A Training for Designed for You
WE ARE NOT OFFERING THIS TRAINING IN 2025. WE MIGHT OFFER IT IN THE FUTURE. IF YOU ARE INTERESTED IN FUTURE TRAINING OPPORTUNITIES, PLEASE SIGN UP FOR THE EMAIL LIST BELOW!
Are you a Practitioner of Color--mental health therapist, counselor, social worker, psychologist, body worker, healthcare professional, teacher--or other helping professional--working predominantly with Black, Indigenous, Asian, Pacific Islander, Desi, Latinx, SWANA, biracial, multiracial, transracial adoptees and other People of Color? Have you been curious and seeking more training in the applications of Interpersonal Neurobiology in the therapeutic relationship? This year-long training, facilitated by Danette C. Gillespie-Otto, LCSW (she/her) and Francis Aurora Otto, MA, RSMT/E, LPC, (she/her) is designed specifically for you!
Interpersonal Neurobiology is the neuroscience of how we are hurt and how we heal within relationships. It describes how our brains and bodies are affected by disconnection, trauma and a lack of compassionate reflection. Through warm, attuned relationships, coupled with practical information about how the nervous system works, therapists can support clients in deep, transformative healing. Neuroplasticity throughout life allows this kind of growth within clients and within ourselves, as practitioners.
The Interpersonal Neurobiology perspective provides a way to support Black, Indigenous and other People of Color in deep trauma healing, which expands our ability to heal from the daily dehumanization of racial microaggressions and other forms of systemic oppression. In this training, we specifically address how to support clients in healing not only from their unique, individual experiences, but also from the trauma of racism.
Safety is the Intervention
The foundation of Interpersonal Neurobiology is that we must feel safe in order to heal. Safety is the intervention. Without safety, our nervous systems remain in an activated state to attempt to protect ourselves. As an African-American practitioner, I have attended many clinical trainings with White professionals in which the racial microaggressions I experienced impacted my ability to learn the information being presented and was emotionally disruptive for me.
We have designed this training for Practitioners of Color to have a nurturing, safe environment in which to learn the powerful lens of Interpersonal Neurobiology. Because we will only be admitting Practitioners of Color to this training, the training cannot be accredited for CEUs. We apologize for this inconvenience, but we recognize the value in hosting a BIPOC-safe space for this tender work together.
With the COVID-19 pandemic, ongoing police brutality and white supremacy, catastrophic weather events and political turmoil in the United States, we needed to take time to adapt to the new realities of life and to providing psychotherapy via teletherapy. We found that holding an Interpersonal Neurobiology perspective when providing services, even remotely, continues to provide deep therapeutic benefit to our clients. We want to share these insights and perspectives with you.
We also acknowledge that Francis, my spouse and co-facilitator, is white, and has also been affected by the "poisoned well of racism." Francis is a therapist and a resident expert in Interpersonal Neurobiology, having studied with Bonnie Badenoch, PhD, a preeminent researcher and practitioner of Interpersonal Neurobiology and author of “Being a Brainwise Therapist” and “The Heart of Trauma”, for the past 13 years. She has dedicated herself to acknowledging and dismantling her own racism, works to maintain a clear, compassionate presence with our Colleagues of Color and is always open to feedback. For more information, you can click here: www.nourishingrelationship.com/workshops.
Training Content & Facilitators
This training will be hosted in online during 2024!
*Participants should commit to attending all six day-long sessions and the May 2024 study group session.*
All times are listed in Pacific Standard Time (PST)
Online Training Format
To provide as rich of an online training experience as possible, we are providing the following:
Two (2) half-hour individual sessions with each participant
Six (6) Day-long large group training experiences
Five (5) 2-hour small study groups
___________________________________________________________
TOTAL: 47 hours of training and group experience!
Training Schedule
January 2024: Half-hour Individual Introductory Sessions with Danette & Francis
*To be scheduled with each participant
February 2024: Foundations of Interpersonal Neurobiology - Part I
Day-long large group training
Friday, February 23rd
9:00 AM - 4:30 PM PST
Topics:
Overview of Interpersonal Neurobiology (IPNB)
The Embodied Brain
Trauma from and IPNB Perspective
March 2024: IPNB for POC Study Group in Small Groups
Participants will be assigned to a small group and meet once at either:
Friday, March 22nd
9:00 AM - 11:00 AM PST
11:30 AM - 1:30 PM PST
-or-
2:00 PM - 4:00 PM
April 2024: Foundations of Interpersonal Neurobiology - Part II
Day-long large group training
Friday, April 26th
9:00 AM - 4:30 PM PST
Topics:
Collaborating with our Embodied Brain's Natural Processes
Attunement
Mirror Neurons
Attachment Theory (with Sand Tray)
Implicit and Explicit Memory
The Deep Emotional Motivational Systems
May 2024: IPNB for POC Study Group in Small Groups
Participants will be assigned to a small group and meet once on either:
Friday, May 24th
9:00 AM - 11:00 AM PST
11:30 AM - 1:30 PM PST
-or-
2:00 PM - 4:00 PM
Protectors and Adaptations
Safety is the Intervention: We Heal in Relationship
Co-Regulation vs. Self-Regulation
Window of Tolerance
June 2024: Healing from the Trauma of Racism - Part I
Day-long large group training
Friday, June 28th
9:00 AM - 4:30 PM PST
Topics:
Polyvagal Theory
Right and Left Hemispheres
Inner Community
July 2024: IPNB for POC Study Group in Small Groups
Participants will be assigned to a small group and meet once on either:
Friday, July 26th
9:00 AM - 11:00 AM PST
11:30 AM - 1:30 PM PST
-or-
2:00 PM - 4:00 PM
August 2024: Healing from the Trauma of Racism - Part I
Day-long large group training
Friday, August 23rd
9:00 AM - 4:30 PM PST
Topics:
The Poisoned Well of Racism from an Interpersonal Neurobiology Perspective
Relational Attunement Practice
Microaggression Detoxification
September 2024: IPNB for POC Study Group in Small Groups
Participants will be assigned to a small group and meet once on either:
Friday, September 27th
9:00 AM - 11:00 AM PST
11:30 AM - 1:30 PM PST
-or-
2:00 PM - 4:00 PM
October 2024: Healing from the Trauma of Racism - Part II
Day-long large group training
Friday, October 18th
9:00 AM - 4:30 PM PST
Topics:
Exploring Cultural and Intergenerational Trauma (sand tray)
Working with Internalized Oppression and Cultural Dislocation
Retrieving the Will: The Development of Discernment
November 2024: IPNB for POC Study Group in Small Groups
Participants will be assigned to a small group and meet once on either:
Friday, November 22nd
9:00 AM - 11:00 AM PST
11:30 AM - 1:30 PM PST
-or-
2:00 PM - 4:00 PM
December 2024: Surviving White Supremacy
Day-long large group training
Friday, December 6th
9:00 AM - 4:30 PM PST
Topics:
Boundaries Bootcamp
Helping Clients of Color Navigate Predominantly White Institutions
Working with Professional Persecution
Plus half-hour Individual Closing Sessions with Danette & Francis
*To be scheduled with each participant
We will provide the following during the training experience:
Experiential activities, including:
psychoeducation on Interpersonal Neurobiology and racism,
discussion,
paired sharing,
mindfulness meditation,
somatic activities,
clinical consultation,
sand tray practice and
art activities
training binders and completion certificates
Consistent centering of the experiences of Black, Indigenous, Asian, Pacific Islander, Desi, Latinx, SWANA, biracial, multiracial, transracial adoptees and other People of Color, while also reflecting on the impact of White supremacy in our lives and the lives of our clients.
Danette C. Gillespie-Otto, LCSW
As an African-American psychotherapist, facilitator and public speaker, I offer support to individuals and groups seeking their deepest well-being.
I obtained a Master's of Social Work from the George Warren Brown School of Social Work at Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri, in 2000, and have been a licensed clinical social worker since 2007. I've worked in community mental health and private practice as a clinician, a clinical supervisor and a clinical director of a behavioral health clinic, in administration in non-profits, as an anti-oppression workshop facilitator, and in quality improvement, mentoring, higher education, government and research.
I am trained by the Anti-Defamation League and the National Conference of Community and Justice, and have 25 years of experience as a facilitator on issues of oppression and diversity.
I am currently in private practice and specialize in supporting womxn and femmes of color from an attachment-based, culturally-responsive Interpersonal Neurobiology perspective.
Francis Aurora Otto, MA, RSMT/E, LPC
As a somatic therapist and facilitator, I offer support to people and groups who want more nourishing relationships. I earned a Master’s Degree in Somatic Psychology with an emphasis in Dance/Movement Therapy from Naropa University in 1998. From 1998 to 2013, I worked as an addictions, mental health, and creative arts therapist in various non-profit treatment agencies in Colorado and Oregon, with a focus on evidence-based practices. From 2004 to 2014, I co-facilitated a local theater program, called “Play after Play,” that offered performances and experiential education about play to families with young children. I currently run a private practice based in Interpersonal Neurobiology, mindfulness and embodiment, for individuals and couples.
My current focus is on the neuroscience of relationship, autism and trauma. I bring a depth of understanding about how people get hurt in relationship and how they heal in relationship. This focus includes an experiential understanding of the interpersonal neurobiology of racism.
We welcome your questions about this experience! Feel free to contact Danette at communioncounseling@gmail.com and/or Francis at nourishingrelationship@gmail.com.