Anyone who’s worked with kids can attest that top-down cognitive and behavioral interventions are commonly used to address anxiety, noncompliance, and many DSM diagnoses. But recent neuroscientific discoveries show us that emotional and behavioral control is more embodied, developmental, and relational than we’d once thought. Instead of placing undue pressure on neuro-normative and neuro-diverse kids to comply with behavioral expectations before they’re developmentally ready, we now have a chance to use bottom-up, body-based approaches that can help them learn effective and lifelong skills of self-regulation and building resilience. In this paradigm-shifting workshop, you’ll discover:

• How to distinguish between top-down and body-up or bottom-up behaviors in children
• Practical strategies to build resilience and self-regulation in both parent and child
• How behavior management techniques can harm children’s sense of relational safety
• How to translate Polyvagal Theory into your clinical work with kids and parents
• Why dyadic work with parent and child is the most impactful modality for solving childhood emotional challenges

Mona M. Delahooke, PhD, is a clinical psychologist who’s worked with multi-disciplinary teams for over 30 years. A senior faculty member of the Profectum Foundation, she’s the author of the blog and award-winning book, Beyond Behaviors: Using Brain Science and Compassion to Understand and Solve Children’s Behavioral Challenges, and the forthcoming book, Brain-Body Parenting: How to Stop Managing Behavior and Start Raising Joyful, Resilient Kids.