- increasing felt safety
- disarming the defenses
- encouraging delight between parents and children
- titrating the dose of exposure in trauma work
- practicing new skills
- supporting attachment repair
Nurture House offers a range of expressive therapy milieus, including a fully equipped play therapy room, art therapy room, sand tray room, snuggle spots for attachment/bonding work, comfortable spaces for parent training, and nooks to nurture adolescents . From the front porch swing to the Hugglepod hanging on the backyard tree, Nurture House offers a range of strategies for meeting the sensory needs of our clients. Equipped with weighted blankets, vests and lap pads, ankle weights and playful mechanisms for increasing balance and the bilateral stimulation of the brain, Nurture House is constantly working towards integrating hemispheric content into a coherent whole for children and their parents. Snuggly blankets are offered in every room. Essential oils are diffused with a view towards meeting the regulation needs of parents and children. Children are taken on mindfulness walks where they can listen to the birds, feel the warmth of the sun and more deeply encode these elements of self-soothing. Parents are offered coffee, tea and other comforts as they explore new ways of relating to their children. Children are offered snacks, drinks and gum in order to empower them to try out new ways of relating.