Switch on Security
A Two-Day In-Person Introduction to Attachment for AdopteesÂ
20 - 21Â August, 2026
Sydney, NSW
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Proudly funded by Relationships Australia, NSW
When the nervous system has never truly known secure attachment, relationships can feel confusing, unpredictable or even dangerous. Even when nothing 'obvious' is wrong.
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For many adoptees, attachment isn’t just theory. It lives in the body: in hypervigilance, people-pleasing, fear of rejection, difficulty trusting, or the ache of longing to belong. These patterns are not flaws; they are intelligent survival responses to early rupture and loss.
Switch on Security is a compassionate 2-day experiential program for adoptees wanting to better understand attachment through a somatic lens. Together, we’ll explore the attachment patterns shaped by adoption and begin cultivating a greater sense of safety, connection and earned security within ourselves and in relationship with others.
This program is generously funded by Relationships Australia NSW, making it accessible to those who seek healing, understanding and restoration within the adoption experience.
Register Your Interest Today
Do you long for deeper connection but find it hard to fully trust, relax or feel safe with others?
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Do you often feel “too much,” “not enough,” or afraid of being rejected, abandoned or unseen?
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Are you tired of living in survival mode: overthinking, people-pleasing, hyper-independence or constantly bracing for disconnection?
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THIS IS YOUR OPPORTUNITY.
This workshop offers a compassionate space for adoptees to explore attachment through the nervous system and early relational experiences. Through somatic practices, you’ll begin to understand survival patterns and gently build greater safety, connection and earned security within yourself and relationships.
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REGISTER YOUR INTERESTÂ TODAY AND TAKE THE FIRST STEP TOWARD HEALING AND CONNECTION...
INTRODUCING
Attachment Theory
Attachment theory explores how our earliest relationships shape the way we experience safety, connection and trust in adulthood. It helps us understand why we move toward, away from or become overwhelmed in relationships, especially under stress.
For adoptees, attachment theory offers a powerful lens for making sense of experiences that can otherwise feel confusing or personal. It can bring clarity, reduce self-blame and open the door to working with survival patterns in a way that supports healing and deeper connection.
This Workshop Offers:
Understanding Attachment Patterns
A clear, adoptee-informed view of attachment through a nervous system lens, helping you make sense of relational patterns without self-blame.
Somatic Tools for Survival Responses
Practical, embodied practices to notice, work with and gently soften survival strategies as they arise in real time.
Building Earned Security
A supportive experiential space to cultivate greater internal safety, connection and stability in yourself and your relationships.
Workshop Overview
DAY ONE - 20 August
Understanding the Map of Attachment
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We begin by exploring attachment theory through an adoptee-informed and nervous system lens. You’ll learn how early relational experiences shape survival patterns such as hypervigilance, disconnection, people-pleasing and emotional shutdown. This day is about clarity, recognition and making sense of your lived experience in a way that reduces self-blame and increases understanding.
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DAY TWO - 21 August
Working with the Nervous System and Building Earned Security
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On day two, we shift from understanding to embodiment. Through guided somatic practices and experiential work, you’ll begin to notice and gently work with attachment responses as they arise in real time. The focus is on cultivating greater internal safety, increasing capacity for connection, and beginning to experience what earned security can feel like in the body and in relationship.
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What Others
Have Experienced
BE INSPIRED
"This workshop was nurturing with space to explore and learn. There was a good balance of wisdom and practice. I absolutely love learning from Monique. Her compassion and depth of presence makes me feel safe, understood and curious."
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- Kirilly Dawn
"Monique has an incredible gift for creating safety, nourishing experiences and fun. I can't recommend her as a facilitator enough. It's such a pleasure to have the opportunity to tap into her depth of knowledge and experience."
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- Betsy Hansen
How It Works.
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This is a highly experiential, gently paced workshop that weaves teaching, reflection and somatic practice. You’ll be guided through accessible nervous system-based exercises designed to help you notice your attachment patterns as they show up in real time.
Each day includes short teaching segments to ground you in key concepts, followed by embodied practices, guided reflection and time for integration. Nothing is forced, you are invited to work at the edge of your own capacity, with choice and agency throughout.
The emphasis is on experience over analysis, supporting you to feel, track and gently shift patterns in the body, not just understand them intellectually.
Register Your Interest Today
Hi! I'm Monique.
YOURÂ WORKSHOP FACILITATOR
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I am a proud descdendent of the Wiradjiri people, an adoptee, therapist, somatic experiencing® practitioner and group facilitator specialising in post adoption, complex trauma, attachment and somatic healing. With extensive experience supporting individuals and families impacted by early separation, loss and adoption, my work integrates somatic practices, expressive therapies and nature-based approaches to create safe, transformative spaces for healing.
My practice is informed by over 20 years of experience in trauma-sensitive facilitation and I am known for my compassionate, insightful and grounding presence. My approach blends professional expertise with lived understanding of adoption, helping participants explore hidden dynamics, honour unspoken stories and cultivate a deeper sense of belonging and connection.
Register Your Interest Today
This workshop offers a rare opportunity to explore attachment through an adoptee-informed, somatic lens in a space designed specifically for your lived experience.
Rather than focusing on fixing or analysing, it invites you into direct relationship with your nervous system patterns as they arise.
It's a chance to slow down enough to notice what has been running automatically, to bring compassion to survival responses and to begin building a felt sense of safety from the inside out.
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THIS IS WHAT YOU'VE BEEN WAITING FOR.
Additional
Testimonials
BE INSPIRED...
"Monique is marvelous, present, safe, groovy, caring, joyful, open and full of wisdom. It wouldn't surprise me if I stumbled across her walking in a magical forest in a little cabin, fire place warm and door open to share her wisdom."
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-Â Jane Ashton
"I really enjoy Monique's way of facilitating. There's a sacredness in her offerings. Her warmth, care and patient wisdom provides room for everyone's journey. Everyone is welcome and respected, all are held and supported, no one is left out."
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- Kelly Ermer
This could be you!
Are you ready to begin understanding your attachment patterns with more clarity, compassion and less self-blame?
Are you ready to shift from survival mode into a greater sense of safety, connection and ease within yourself and your relationships?
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FOLLOW THESE THREE STEPSÂ
Register Your Interest
Space is limited, so register your interest to participate by clicking below.
Warm Intake Process
We'll connect with you to ensure the workshop is a good fit for your needs.
Confirm Your Spot
Once confirmed, we'll secure your place so you can prepare to engage in a safe, supportive space for healing.
Registration Closes In:
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Frequently Asked Questions
ALL YOUR QUESTIONS ANSWERED HERE
Who is this workshop for?
Do I need prior experience with Attachment Theory?
How do I register?
What if I feel emotional during the workshop?
Is this a safe space?
Is there a cost to attend?
What You'll Gain.
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You’ll leave with a clearer understanding of your attachment patterns and how they have been shaped by early relational experiences and survival responses.
More importantly, you’ll begin to recognise these patterns as they arise in real time, with greater capacity to meet them with awareness rather than overwhelm or self-judgement.
You’ll also have embodied experiences of what greater internal safety and connection can feel like, offering the beginnings of earned security you can continue to build beyond the workshop.
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Register Your Interest Today
Workshop Practicalities
Sydney, NSW
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Time: 9:00 AM – 4:00 PM each day
Lunch: Healthy lunch provided
- The workshop will be held at the Dee Why Surf Life Saving Club in Sydney, with air conditioning, bathroom amenities and ample metered parking at the Dee Why SLSC (capped at a day rate of $35). There is some free on street parking but a little further away and limited to availability.
- Accomodation and travel will be the participants responsibility, and not included in the small grant funding.
- Spaces are limited. Register your interest today.
