Working with Your Attachment Style: Tools for Healthier Relationships.

Attachment styles are a type of unconscious mental program we usually run when relationships become hard or messy. You have probably heard your therapist mention certain attachment styles you may be displaying in specific interactions.

There are four different styles, coined by psychologist Bowlby (1998), who observed baby monkeys responding to their mother’s way of caring for them. These are:

Secure: A sense that the world is safe and others will be helpful if needed; comfort in closeness and vulnerability; confidence in self to explore; effective emotional regulation; and the ability to communicate needs and fears.

Anxious (or preoccupied, ambivalent): Hyperactivating (fight response); preoccupied with threats and others’ availability; energetic attempts to achieve proximity; lack of confidence in others’ responsiveness and in one’s own worthiness and coping.

Avoidant: Hypoactivating (flight response); dismissive of attachment needs; shuts down the attachment system; suppresses vulnerability; fiercely self-reliant; shaped by negative experiences of closeness; independent.

Fearful avoidant (disorganised): Swings between anxious and avoidant approaches to connection; desperately needing connection but fearful of others’ unreliability; doubting one’s worthiness of love and support; perceives others as both a potential solace and a source of fear.

It is theorised by Bowlby (1988) that how you were raised by your caregivers in childhood directly impacts your attachment style, which carries through into patterns in your adult relationships.

In this workshop, run by two couples’ therapists, Kiara Jade and Priscilla Jones, you will learn:

• To recognise what your attachment style is
• To recognise when and how it is triggered
• To recognise what your protector parts may be
• Why anxious and avoidant types usually end up in relationships together
• Practical ways to respond to these styles when they are triggered, evoking support, insight, and unconditional self-love

By learning these tools to recognise and support yourself, attachment styles no longer have to run the show in your relationships or keep you chasing people who are not right for you in the long term. Once you can recognise when these patterns arise, you can utilise the strategies from this workshop to support yourself whenever they appear in future relationships.

About your facilitators:

Kiara Jade @

Kiara Jade is a couple’s therapist who helps people recognise and break out of toxic cycles in relationships. With a unique ability to identify hidden patterns, she blends psychology, attachment theory, and spiritual wisdom to guide her clients into deeper connection, healing, and self love. She specialises in making big psychology concepts easy to understand and practical.

She has worked in the mental health, counselling and psychology fields for ten years and is the author of Healthy Relating: Navigating Conflict in Relationships. She is the podcast host of ‘Heal Your Heart, Heal Your Life’ and has spoken at Seven Sisters festival, Next Top Speaker and No to Violence Conference.

Priscilla Jones

Priscilla Jones is a skilled facilitator and Relationships Therapist who creates spaces where deep transformation can take place. She works with individuals and couples to navigate emotional blocks, build authentic connection, and reclaim intimacy, with themselves and in their relationships.

In her workshops, Priscilla brings a powerful blend of grounded presence and compassionate challenge. She has a gift for tracking relational dynamics and guiding participants into their bodies - where truth lives, clarity arises, and real change begins. Her facilitation invites men to meet themselves beyond old roles and conditioning, and to step into embodied leadership in their lives and relationships.

Drawing from Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT), Internal Family Systems (IFS), somatic and attachment therapies, and Authentic Relating, Priscilla weaves depth, safety, and emotional aliveness into every circle she leads.

Things to note:

Centre of You has plenty of bolsters, blankets, and cushions for you to get cosy with. We recommend wearing comfortable, loose clothes to enable deep breathing and sitting/laying upon the floor with ease. Something to cover your eyes, if you wish to do so (eg. eye mask, scarf). A journal is recommended as are any familiar personal items that will aid you in feeling grounded (crystal, teddy, scarf, etc).

Personal responsibility: Please make an assessment on whether you are feeling stable and resourced enough to explore the practices on offer in this event.

Notice of Partial Moment Amateur Photography/Videography: There are many events held at Centre of You where no content is captured. The facilitator of this event however wishes to capture moments of this gathering for future marketing and community-sharing purposes. This will take place via their personal device captured by themselves or a representative. We recognise that being recorded can impact personal comfort and nervous system regulation and we want to honor your preferences. If you do not wish to have your image captured yet still wish to join, know that this is entirely possible at this event. Please speak with us at the door so we can honour your boundaries. If you’d like to review any footage captured at the conclusion of the event, you are most welcome to do so.

Arrival: Endeavour to arrive between 11:45am - 12:00pm. To preserve the experience for all involved, doors will close at 12:15pm. Truly, it breaks our heart to have to turn latecomers away yet the disruption to the whole group experience by virtue of lateness does require management. We ask that you find understanding and consideration for the timebound nature of the container and make every effort to arrive on time.

Driving: Centre of You is located upon Chapel Street and while you may get lucky with an untimed spot, particularly on a Sunday (try High Street) predominantly 1 and 2 hour parking is available (unmetered from 5pm). So you can fully settle into the practice, we suggest you avoid the need to move your car or risk a fine and park at the CARe multilevel carpark (8-14 King Street Prahran), a 140-metre walk from COY. 3 hours parking will be charged at $6.90.

Public transport - tram: Both the number 6 tram & 78 tram stop on the corner of High St/Chapel St. This is stop 31 on the number 6 tram (Moreland/Glen Iris) & stop 45 on the number 78 tram (North Richmond/Balaclava).

Public transport - train: Both Prahran & Windsor stations along the Sandringham Line will get you walking distance to Centre of You.

Finding Centre of You: Centre of You is nestled within the arcade that Chapel St Bazaar is in (217 Chapel St). It is up a flight of stairs with a wide landing at the half-way-point. Unfortunately, this current version of Centre of You does not have a wheelchair accessible lift. If you could use support in getting up the stairs or would like to discuss ways to make your experience at Centre of You more comfortable, please reach out via [email protected] or via DM over on Centre of You Instagram.

Accessibility: At COY we aim to ensure our community and events are inclusive and accessible while alongside upholding the needs and responsibilities of our business and the businesses of our collaborating facilitators. Should you be in a time of financial challenge and unable to pay the full ticket price comfortably, please reach out via [email protected] or via DM over on Centre of You Instagram

Ticketing T&Cs: We get it, life happens, therefore we will gladly refund you up until 24hrs before the event start time. After that, we have a strict no refund/no transfer to future events policy. If you are no longer able to attend and wish to pay forward your ticket to someone within the community, be in touch via [email protected] or via DM over on Centre of You Instagram.

Questions? Email [email protected] or reach out via Instagram DM.

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