Secure Pathways™

The Roadmap to Relationships

Connecting Attachment, Faith, and the Enneagram.

Who Does This Help?

Welcome to Secure Pathways™

Are you experiencing struggles in your parenting journey?

You love your kids and want to improve your connection with them but find yourself feeling frustrated or inadequate or disappointed in parenting.

If you are looking for attachment-based, Enneagram-informed parenting support, Secure Pathways™ is here to help!

Dr. Cunningham has a passion for helping families improve their relationships and is glad you are here!

You are in the right place if you have ever wondered…

Why is parenting so hard? Is there an easier way?
Do my children know how much I love them because it feels like many of my interactions with them seem to backfire or push them away?
How do I speak in a way that my kids will understand or hear me?
Why do I get so upset (angry, frustrated, anxious, or ashamed) in certain situations with my children?
How do I undo the negative pattern that has developed between myself and my child or teen?
What do my kids really need?

As parents, no one is perfect, but your kids don’t need you to be…

Parents just need to be “good enough” so that your children can develop a secure attachment with you. You need to have grace for yourself and for your children. And you need to have a roadmap to better connect. Welcome to Secure Pathways™, where the journey together begins with support and direction to improve the effectiveness of your parenting and your ability to connect.

Welcome to Secure Pathways

Are you experiencing struggles in your parenting journey? If you are looking for attachment-based, Enneagram-informed parenting support, Secure Pathways is here to help!

You love your kids and want to improve your connection with them but find yourself feeling frustrated, inadequate or disappointed in parenting. If you are looking for attachment-based, Enneagram-informed parenting support, Secure Pathways is here to help!

Dr. Cunningham has a passion for helping families improve their relationships and is glad you are here!

You are in the right place if you have ever wondered…

Why is parenting so hard? Is there an easier way?
Do my children know how much I love them because it feels like many of my interactions with them seem to backfire or push them away?
How do I speak in a way that my kids will understand or hear me?
Why do I get so upset (angry, frustrated, anxious, or ashamed) in certain situations with my children?
How do I undo the negative pattern that has developed between myself and my child or teen?
What do my kids really need?

As parents, no one is perfect, but your kids don’t need you to be…

Parents just need to be “good enough” so that your children can develop a secure attachment with you. You need to have grace for yourself and for your children. And you need to have a roadmap to better connect. Welcome to Secure Pathways, where the journey together begins with support and direction to improve the effectiveness of your parenting and your ability to connect.

Our Mission

Secure Pathways™ provides direction for parents to increase their self-awareness and their understanding of their children in order to develop a more secure attachment (improve their relationship) with their children by using the Enneagram and attachment science in the context of faith.

Our Approach

Secure attachment with children starts with a secure parent.

Effective and Practical

Secure Pathways™ is an individualized coaching service that helps you connect better to yourself, your faith, and your family relationships. This coaching provides a roadmap for self-awareness, spiritual growth, and secure attachment by utilizing the Enneagram and Circle of Security® attachment model. Discover your Enneagram type and how your unique attributes and experiences influence how you interact in the world. When you are secure in who you are in the Lord, then you are able to be the parent your children need. Being able to understand and meet your children’s needs creates secure attachment with them.

Self-Awareness
The Enneagram is a great tool to learn more about how you approach and respond to the world. Understand how and why you act the way you do based on your Enneagram (personality) type and your life experiences. Gain a deeper understanding of your approach to conflict and to emotions, your interpersonal patterns, and your communication style. Discover your Enneagram type and explore your strengths and struggles and find direction for growth.
Faith
Your personality type impacts the way you relate to God. Using the Enneagram and the power of the Holy Spirit, draw closer to the Lord and experience His love for you and live into the person He created you to be. Each Enneagram type reflects aspects of God’s character since He created you in His image. You can find grace and freedom to be your true self. It is from this posture that you are able to more fully connect with others.
Family
Explore how your personality type influences your parenting style. Regardless of your own attachment history, experiences, and background, there is a path to develop secure attachment with your children. The Circle of Security® attachment model provides a roadmap for parents to better understand what children need to develop a safe and secure relationship with them.

When you are secure in who you are in the Lord and are aware of and reflect on your personality tendencies, then you are able to be the parent your children need. Combining an understanding of attachment with knowledge about your Enneagram type allows you to be more attuned to your children and to meet their needs in a way that leads to improved family dynamics. Being able to understand and be more attentive to your children’s underlying relational and emotional needs, being able to support their exploration, and being able to appropriately take charge creates secure attachment with them. This results in more positive outcomes for children now and down the road.

Enneagram

The Enneagram is a personality system with nine different personality types that explains why people act, think, and feel the way they do. It is not merely a description of a person’s behavior but gets to the deeper motivations behind their actions. Although there are nine primary types, there are many aspects to the Enneagram that allow for nuances and variations within each Enneagram type so everyone has an unique expression of their personality. Explore how your unique attributes and experiences influence how you interact in the world. It takes self-reflection to gain a deeper understanding of your motivations, emotions, and behavior. The Enneagram is useful to better understand yourself and how to relate to other people who see and experience the world differently. Knowing your type can help pinpoint strengths and struggles, as well as provide direction for growth and indicators of stress.

Attachment / Parenting

Attachment is the quality of the relationship between a parent and a child. This pattern of connection between parent and child develops over time and is often referred to as a “bond.” Secure attachment is the child’s belief that their parent will be there for them when they need it. This understanding of attachment originated from John Bowlby and Mary Ainsworth’s work and research. Secure attachment is based on the degree to which the parent provides predictable emotional attunement when the child needs to connect and provides predictable, non-intrusive support when the child needs to explore or play. Attachment is the reliability of the parent to be in charge, to know when and how the child needs connection and comfort, and to know when and how to support the child’s need to build competence and independence. The Circle of Security® is a user-friendly, research-backed model of attachment that will help parents clarify what their child needs and how to be responsive to those needs.

Using the Enneagram and the Circle of Security® Parenting model to pinpoint strengths and struggles in parenting can provide individualized direction for helping parents develop more secure attachments with their children (and other significant relationships).

Faith-Based Coaching

The Enneagram is useful for transformation, not just information. Each of the nine types represents an important aspect of God’s character that can be developed in each type. The Enneagram itself brings knowledge about your personality but the grace of the gospel is what enables true clarity and change. “Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need” (Hebrews 4:16) and so that we may be “transformed into His image with ever-increasing glory” (2 Corinthians 3:18). By inviting the Holy Spirit into this process of self-awareness, the Lord can reveal areas for each person that may need to be examined and that can free you to be honest with yourself and with others.

For parents that are not Christians or are not interested in a faith-based approach, you can think about your primary adult relationship as the place to establish your secure attachment. These services can be delivered without the faith component, if you prefer.

Our Services

What We Offer

In addition to the primary service that Secure Pathways™ provides, which is faith-based Enneagram coaching for parents with a focus on improving secure attachment with their children, there are several services available to help put all those pieces in place.

Clients may also choose non-faith-based coaching for any of the services.

Please note that these are coaching services, not mental health counseling or therapy.

Please email Dr. Cunningham directly if there is a related service in which you are interested, such as pre-marital or couples Enneagram coaching, small group coaching, or group presentations.

10% of the profits from Secure Pathways will be donated to a charity or non-profit organization.

Typing Session
^$150_/session
Figure out your Enneagram type if you are not familiar with the Enneagram and are unsure of your type.
Choose This Plan
Enneagram Coaching
^$1,800_{/12-session package}
Explore your Enneagram type and how that impacts your relationship with yourself (and your faith, if you would like to use a Christian framework).
- 2 sessions per month either paid in full or automatic monthly billing of $300
Choose This Plan
Parent Coaching
^$1,800_{/12-session package}
Learn about secure attachment by using the Circle of Security® attachment model to explore what secure attachment looks like, what children need, how parents meet children’s needs while maintaining the parental role, and then applying your knowledge of your Enneagram type to your specific parenting circumstances and struggles.
- 2 sessions per month either paid in full or automatic monthly billing of $300
Choose This Plan

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Please click this button to schedule a one-off session in the portal.

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“I [God] will guide you along the best pathway for your life. I will advise you and watch over you.”

Psalm 32:8

Behind the Practice

A Look at Dr. Cunningham

Dr. Jera Nelson Cunningham has 20 years of experience as a clinical psychologist working with families. She specializes in trauma and attachment and provides therapy, parenting intervention, psychological testing, and attachment evaluations in her clinical practice. Over the course of her career, she has worked in community mental health, inpatient settings, and private practice. She started Secure Pathways™ after she became a certified Enneagram coach as a way to combine her clinical experience and faith while utilizing her Type 3 strengths. Combining her passion for families and faith is an ideal way to integrate two important aspects of her life in a way that benefits others.

Jera is a Certified Circle of Security® Parenting Facilitator through the Circle of Security International™. She is a Certified Enneagram Coach through Your Enneagram Coach and Simply Wholehearted.

Jera is a wife and mother of two teenagers. She and her husband spend a lot of time watching their boys play lacrosse. She enjoys photography, scrapbooking, spending time at the lake or beach, planning the family’s next vacation, and going for walks.

Contact Dr. Cunningham

Testimonials

What clients are saying...

Jera is an attentive listener and thoughtful question-asker.

I felt heard and understood. In spite of my uncertainty about my Enneagram type, she gently guided me through the process of understanding myself and my motivations. I appreciate that her insight about me and my family were filtered through a Christ-centered lens. Learning more about who I am and how I am wired has been invaluable as I learn to lean into my giftings and leverage my weaknesses so that in the end, I can love others more and glorify my Creator.

I am thankful for the opportunity that I had to work with Jera!

Chitra, Type 4

Wife, Mom, and Professional Organizer

I was stuck. It felt like I was drowning in challenges related to relationships, roles, and general life situations. This was uncharted territory for me and I didn’t know how to get things back on track.

Jera helped to break down the internal and external dynamics by exploring how my enneagram type filters my understanding of reality. She helped me to recognize that in my state of depletion, I was not able to offer my best to myself, God, or those I love.

During each session we spent time sifting and sorting through different elements, using the enneagram as a framework. Jera offered practical and helpful suggestions for action and insightful questions that prompted me to consider things in a constructive way. She gently challenged the unhelpful, unrealistic, and false ideas that contributed to my feeling stuck, and offered consistent and truthful reminders of who God created me to be.

Working with Jera has been a gift! This investment has led to new awareness, a sense of peace, and is resulting in more satisfying experiences and relationships.

Emilie, Type 6

Wife, Mom, and Community Volunteer