When Touch Meets Trauma: A Nervous System Approach to Trauma-Informed Care for Allied Health Professionals
Live Event

When Touch Meets Trauma: A Nervous System Approach to Trauma-Informed Care for Allied Health Professionals

Thu, Oct 29th, 2026
10:00am – 1:15pm US Eastern Time
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About the Event

For physical therapists, occupational therapists, athletic trainers, massage therapists, and other allied health professionals, touch is a primary clinical tool. Yet for a significant portion of patients, physical contact carries a complex history. Trauma stored in the body does not disappear when a patient enters the treatment room. It can present as bracing, guarding, emotional flooding, dissociation, or treatment resistance. These physiological responses are frequently misread as noncompliance or anxiety, causing clinicians to overlook the underlying nervous system activity driving them. This training provides allied health professionals with the foundational science needed to understand what is happening in a patient’s body during touch-based interventions, along with practical tools to respond with clinical skill and confidence.

Drawing on Somatic Experiencing theory, polyvagal theory, and the neuroscience of trauma, this training moves through four integrated parts: understanding the roots of trauma and nervous system dysregulation, exploring how the body responds neurologically to touch, building a trauma-informed approach to touch in clinical practice, and developing the practitioner’s own capacity for regulation and resilience. Participants will leave with a shared clinical language, discipline-specific application strategies, and practical tools for creating therapeutic environments where patients feel safe enough to heal.

Live Event
This live online event will be held as a Zoom Webinar. Attendees will have the option to interact through features such as the Chat and Q&A, but cameras and microphones will not be enabled.

Live Event Instructor

Christine Baker

Christine Baker

Dr. Christine Baker is a Licensed Professional Counselor and Supervisor. She has been a licensed counselor in private practice for over 13 years, where she has specialized working with trauma recovery and people struggling with sexual compulsivity and their loved ones. She is a Somatic Experiencing Practitioner and EMDR trained, and she has also completed the Traumatic Stress Studies certificate through The Trauma Center at the Justice Resource Institute under Dr. Bessel van der Kolk. Dr. Baker has also served as an adjunct professor at Richmont Graduate University for many years in their Masters in Clinical Mental Health Counseling Program, and she has provided support to many organizations and non-profits through training and education programs.

Target Audience

This live interactive is intended for Physical Health and Massage professionals, including physical therapists, occupational therapies, athletic trainers, and massage therapists. It is appropriate for beginner levels of knowledge.

Learning Objectives

After taking this activity, you should be able to:

  1. 1 Explain the relationship between trauma, autonomic nervous system dysregulation, and somatic manifestations in allied health clinical practice, including how unresolved stress responses present in the body during touch-based interventions.
  2. 2 Identify at least three trauma-informed touch practices (including verbal preparation, ongoing consent, and body cue recognition) and describe how each applies within their specific clinical discipline.
  3. 3 Demonstrate at least two self-regulation techniques drawn from somatic and polyvagal-informed approaches that can be used before and during patient contact to support co-regulation and reduce vicarious traumatization.

Brom, D., Stokar, Y., Lawi, C., Nuriel‐Porat, V., Ziv, Y., Lerner, K., & Ross, G. (2017). Somatic experiencing for posttraumatic stress disorder: A randomized controlled outcome study. Journal of traumatic stress, 30(3), 304-312. https://doi.org/10.1002/jts.22189

Harwood‐Gross, A., Elias, S., Lerner, K., Nacasch, N., Lawi, C., Brom, D., & Barak, A. (2025). Veterans' experiences of somatic experiencing and prolonged exposure therapies for post‐traumatic stress disorder: A qualitative analysis. Psychology and Psychotherapy: Theory, Research and Practice, 98(1), 175-192. https://doi.org/10.1111/papt.12570

Haeyen, S. (2024). A theoretical exploration of polyvagal theory in creative arts and psychomotor therapies for emotion regulation in stress and trauma. Frontiers in Psychology, 15, 1382007. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2024.1382007

Kuhfuß, M., Maldei, T., Hetmanek, A., & Baumann, N. (2021). Somatic experiencing–effectiveness and key factors of a body-oriented trauma therapy: a scoping literature review. European journal of psychotraumatology, 12(1), 1929023. https://doi.org/10.1080/20008198.2021.1929023

Porges, S. W. (2025). Polyvagal theory: Current status, clinical applications, and future directions. Clinical Neuropsychiatry, 22(3), 169. https://doi.org/10.36131/cnfioritieditore20250301

Springer, K., Patton, R., Hagaman, H., & Martin, D. (2024). Trauma-informed approaches in pelvic health: Exploratory understandings of adverse childhood experiences, trauma, and trauma-informed care. The Journal of Women's & Pelvic Health Physical Therapy, 48(1), 21-33. https://doi.org/10.1097/JWH.0000000000000285

Vagnini, D., Grassi, M. M., & Saita, E. (2023). Evaluating somatic experiencing® to heal cancer trauma: first evidence with breast cancer survivors. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 20(14), 6412. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph20146412

Van der Kolk, B. (2014). The body keeps the score: Brain, mind, and body in the healing of trauma. New York, 3, 14-211. https://doi.org/10.7812/TPP/14-211

Yurdakul, S., Özel, D., & Gomes, S. (2025). How the body remembers a traumatic event: a case study from Somatic Experiencing perspective. Body, Movement and Dance in Psychotherapy, 20(3), 250-267. https://doi.org/10.1080/17432979.2025.2481032

Disclosure to Learners

CE Learning Systems adheres to the ACCME's Standards for Integrity and Independence in Accredited Continuing Medical Education. Any individuals in a position to control the content of a CE activity – including faculty, planners, reviewers, or others ― are required to disclose all relevant financial relationships with ineligible entities (formerly known as commercial interests).

The following relevant financial relationships have been disclosed by this activity's planners, faculty, and the reviewer:

Planners and Reviewers

The planners of this activity have reported that they have no relevant financial relationships.

Faculty

There are no known relevant financial relationships to disclose.

Commercial support

There is no commercial support for this distance-learning course.

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Joint Accreditation (JA)

3 Athletic Training CEU CE credit hours
Eligible until Oct 29th, 2026
In support of improving patient care, CE Learning Systems, LLC, is jointly accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME), the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education (ACPE), and the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC), to provide continuing education for the healthcare team.
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National Certification Board for Therapeutic Massage & Bodywork (NCBTMB)

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American Occupational Therapy Association (AOTA)

3 CEU hours
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CE Learning Systems, LLC is an AOTA Approved Provider of professional development. Course activity approval ID# 17030. This Distance Learning–Interactive activity is offered at 0.3 CEUs, Introductory, Service Delivery and Foundational Knowledge. The assignment of AOTA CEUs does not imply endorsement of specific course content, products, or clinical procedures by AOTA.
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3 CE credit hours
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Physical Therapy Board of California (PTBC)

3 CE credit hours
Eligible until Oct 29th, 2026
CE Learning Systems is an accredited provider by the California Board of Physical Therapy. CE Learning Systems maintains responsibility for this program and its content.
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Florida Board of Physical Therapy

3 CE credit hours CE Broker logo 20-1398277
Eligible until Oct 29th, 2026
CE Learning Systems, LLC is approved by the Florida Board of Physical Therapy to sponsor continuing education for Physical Therapists and Physical Therapist Assistants. CE Learning Systems maintains responsibility for this program and its content. Accreditation of this course does not necessarily imply the FPTA supports the views of the presenter or the sponsors. CE Broker Provider Number 50-315. FLBPT Approval Number: 1398277
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Florida Board of Occupational Therapy (FBOT)

3 CE credit hours CE Broker logo 20-1398277
Eligible until Oct 29th, 2026
CE Learning Systems, LLC is approved by the Florida Board of Occupational Therapy to sponsor continuing education for Occupational Therapists and Occupational Therapist Assistants. CE Learning Systems maintains responsibility for this program and its content. CE Broker Provider Number 50-315
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Michigan Board of Physical Therapy

3 CE credit hours CE Broker logo 20-1398277
Eligible until Oct 29th, 2026
Impact CE, a service of CE Learning Systems, is approved by the Michigan Board of Physical Therapy (Provider # 50-315).
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New Jersey State Board of Physical Therapy Examiners (NJTPTE)

3 CE credit hours
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This activity has been approved by the New Jersey Board of Physical Therapy Examiners for credit hours for PTs and PTAs. Approval Number
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New York State Education Department's State Board for Physical Therapy

3 CE credit hours
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New York State Education Department's State Board for Occupational Therapy (NYSED BOT)

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CE Learning Systems (d/b/a impactce.com) is recognized by the New York State Education Department's State Board for Occupational Therapy as an approved provider of continuing education for Occupational Therapists and Occupational Therapy Assistants.
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Ohio Occupational Therapy, Physical Therapy, and Athletic Trainers Board - Physical Therapy (OTPTAT)

3 CE credit hours
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This course is approved by the Ohio Physical Therapy Association for PTs and PTAs. OPTA approval number #####.
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Texas Board of Physical Therapy Examiners

3 CE credit hours
Eligible until Oct 29th, 2026
This activity has been approved by the Texas Board of Physical Therapy Examiners for 3 CCUs for PTs and PTAs. APS # 2805075TX. Accreditation Period: 6/1/25-5/31/28
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Event Agenda

Agenda times are listed in US Eastern Time. That is 3 hours later than US Pacific Time. The event starts at 7:00am US Pacific Time.

10:00 - 10:15 | Welcome & Overview
Training overview, learning objectives

10:15 - 11:30 | Part One: Roots
Defining trauma, ACEs research, nervous system overview, fight/flight/freeze, how trauma lives in the body

11:30 - 11:45 | Break

11:45 - 12:15 | Part Two: Response
What happens neurologically under touch, somatic manifestations, window of tolerance, getting stuck

12:15 - 12:55 | Part Three: Regulation
Trauma-informed touch in practice, consent and preparation, verbal cuing, pacing, reading body cues, discipline-specific application

12:55 - 1:10 | Part Four: Resilience
Provider self-regulation, co-regulation, protecting against vicarious traumatization

1:10 - 1:15 | Q&A
Open discussion, contact and resources

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