This Training Is Designed For Clinicians Who:
- Work with trauma survivors who remain physiologically dysregulated despite insight oriented therapy
- See clients experiencing hyperarousal, agitation, chronic tension, or difficulty calming their bodies
- Work with individuals who dissociate, shut down, or feel disconnected from bodily experience
- Notice breathing irregularities or nervous system activation interfering with treatment engagement
- Recognize signs of chronic stress or allostatic load showing up as physical symptoms
- Want practical ways to help clients settle the nervous system safely in session
- Need body based strategies that support stabilization rather than cathartic trauma release
- Want trauma informed ways to introduce breath, movement, or meditation without increasing distress
- Need clear guidance on screening for contraindications and recognizing when referral is needed
- Are looking for structured frameworks for integrating somatic practices within psychotherapy scope
When Insight Is Not Enough
Many clients receiving trauma therapy understand their experiences cognitively, yet continue to experience persistent physiological dysregulation. Hyperarousal, dissociation, breathing irregularities, agitation, and chronic tension can remain active even when clients have insight into their trauma history.
This course explores how trauma affects the body and nervous system and why cognitive approaches alone may not always resolve these patterns. Participants learn to recognize somatic expressions of trauma and understand how dysregulation in the nervous system can interfere with emotional regulation, safety, and treatment engagement.
A Regulation-Based Approach to Trauma Care
Interest in somatic trauma approaches has grown rapidly, but many available trainings emphasize cathartic release or intense emotional processing that may increase risk for dysregulation in vulnerable clients.
This course presents a regulation-based alternative grounded in neurobiology, somatic research, and yoga therapy-informed practice. Participants learn frameworks for selecting and introducing body-based, breath-based, and meditation practices designed to support stabilization, grounding, and nervous system regulation, rather than emotional overwhelm.
Using Somatic Practices Safely and Effectively in Clinical Work
Beyond learning specific techniques, the training focuses on how to integrate these approaches responsibly within psychotherapy and behavioral health settings.
Participants learn how to screen for contraindications, recognize dysregulation signals, and determine when referral to other providers may be appropriate. The course also demonstrates how to introduce somatic practices using choice-based language, supportive environments, and accessible modifications that respect client context, preference, autonomy and tolerability.
Course Format:
Self-paced online learning with approximately six hours of video instruction, demonstrations, and guided practices.
CE Credit:
6 CT-NASW CECs
This program has been approved for Continuing Education Credit Hours by the National Association of Social Workers, CT and meets the continuing education criteria for CT Social Work Licensure renewal. Approval also meets the continuing
education criteria for CT LMSWs, LMFTs, LPCs, and licensed psychologists.
Tuition:
$89. Course is accessible for one year from purchase date.
Instructor:
Christine Saari, MA, C-IAYT, with contributions from Sara Merrick-Albano, C-IAYT
About Your Instructors
Christine Saari, MA, C-IAYT
Director, ClinicAlly Trained™ | Co-Founder, Yoga Therapy Associates Christine Saari, MA, C-IAYT, is an author, educator, and yoga therapist dedicated to bridging yoga therapy and mental health care. As Director of ClinicAlly Trained™, she develops specialized continuing education and yoga teacher training programs for clinicians who want to integrate evidence-based somatic and breath-based interventions into therapy practice. Christine’s clinical background centers on supporting individuals living with anxiety, trauma, depression, and cancer. As a breast cancer survivor, she brings lived experience and clinical expertise together with genuine compassion, recognizing both the depth of suffering people carry and the practical tools that support real healing. As co-founder of Yoga Therapy Associates and ClinicAlly Trained™, Christine envisions a professional platform where yoga therapy and behavioral health meet. Her work emphasizes elevating best practices, strengthening ethical standards, and ensuring that yoga therapy is represented with the same rigor and accountability expected in clinical disciplines. Through a partnership between Yoga Therapy Associates and the Held Center for Healing, Christine helped develop the EMbody Trauma Recovery Program, an IOP alternative for individuals recovering from addiction and trauma that combines EMDR and yoga therapy. She has also presented multiple times at Smilow Cancer Center at Yale New Haven Hospital on yoga therapy for emotional and physical recovery. In addition, she provides continuing education for DMHAS, the Connecticut Women’s Consortium, and EMDRIA’s national webinar catalog, teaching clinicians how to integrate yoga therapy and breathwork into trauma treatment. Christine’s writing and teaching reflect a deep commitment to professionalizing yoga therapy, making it accessible, research-informed, and relevant to the realities of modern clinical practice. Learn more about Christine’s work at www.yogatherapyassociates.com/about/christine-yoga-therapist and explore her specialized programs for therapists at www.clinicallytrained.com.
Guest Instructor
Sara Merrick-Albano, E-RYT 500, C-IAYT
Co-Founder, Yoga Therapy Associates & ClinicAlly Trained™ Sara Merrick-Albano, E-RYT 500, C-IAYT, is a yoga therapist specializing in trauma recovery, pelvic health, chronic pain, and autoimmune conditions. She integrates functional movement, breathwork, and meditation to support symptom management and long-term regulation. As co-founder of Yoga Therapy Associates and ClinicAlly Trained™, Sara provides continuing education for DMHAS and the Connecticut Women’s Consortium on the clinical use of yoga, breathwork, and somatic awareness. She is also a contributing expert for Roon, where she offers guidance on yoga therapy for pelvic health concerns including endometriosis, menopause, and chronic pelvic pain. Sara has been featured at the Neuroscience & Yoga Conference Community Showcase, presenting Taking the Indirect Route to Chronic Pain Relief, and frequently teaches on pelvic health through national webinars such as The Pelvis: From Anatomy to Awareness with beYogi. In this course, Sara offers her clinical expertise on anatomy and physiology as well as clinical insights drawn from her work in trauma recovery and chronic pain management.