Neuroaffective touch

Safety is a birthright.

Please read that again

We are born with a need to feel Held,

a need to feel Soothed,

a need to feel Safe.

Safety is Deserved, not earned

Somewhere between birth and adulthood, this message gets lost.

And for those of us with childhood trauma,

no one ever taught us this

Trauma distorts and hijacks this inherent feeling of safety, especially when it occurs during early brain development. These little baby/child brains become scared, stressed, and unable to cope with the world around them. They begin to see the world as unsafe and themselves as unloved. And even as they grow up, they do not "outgrow" these feelings because they have already been neurologically wired.

And as a result....

Scared baby brains become scared adult brains.

Emotionally dysregulated children become emotionally dysregulated adults.

Childhood hurts become Grown-up wounds.

Adults with a history of childhood trauma have part(s) of their adult brain that are still wired with child brain circuitry. Often, what we call "triggers" are really just moments when the adult brain reverts back to this earlier circuitry. In these moments, we become children again, as the brain is desperately crying out of help, for soothe, and for love.

We can't self-soothe if we were never taught how

This is where NeuroAffective touch can be helpful

You deserve to be in environments that bring out the softness in you, not the survival in you.

Ronne Brown

Touch is the first language an infant experiences.

NeuroAffective touch uses this language to connect with our early developmental brains and to offer soothe in the present moment.

"Neuro": related to the brain and/or the nervous system

Referring to the direct connection between the brain and touch

"Affective": expression of emotions

Referring to the connection between emotions and touch

Nervous system

(+Brain)

TOUCH

Emotions

Touch connects the body, nervous system, and emotions, and they cannot be separated.

What do you see when you look at this photo?

I see a calm baby, a supported baby, a nurtured baby

I see a baby who feels safe

This baby has access to all elements of safety through touch:

relational, heart, nervous system, sensory, body, and external environment

(see section on Safety here).

Safety through touch is simply the feeling of "I am held"

Creating safety this way can repair early attachment wounds and developmental trauma. It can give adults access to safety that may have never been received as infants/children

What does a NAT session look like?

Guided support for creating a body sanctuary of comfort and soothe for your infant self (ie hand over heart, weighted blanket, Nurture surround pillows, etc)

Learning how to self-soothe and to be attuned to by another person

Tapping into the infant sensory experience and asking,

How can I create more safety here?

I describe it like this:

Guided support for creating a body sanctuary of comfort and soothe for your infant self (ie hand over heart, weighted blanket, Nurture surround pillows, etc)

Learning how to self-soothe and to be attuned to by another person

Tapping into the infant sensory experience and asking,

How can I create more safety here?

I describe it like this:

I use elements of NAT to inform my work, but it is not a protocol or requirement. Any and all elements of touch require client consent. All of my sessions are remote and therefore my NAT modalities are not directly hands-on.

My scope is limited to coaching and therefore I utilize it predominantly for the purposes of safety resourcing and nervous system regulation, not to process past trauma or access specific memories. Licensed therapists are able to utilize a psychotherapy application of NAT for deeper trauma work.

For more information about The Neuroaffective Touch Institute, click here: NeuroAffective Touch: Polyvagal-Informed Touch Training

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You deserve to be in environments that bring out the softness in you, not the survival in you. Ronne Brown

What does a NAT session look like?

I describe it like this:

I describe it like this:

To heal is to touch with love that which was previously touched by fear Stephen Levine

You deserve to be in environments that bring out the softness in you, not the survival in you.

Ronne Brown

To heal is to touch with love that which was previously touched by fear

Stephen Levine