with my child” to seeing their child’s distress and how their own trauma and experiences inhibited their ability to attend to that distress, which impacted the parent-child relationship,” says Val. St Pierre, Family Support Worker, Team Lead. “Circle of Security provides caregivers with tools and strategies to help recognize those moments of distress and opportunities to correct their own behaviour to enhance and repair the relationship with their child. What an honour to see the transformation of relationships and moments of connection between the child and their caregiver.”
About New Path Youth & Family Services
New Path Youth & Family Services of Simcoe County is a registered not-for-profit charitable organization. We are an accredited children’s mental health agency providing a range of innovative and timely services for children, youth and their families. We are the Lead Agency for children’s mental health in Simcoe with the goal of enhancing the experience and outcomes of children, youth and their families seeking assistance with mental health and wellness.
New Path is currently offering call-in, in-person and virtual mental health services for children, youth and their families in Simcoe County. A range of free mental health services are offered by professional counsellors. Families can access a range of free counselling and therapy services by booking an appointment through the Quick Access Child and Youth Mental Health Clinic: www.newpath.ca/book-now/ or for those without internet access, by calling New Path Youth & Family Services at 705-725-7656. To learn more about New Path Youth and Family Services, to donate, or get involved please visit www.newpath.ca, follow us on social media Facebook: New Path Youth & Family Services Twitter: @NewPathYFS Instagram: @NewPathYFS or sign up for our TrailSigns Newsletter.
About EarlyON Child and Family Centres
EarlyON Child and Family Centres offer parents and caregivers with children prenatal to 6 years of age, a range of free services which can assist them in their parenting or caregiving role.
EarlyON Child and Family programs are built on the four foundations of learning: Belonging, Well-being, Expression and Engagement. All sites provide access to play and inquiry-based learning, information on child development, parent education, early learning activities, referrals to community resources, nutrition information and pre- and post-natal resources. EarlyON Centres provide services that are child and family centered, community driven, integrated and collaborative, developmentally appropriate, socially inclusive, and evidence based.
About Simcoe Muskoka Family Connexions
Simcoe Muskoka Family Connexions is a Child Welfare (Simcoe & Muskoka) and Children’s Mental Health (Muskoka only) agency licensed by the Ministry of Children, Community and Social Services. We support children, youth, families and communities with multiple services for children and youth up to 18 years old.
We are committed to working collaboratively to build a safe and strong community where children, youth and families thrive. Our services include child protection, family support, family creation through adoption, kinship, customary care and foster care, and in our Muskoka branches, we offer children’s mental health services.
All of our services are delivered through a respectful, culturally sensitive practice and are available in English and French. We work with professional translators for other languages.