Children, teens and adults can experience complex developmental trauma when things happened that shouldn’t have happened such as sexual, emotional or physical abuse or loss and abandonment. Developmental trauma can also develop even with children who have sensitive and loving parents but who may have experienced significant illness, injury or medically invasive procedures.
Our services focus on what we call a “bottom up approach”. The key is that we need to help calm the brain and the body first through safe and regulating input. This comes “before words”, reasoning and talking approaches. There is no single, straightforward path. We use a relational framework along with meaningful activities to support the nervous system at a primitive level and work towards choice making, planning, reflection and learning.
Our trauma informed services aim to create a network of support around children and teens to help ensure that they continue to experience compassion and safety in their communities, schools and homes.