Description
This workshop will be live streaming to online participants on March 12, 2026 from 8:30am – 4:00pm (Vancouver, BC)
Please adjust your start time according to your specific time zone.
Recorded footage and all course content (certificate, videos, quiz) will be available until April 19, 2026. Extensions cannot be granted under any circumstances.
Please allow 3 – 10 business days after the course airs for recorded footage to become available.
Registration will close on March 11, 2026.
Emerging research highlights the vital role of the body in trauma recovery. When clients experience overwhelming stress, the nervous system often remains in a state of hyperarousal or shutdown, making it difficult to feel safe, connected, and regulated. A key part of healing is helping clients stabilize deeper brain regions, such as the amygdala, while supporting them to reconnect with their body and restore a sense of safety.
When clients are able to connect more fully with their own experiences and with others, they are better able to engage in therapy. This training provides clinicians with a set of practical, body-based skills designed to strengthen therapeutic connection, re-establish safety in the body, and regulate the nervous system. Through a blend of neuroscience, clinical demonstrations, and guided practice, participants will gain strategies that are simple, adaptable, and ready to use immediately in clinical practice.
Strengthening the Therapeutic Alliance
- The neuroscience of connection: mirror neurons and emotional attunement
- Techniques to enhance safety and trust: mirroring, co-regulation, and coordinated movement
Restoring Connection with the Body
- How body awareness shapes healing: the role of the insula
- Practical methods: sensory awareness, grounding strategies, and interoceptive exercises
Regulating the Stress Response
- Understanding stress pathways: calming over-activation of the amygdala
- Somatic regulation skills: posture and positioning, vagus nerve activation, and quick regulation tools for acute stress
By the end of this training, participants will be able to:
- Identify key brain regions involved in somatic regulation, including the amygdala and insula.
- Explain the function of mirror neurons in therapeutic connection.
- State three categories of somatic techniques used in trauma treatment.
- Demonstrate at least two practical techniques for body awareness and regulation.
- List two sensorimotor methods that enhance therapeutic attunement.
Varleisha D. Lyons Ph.D, OTD, OTR/L is a renowned occupational therapist, author, and speaker who is deeply passionate about promoting culturally intelligent and spiritually centered mental health care. As a woman of African American and Native American heritage, with ancestral ties to the Haliwa-Saponi tribe through her grandmother, Dr. Lyons is dedicated to integrating Indigenous spiritual practices into modern therapeutic frameworks.
Her work is rooted in a commitment to honoring diverse traditions and creating holistic approaches that address the mind, body, and spirit. She draws inspiration from practices such as storytelling, nature-based rituals, and ancestral healing, advocating for their inclusion in contemporary mental health systems.
Dr. Lyons is a tireless advocate for mental health parity and equity, particularly for underserved communities of Indigenous and African descent. Her mission is to bridge traditional healing practices with modern therapeutic methods, fostering understanding and respect for cultural identity and spiritual connection.
As a highly sought-after speaker and author, Dr. Lyons empowers audiences worldwide to embrace diversity, advocate for systemic change, and celebrate the intersection of heritage and healing in occupational therapy and beyond.
More information: www.drvgibbs.com
| Registration | Early bird Fee | Regular Fee |
|---|
| Individual Enrollment | $244.00 | N/A |
| Group 3 - 7 | $194.00 | N/A |
| Group 8 - 15 | $169.00 | N/A |
| Group 15+ | $144.00 | N/A |
| Full-Time Student | $144.00 | N/A |
All fees are in Canadian dollars ($CAD) and per person.
Group rates and student discounts are available. Please contact webinars@jackhirose.com for more information.
Fees are per person, seat sharing is not allowed. Please respect this policy, failure to comply will result in termination of access without a refund. For group rates please contact webinars@jackhirose.com
