We start from the belief that you and your child have strengths and a natural capacity to heal and thrive. Our job is to help your family build that capacity. We provide a safe environment that fosters a trusting, collaborative relationship with you. We do not pathologize or judge you or your child. We support your resilience so you can move through difficult times and manage the feelings that arise.

We employ a range of modalities to address not only symptoms but also the underlying causes of the symptoms. We use mindfulness, play, talk, Somatic Experiencing^®, Sensory Motor Arousal Regulation Treatment (SMART), expressive arts, movement, and coaching. Our therapeutic framework is founded on the neurobiological connections between mind, body, and emotion. Trauma—in reaction to loss, abuse, separation, illness, accident or other overwhelming experiences—impacts neurodevelopment. It can affect learning, memory, attention, self-esteem, behavior, social relationships, sleep habits, and physical health.

As members of a knowledge-rich professional network, we consult with and learn from experts across our field. We are actively involved in building a community of practitioners who do body-oriented work with children and we are committed to keeping abreast of new research and participating in ongoing professional training to deepen our knowledge and skills.

Somatic Experiencing^® (SE) is a body-awareness approach to trauma developed by Dr. Peter Levine, a biophysicist and psychologist, after more than forty years of observation, research, and practice. Taught and practiced around the world, SE is based on the belief that human beings have an innate ability to overcome the effects of trauma. SE therapy restores self-regulation and enables people to recover a sense of being whole, alive, and connected to self and others.

What does an SE session look like? The answer is as varied as individual clients and therapists. SE is not a rigid protocol but rather a framework for understanding how people respond to threat and how that threat response is stored in the body. SE practitioners (SEPs) complete a 3-year clinical training that gives them a range of therapeutic tools and strategies.

As a client in SE therapy you will be invited to make connections between your emotions, body sensations, thoughts, impulses, and actions. If you find yourself frequently returning to—or trying to push away—memories of painful or traumatic experiences, SE can help you integrate those experiences without reliving them or becoming overwhelmed. This process enables you to hold awareness of trauma without feeling a "charge" of energy. A gentle approach that supports change from the inside out, SE is a natural fit for children because it's not limited to cognitive processes or verbal ability.

To learn more, visit the Somatic Experiencing Trauma Institute's website.