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What if the most transformative thing we can do for children is to care for the carers first? That’s the provocative starting point for a wide-ranging conversation with psychotherapist and clinical leader Richard Cross, whose work brings attachment theory out of the textbook and into daily practice across residential homes, foster services, schools and clinical teams.

We explore how containment, supervision, and shared language turn trauma-informed care from a training buzzword into a living culture. Richard breaks down the ATIC approach—Attachment and Trauma Informed Care—built on two parallel pathways: one for staff and one for children. By mirroring the holding and reflection we want adults to offer children, organisations create teams that think clearly under pressure, tolerate uncertainty, and respond with consistency rather than reactivity. Practical structures like “amber flag” meetings and cross-service formulations help stop fragmentation and keep everyone aligned when the stakes are high.

We also tackle a contentious question: when is residential care the right first option? For some children who are phobic of family life due to traumatic histories, early, high-quality residential care provides the containment and predictable relationships required to stabilise, re-engage in education, and prepare for future family placements. Richard explains how better assessment, leadership that “walks the talk,” and credible outcome tracking help commissioners trust early interventions that reduce breakdowns and shorten the overall care journey. If you’re a practitioner, leader, foster carer, or policymaker, this conversation challenges short-term thinking and offers grounded, humane ways to match care to need.

If this resonates, follow the show, share it with a colleague, and leave a review—what’s one change you’d make tomorrow to better care for the carers?

Richard’s Bio:

Richard is a UK Registered Psychotherapist and Child Psychotherapist.

His career for over 30 years has focused on working with relational approaches in areas associated with attachment, trauma and dissociation.

Richard’s early career was focused on developing relationally based treatments within correctional environments to reduce recidivism, as well as managing democratic prison-based Therapeutic Communities for high-risk adult life-sentenced offenders (HMP Dovegate, England).

Richard collaborated with Sandra Bloom to introduce the Sanctuary Model to the UK in 2004.

Since then, Richard has developed an interest in trauma-responsive models and continued his focus on Therapeutic Communities, exploring how to bring these aspects to life in organisational cultures. One example is a multi-component approach called ATIC (Attachment and Trauma-Informed Care), which is now harnessed across multiple residential child care homes. 

Richard is actively involved in research and innovation, and he also provides consultancy services to organisations, and training to qualified mental health professionals. 

Richard is Director of Clinical Services at Five Rivers Child Care & Midhurst Children’s Therapeutic Services, where he leads teams of psychologists and psychotherapists. He is also a Fellow and Faculty member of the International Society for Trauma and Dissociation, and serves as a trustee of the Bowlby Centre in London and The Consortium of Therapeutic Communities (TCTC).

Disclaimer:

Information reported by guests of this podcast is assumed to be accurate as stated. Podcast owner Colby Pearce is not responsible for any error of facts presented by podcast guests. In addition, unless otherwise specified, opinions expressed by guests of this podcast may not refle

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