The therapists at NCA are some of the most highly trained trauma therapists in the Nashville area. Each therapist has specialized training and credentialing in multiple evidenced based/informed treatment modalities. Each of the therapists at NCA are skilled and trained in assessing each client and family’s need for a certain treatment modality and developing a specialized treatment plan. Our therapists being highly trained allows our clients to receive the most current and highest quality of treatment possible.

A licensed clinician obtains a master’s degree or doctorate in a chosen mental health field, undergoes a supervised clinical residency, and is licensed, certified, or registered by a government or psychological agency to which they are accountable. For more information on licensed clinicians, please visit http://tn.gov/health/section/health-professional-boards

To be credentialed a clinician must be licensed in their state, earn an additional 150 hours of education specific to play therapy, accrue 1,000 hours of play therapy experience (500 of those must be supervised) and 50 hours of play therapy supervision. For more information about registered play therapists, please visit www.a4pt.org

Play therapy is a powerful tool for addressing cognitive, behavioral and emotional challenges. Licensed professionals therapeutically use play to help individual’s process their experiences and develop more effective strategies for managing their worlds. Play therapy is a way of being with the child that honors their unique developmental level and looks for ways of helping in the “language” of the child. For more information on play therapy including research citations, please visit www.a4pt.org

Sandtray: The therapeutic use of a collection of miniatures in a sandtray. It is a non-verbal expressive and projective mode of psychotherapy where the sandtray and the miniatures are the medium of communication. It is client led and the therapist is only the facilitator. The process seeks to promote safety and control for the client so that emotionally charged issues can be addressed utilizing the sandtray. (Homeyer & Sweeny, 2011)

Art therapy is a form of expressive therapy that uses the creative process of making art to improve a person’s physical, mental and emotional well-being. The creative process involved in expressing one’s self artistically can help people to resolve issues as well as develop and manage their behaviors and feelings, reduce stress and improve self-esteem and awareness.

Art therapy is the therapeutic use of art making, within a professional relationship, by people who experience illness, trauma or challenges in living, and by people who seek personal development. Through creating art and reflecting on the art products and processes, people can increase awareness of self and others, cope with symptoms, stress and traumatic experiences; enhance cognitive abilities; and enjoy the life-affirming pleasures of making art (American Art Therapy Association). For more information on art therapy including research citations, please visit www.arttherapy.org

Trauma-sensitive yoga (TCTSY) is an empirically validated, adjunctive clinical treatment for complex trauma or chronic, treatment-resistant PTSD. Developed at the Trauma Center in Brookline, Massachusetts, TSY has foundations in trauma theory, attachment theory and neuroscience as well as hatha yoga practice with an emphasis on body-based yoga forms and breathing practices. For more information on TCTSY including research citations, please visit www.traumasensitiveyoga.com

Theraplay® is a child and family therapy for building and enhancing attachment, self-esteem, trust in others and joyful engagement. It is based on the natural patterns of playful, healthy interaction between parent and child and is personal, physical and fun. Theraplay interactions focus on four essential qualities found in parent-child relationships: structure, engagement, nurture and challenge. Theraplay sessions creative an active, emotional connection between the child and parent or caregiver, resulting in a changed view of the self as worthy and lovable and of relationships as positive and rewarding. We call this “building relationships from the inside out.” For more information on Theraplay® including research citations, please visit www.theraplay.org

“Theraplay is uniquely suited to provide substantive help in the treatment of complex trauma. The National Center for Traumatic Stress Network (NCTSN) has identified several domains to target for therapeutic intervention, among them attachment, self-image, regulation and biology. These target areas are relevant and necessary components of trauma treatment.” –– Eliana Gill

Dyadic Developmental Psychotherapy (DDP) is based on and brings together attachment theory, what we understand about developmental trauma, the neurobiology of trauma, attachment and caregiving, intersubjectivity theory and child development. This therapy helps the children learn to trust. It is family-based and involves the child with his or her caregivers. Central within DDP is a way of thinking which deepens the emotional connections in our relationship with others. DDP is an effective form of treatment for children who have experienced significant developmental trauma. For more information on DDP including research citations, please visit www.ddpnetwork.org

Trust Based Relational Intervention (TBRI®) is an attachment-based, trauma-informed intervention that is designed to meet the complex needs of vulnerable children. TBRI® uses empowering principles to address physical needs, correcting principles to disarm fear-based behaviors. While the intervention is based on years of attachment, sensory processing and neuroscience research, the heartbeat of TBRI® is connection. For more information on TBRI® including research citations, please visit www.child.tcu.edu/about-us/tbri

Neurosequential Model of Therapeutics is a developmentally-informed, biologically-respectful approach to working with at-risk children. The neurosequential model is not a specific therapeutic technique or intervention, it is a way to organize a child’s history and current functioning. The goal of this approach is to structure assessment of a child, the articulation of the primary problems, identification of key strengths and the application of interventions (educational, enrichment and therapeutic) in a way that will help family, educators, therapists and related professionals best meet the needs of the child. For more information on the neurosequential model of therapeutics including research citations, please visit www.childtrauma.org

Attachment, Self-Regulation and Competency Therapy (ARC) is a framework for intervention with youth and families who have experienced multiple and/or prolonged traumatic stress. ARC identifies three core domains that are frequently impacted among truamatized youth, and which are relevant to future resiliency. Designed to be applied flexibly across child- and family-serving systems, ARC provides a theoretical framework, core principles of intervention, and a guiding structure for providers. ARC is designed for youth from early childhood to adolescence and their caregivers or caregiving systems.

A growing research base suggests ARC leads to reduction in child post-traumatic stress symptoms and general mental health symptoms, as well as increased adaptive and social skills. Caregivers report reduced distress and view their children’s behaviors as less dysfunctional. For more information on ARC including research citations, please visit www.traumacenter.org/research/ascot.php