Self-Regulation and Trauma Healing

SELF-REGULATION and Trauma Healing

Is your child/youth struggling with self-regulation, sensory processing and/or motor difficulties, the effects of trauma, mental health at home and school?

This program takes place over 14 weeks and it implements sensory enhanced and trauma aware practices to help children and youth to learn about self- regulation and trauma healing. The program includes a variety of sensory enhanced activities, reflex integration and vagus nerve activation assessment and exercises with our occupational therapist. Children and youth experience a variety of experiential labs and discussions where they learn the basics of self-regulation, interoception and stress management. We believe that without interoception being taught, it is impossible to develop self-regulation skills. Parents and guardians are educated/coached in the implementation of interoception language, reflex integration exercises related to self-regulation.

This program is designed for children/youth with anxiety, mental health challenges and/or conditions, recovering from trauma, chronic pain, inflammation and chronic stress. We invite all participants to sign up only for the entirety of the program in order to be able to progress through the curriculum. We know that clients are able to fully embody the content learned when participating in the full program. We typically meet during a weekday afternoon after school or during the day if a child/youth is homeschooled. We mostly meet for individual/private sessions in the clinic and there are some group experiential activities and outings. Assessments are done throughout the program so that occupational therapists can develop a self-regulation profile that is shared with the child/youth and parents or guardians as a result of participating in this program.

This program can be covered through Autism Funding, At Home Program, Respite, extended health and other types of funding for occupational therapy. The program is around $2,800 and registration will take place on August 1, 2024. We can only take 10 children/youth in one cohort. The cohort takes place from September to December every year.

Sensory Enhanced Movement for Self-Regulation and Trauma Program for Groups or Schools!

A similar version of the program is delivered to groups of children, a whole classroom, or children center, or program. The occupational therapist will offer consultations to the teachers and/or any school or community staff. Based on the consultation, a multi-week program is set up to offer Professional development to staff, classroom wide or small group observations and assessments, classroom wide or small group programming for a few weeks to teach students the basics of stress, self regulation through the senses and vagus nerve activation, interoception, etc. Consultations and training can also be offered for parents of students involved in the consultation and programming. Staff and/or students who participate in this multi-week consultation process will walk away with a self-regulation profile, designed environment to facilitate and teach self regulation, and a variety of other tools and outcomes.