Recorded webinar.

This training will focus on providing therapists of all backgrounds and settings with a set of valuable and immediately practical tools/strategies for resourcing in session. Resources taken from working in many settings and across the full age span of mental health clients will be presented. Participants will be given opportunities to witness the use of these tools through video clips, live demonstrations, and through experiential practice. Each tool/strategy presented will be accompanied with material on the science behind its effectiveness, any research done or emerging, and where participants can acquire more information.

An introduction to the importance of emotion regulation and activation state will be given, primarily relying on Polyvagal Theory as a basis for common vocabulary and understanding. This will review concepts such as the Window of Tolerance and Polyvagal Ladder, some of the consequences of hyper and hypo arousal for counseling outcomes, as well as cautions and insights regarding dissociation.

Strategies Included:

• Olfactory Resource Installation
• Proprioception Strategies; heavy ball, the Tasper, weighted items
• Breath as Bi-lingual: using sensory supports that are both autonomic and somatic
• Why I feed my clients
• Heart Rate Variability (HVR) and use of Heart Math’s Inner Balance device
• Pendulation
• The Feelings Engine from The Alert Program®
• DNMS Internal Resource team
• Tactile strategies for regulation; slime, model magic, sand/rice, spinners (these are for adults too)
• The Safe and Sound Protocol (SSP) from Unyte

This training provides an opportunity for staff and clinicians working with children, adolescents and young adults to increase their confidence in providing psycho-education to clients about the science of felt safety, a variety of tools and strategies to better meet individual client preferences, learning style and comfort levels for resourcing, and how to effectively adapt these tools/strategies for a variety of settings.

Learning Objectives:

• Participants will be able to explain the science of felt safety to clients and client families in a jargon-free, approachable manner using provided analogies and sample stories.

• Explain individual tools and strategies to clients; how they work, what to expect, and how they fit together with therapeutic work already in progress.

• Be equipped to improve hyperarousal and hypoarousal using regulation and resourcing techniques in practice sessions including: Proprioceptive and tactile strategies, pendulation techniques, visualization resources, olfactory installation technique, and other sensory based supports.

• Understand and feel equipped to further explore training in: The SSP (Safe and Sound Protocol) and HeartMath® The Inner Balance™ sensor and app.

Research: 

• Intentional Neuroplasticity: Moving Our Nervous Systems and Educational System Toward Post-Traumatic Growth by Lori L. Desautels PhD (book) 2023
• https://www.polyvagalinstitute.org/ (Dr. Stephen Porges Polyvagal Institute)
• https://child.tcu.edu/about-us/tbri/#sthash.LJH4G660.K0wThbIV.dpbs (Karyn Purvis Institute of Child Development: home of TBRI® Trust Based Relational Intervention
• https://www.emdria.org/ (EMDR International Association)
• https://www.alertprogram.com/new-to-alert-program/
• https://www.alpha-stim.com
• https://www.heartmath.com

Target Audience: social workers, mental health practitioners, creative arts therapists, marriage and facility therapists, psychologists, addiction professionals, case managers, and other interested individuals.

Content Level: beginning and intermediate

We are happy to respond to any concerns or questions you may have. Please contact us at by email at sw-ce@buffalo.edu or by phone at 716-829-5841.

ADA Accommodations: If you require any support for your ADA needs in the United States, please contact us by email at least 3 weeks prior to the event by email at sw-ce@buffalo.edu or by phone at 716-829-5841.