Five Rivers Annual Research Into Practice Conference 2025
Thursday 09 October 2025
On Thursday the 18th of September we hosted our annual Five Rivers Research Into Practice Conference featuring thought provoking sessions on Beyond Neglect and Unseen Attachment Trauma, Evaluation ATIC™ (Attachment & Trauma Informed Care) Therapeutic Care Training, The Reflective Fostering Program and Food as a Relational Substance. From the very start of the session, we had a very energetic atmosphere with an audience eager to begin.
This year we had a mix of practitioners, researchers and professionals working in the industry. Each session focused on how these practices can be implemented and how barriers can be turned into bridges.
Our first session was with Doris D’Hooghe, a psycho-traumatologist, integrative child therapist, and EMDR practitioner. Her presentation introduced Unseen Attachment Trauma (UAT) as an emerging form of attachment trauma stemming from the caregiver’s emotional and physical absence. She also discussed the disengagement of caregivers, the disruption of care and the loss a child can feel. As she stated during her presentation “Emotions stay active outside of your awareness,” highlighting how early childhood experiences can quietly shape relationships and behaviour long before the child has a real understanding of it.
In our next session we had Dr Hannah Wilcox from Midhurst Clinical Therapeutic Services (MCTS), discussing the ATIC™ approach to care which she overseas. Dr Wilcox is a Clinical Psychologist and Head of Service at MCTS who provides high impact sector leading care and education across the country. Dr Wilcox discussed the growing complexity of young people coming into care and the rising levels of trauma and complex behavioural issues. She discussed the need for high standards of therapeutic care for young people and carers. She went on to discuss the ATIC™ Therapeutic Training Programme, which was developed in response to this.
Another session that stood out and was well received was Dr Sheila Redfern’s (PhD) presentation on The Reflective Fostering Program. She explored the mental states that influence emotional and behavioural responses prior to attention and affect regulation being established.
I don’t know what is in your mind, but I am trying to understand. – Dr Sheila Redfern’s (PhD)
Sheila discussed reflective parenting tools, including The Emotional Thermometer and The Parenting Map. She also talked about mentalisation and how understanding other people’s perspectives and empathising can help you understand why people do what they do. Why when you look at the root of reactionary behaviour you realise that your child is agitated because they are hungry and that their behaviour is not intentional. <
Lastly, we were joined by Linda Cundy, who is an attachment-based psychoanalytic psychotherapist and supervisor, and Attachment Consultant to the Bowlby Centre. She described the belief that “we are how we are fed,” as an extension of the classic phrase “you are what you eat.”
Where there’s food, there’s an attachment story. – Linda Cundy
Linda went into detail about how food is more than just nutrition, it’s a culture and a ritual that provides stability and predictability in people’s lives who may otherwise experience chaos. She talked about how exploring our earliest memories may be the key to understanding our relationship with food. How we attach to food can reveal how secure, avoidant, preoccupied or disorganised our relationship is and can reflect deeper emotional patterns rooted in childhood experiences. Linda highlighted how our food related behaviours often stem from intergenerational narratives, social class or values and unconscious motivations that shape what we include and exclude in our diets. She gave insightful and practical ideas with one attendee saying “Linda Cundy has left me with much food for thought!”.
Our hopes for all who attended is that you gained new ideas and new tools that you can use because too often training is delivered once and then forgotten, rather than built into continual practice. At Five Rivers it important to us to make sure research is accessible, that training is accessible; that it speaks in ways practitioners can use, not only in theoretical or academic formats but in real life. Our hosts pulled not only from their case studies but also from personal life events and experiences to highlight how these practices can and have been helpful.
We hope you got new practice ideas and new and refined perspectives – leaving you feeling inspired by being in a (virtual) room with a group of people who are as motivated as you are to bridge the gap between theory and real life. It was a truly remarkable day, full of valuable insights for everyone who attended, along with the chance to earn 5 hours of complimentary CPD and a certificate.
If you missed this year’s event, mark your calendar for next year’s Research Into Practice Conference on Thursday 17th September 2026.