What is involved in Training in the Meaning of the Child Interview?
The Meaning of the Child training is offered by Dr Ben Grey and Juliet Kesteven of Cambridge Centre for Attachment (www.attachment.services), and Fan Zhang. Other trainers are in the process of being trained.
The MotC course is taught in standalone blocks of 2-3 days to cater for participants differing goals and potential uses of the MotC. It can also be learned asynchronously online. Click here for current and planned course dates.
NEW!! These courses have been redesigned to go alongside the book ‘The Meaning of the Child Interview: Making Sense of Parent-Child Relationships’
“The MotC is incredibly helpful in our work with families, making sense of the strategies parents use to try to keep their child safe. Our team especially value the formulation model, linking parental defences to the family’s wider context, so that interventions can be targeted, addressing parents’ hopes and fears, and the deeper drivers of concerning behaviour.”
Jen Swift, Social Work Team leader, Southeast England, endorsement of ‘The Meaning of the Child Interview: Making Sense of Parent-Child Relationships‘
MotC Introduction: Principles of Practice – 2 days (self taught-online version available)
This course seeks to offer participants the ingredients of a MotC informed practice. The course develops awareness and understanding of how parents talk and mentalise for their children & their caregiving, and the implications of this for the parent-child relationship. The course will be a mixture of direct teaching and looking at actual interviews with parents, and is a standalone course, as well as being a prerequisite for further MotC training. Further training is needed to learn the formal process of analysing interview transcripts (Coding the MotC course) and more fully integrating the MotC into child welfare and/or clinical practice (MotC Practice Pathway course).
**NEW** Now available as a self-taught asynchronous (done at your own pace) course using videos drawn from past training, course materials and supported by social media. Please go here to book and for more details
“The Meaning of the Child Interview is a sensitive, nuanced, and practical means of developing a deeper understanding of caregiver processes – bridging the research-practitioner divide. This book is the definitive guide to this assessment practice: comprehensive, informed, and drawing on the latest research and theory.”
Mick Cooper, Professor of Counselling Psychology, University of Roehampton, endorsement of ‘The Meaning of the Child Interview: Making Sense of Parent-Child Relationships’
Coding the Meaning of the Child Interview (Requires MotC Introduction course) – 5 days + practice supported by email & completion of a reliability test.
This course seeks to give participants the skills and understanding needed to become proficient in coding (formally classifying and interpreting) the MotC. Upon completing the reliability test to a set standard, participants may be accredited as reliable coders of the MotC and code for themselves or others. This course teaches participants a formal method to interpret parental discourse (how parents speak about their child and their parenting) to understand the parent-child relationship. Learning to classify parenting interviews using the MotC does require commitment and self motivation to make use of the email tuition and practice, as it needs to be learned by ‘doing’ as well as by attending face-to-face training. It requires a willingness to engage with the theoretical content, but as a means to understanding particular parent-child relationships, rather than in the abstract.
Requires MotC Introduction: Principles of Practice course (or previous Motc Part 1 course)
The Meaning of the Child Practice Pathway (using the MotC to plan intervention): 2 days
This course looks at how to use attachment and caregiving theory in clinical practice. The approach of the MotC is not about providing a ‘diagnosis’ of generalised pathology but rather building an in depth understanding of resources and difficulties in the context in which they occur, from which to think about support, intervention, and in some cases, risk. This 2-day course will focus on using information gained from the MotC, or from clinical observation, to think about families and how to help them.
The Meaning of a child offers both a formal method for understanding how parents speak about their children (the Coding the MotC course) and a pathway for applying ideas drawn from attachment and caregiving practice to this information and/or information gained from case histories and clinical observations (taught in this course). It aims to bridge the practitioner/researcher gap that has arisen in attachment theory (Duschinsky 2025, Forslund et al. 2022) with pathway for using attachment theory to make sense of parent-child relationships, families and individual behaviour in relationships.
It will not teach or recommend a specific therapeutic approach but rather support practitioners in whatever service or context they work in to use the MotC to make sense of parent-child relationships in ways that allow them to make the best use of whatever tools, powers or resources at their disposal to improve life for children and their families.
This course requires the MotC Introduction (Principles of Practice course, previously Motc Part 1) course (which can be taken self-taught online). The MotC coding course is not required but being able to use information derived from Meaning of the Child Interviews will enable the full potential of the method to support intervention with children and their families.
………..
[For more testimonials, click here]
………..
Whilst the MotC has a solid foundation in academic research and psychological theory, particularly in the area of attachment and reflective functioning, it requires neither an academic background nor a psychological qualification to learn to use. It has been successfully taught to social workers, family centre workers, therapists, psychologists and psychiatrists alike.
The Meaning of the Child training can be trained ‘in house’ to voluntary agencies and Local Authorities, and other organisations. Past training has included Milton Keynes children’s services, TIGALA, Norfolk and Suffolk CAMHS, Murray children’s services, a Birmingham CAMHS/Local authority partnership, Action for Children, and NAGALRO (the professional association of family court advisors, Children’s Guardians, and Independent Social Workers). Training has been conducted across the UK and internationally, including Ireland and Iceland. Small group training is also offered here in Cambridge. It is possible to do the course online via Zoom and asynchronously through working through video materials and with online assistance by zoom and email.
………..
“The Meaning of the Child Interview has proved to be one of the most powerful and informative clinical tools used in our clinical practice, and has helped make sense of some very complex cases. Dr Grey and Juliet Kesteven have a particularly engaging and effective teaching style, and a generous approach to sharing their extensive clinical and academic knowledge and experience. I would highly recommend attending training / seminars at the Cambridge Centre for Attachment.”
Dr Emma Hunnisett, Consultant Clinical Psychologist, Child and Family Psychology Clinic, Norwich
………..
Current and Planned Courses
Live online (via Zoom)
The full set of MotC courses will be taught in late 2025 and early 2026 to celebrate the publication of The Meaning of the Child Interview: Making Sense of Parent-child Relationships (edited by Ben Grey)
Introduction to the MotC – Principles of Practice. November 3-4 2025, 10-4.30pm UK time. Go here for more information and to book.
Coding the Meaning of the Child Interview: December 2025 – February 2026
The course is delivered in 2 parts, with practice interview coding (analysis) offered between each part and after part 2. If completed, this can lead to a reliability test and accreditation. Go here to book and for more information. Introduction to the MotC (Principles of Practice) course required.
Part 1: 1-3 December 2025. 10am – 4.30pm UK time
Part 2: 2-3 February 2026. 10am – 4.30pm UK time
MotC Practice Pathway: Using the MotC to understand children and their families. 23-24 February 2026. Go here for more information
Self-taught (asynchronous online training via video and other materials)
Introduction to the MotC: Principles of Practice (no previous training needed). Self-taught asynchronously (at your own pace; no live participation required). NEWLY redesigned: Cost £195
Participants will gain access to about 12 hours of training videos drawn from previous training, the MotC Manual, exemplar anonymised parenting interviews, and other course materials. Access is also give to MotC Slack channel (social media) for specific questions. Please go here to register and for more information.
Coding the MotC course (requires Introduction to the MotC: Principles of Practice). Asynchronously online via Cambridge Centre for Attachment. Please book here.
The MotC Practice Pathway: Using the MotC to understand and plan intervention. Asynchronously online via Cambridge Centre for Attachment. Please book here.
Introductory Workshops: We are able to offer tailor made short introductory courses for those considering using the MotC in their agency, or wanting to inform a wider staff group about the MotC, so that they can understand and use feedback provided by those fully trained in the procedure. We are also able to offer a 2 day course on giving the MotC, which leads to certification in carrying out the interview (but not in its classification/analysis).
Advanced Courses: These are offered to those who have already completed the main training, but wish to build on their skills learned, network with other professionals using the MotC, come back to the MotC after a gap, and/or require extra support in working towards reliability. There is a MotC refresher e-course, an online MotC network (available to anyone interested in using the MotC), and regular workshops taking place in Cambridge. Please email motc@attachment.services if interested, or visit http://attachment.services/events
Dr Grey and Ms Kesteven are available to train the Meaning of the Child ‘in house’ to Local Authorities, Voluntary Organisations, and other agencies, and can adapt the course to suit specific needs. Please contact for further information.
………..
“I am a Social Worker and have worked in Child Protection for all of my career of 15 years and have completed a lot of training over the course of my Social Work career. I completed the Motc training with Dr Grey about 2 years ago and I loved every minute of it! It challenged me in how I thought, how I assessed families/parents and how I interpreted the information.
◊◊◊
The Motc Interview has given me a structured and focused assessment which has enable me to explore the relationship between the parent and child. It has given me more confidence as a professional and I feel more confident in my assessments. I cannot believe what wealth of information I have gathered using the Motc interview. I would genuinely and whole heartily recommend this training for everyone who works with families.”
Social Worker, Northern Ireland