Healing the Neglected Child

Published: Tuesday, 13 January 2026 11:25

Venue: Place 4 U Clonmel Co. Tipperary
Date: March 21st and 22nd 2026
Presenter: Christelle Schläpfer
Cost: €160
CPD Points: 14

This two day professional training is designed to strengthen your therapeutic work with clients whose struggles trace back to early emotional neglect. This material goes beyond the familiar theories. It gives you deeper clarity, practical structure, and a richer understanding of how neglect shapes a client’s inner world, their relationships, and their capacity for growth.

The workshop explores both the traditional roots of neglect and the newer forms emerging in today’s digital and fast-paced environment. We will also consider how neglect, recognized as one of the Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs), can have lasting effects on emotional, social, and psychological well-being. You will look at how these patterns influence attachment, social connection, resilience and the development of protective or neurotic tendencies. You will also examine the intriguing clinical question of whether indulgence can sometimes show as a response to early deprivation and how to recognise it when it does.

Upon completion of this course, participants will have achieved the following:

• Develop a profound understanding of the causes and manifestations of neglect and recognize why neglect is a form of emotional violence.
• Understand the potential consequences of neglect, including insecure attachments, a lack of social feeling, reduced resilience, and the development of neurotic tendencies.
• Explore the concept that spoiling can sometimes be an attempt to respond to childhood neglect.
• Learn practical steps to reduce neglect and promote healing.

If you want to expand your clinical toolkit, work with greater precision, and deepen your capacity to support clients affected by neglect, this workshop will be a valuable addition to your practice.

About the presenter

Christelle Schläpfer lives in Switzerland, where she founded edufamily® in 2010. She left teaching after 14 years in a secondary school to devote herself to Adlerian counselling. She is a lecturer in the field of parent and teacher training. She teaches on the International Master's Degree in Adlerian Counselling at the Ramon Llull University in Barcelona and at ICASSI, the International Adlerian Summer school, as well as at the Adler Institute in Paris. She trains multipliers internationally, mainly teams of teachers, school social workers and professionals in the field of counselling.