gives you the skills to work with the families of the kids with the
biggest, most baffling behaviors.
But even more than that
~
the year-long Immersion Program
will ignite your passion.
You can love your work again.
Join the Waitlist for The Baffling Behavior Training Institute’s 2027 Immersion Program
solidly anchored into the science of relationship and a robust set of tools that help even the families with kids with the biggest behaviors, all while safely exploring your inner world.
Being as present for the parents you work with as they want to be with their kids.
…and you’ll be way less burned out, too.
if you had the confidence to offer your resonant presence — even in the midst of chaos —
while teaching parenting tools that actually work?
so deeply that no behavior — from the children or their parents — would ever leave you
dazed and confused again?
An Immersion Program graduate says:
I’m still me… but I feel different in such a good way. Prior to this program, I was really unhappy at work. Sometimes I was crying every day at work. Since coming back from summer break, I haven’t cried at work at all. Not even once.
At first I was waiting for the other shoe to drop, but now I realize I don’t have to rely on things to be different at work for me to feel better about work – I feel better because I’m more regulated, I have a wider window of tolerance, and I have increased self-compassion, which means I can handle the ups and downs of a stressful work environment so much more easily.
I’ve found myself encountering other people’s behavior in a much less judgmental way – they’re doing the best they can, their behavior makes perfect sense in this moment – and I really believe that.
I am giving myself more of that kindness as well. And I’m exploring more of my perfectionist behaviors and tendencies, looking back into where those behaviors and beliefs come from, and being patient with myself as I work toward being feeling safe enough for those parts to step aside.”
Every day I get emails and social media messages from desperate parents all over the world. They are begging me to tell them what to do to stop their child’s bizarre and baffling behaviors. They tell me that they’ve worked with four (or more!) therapists, coaches, or behavioral specialists and not only have things not gotten better, but they’ve actually gotten worse.
These parents are desperate. There simply are not enough professionals equipped with the neuroscience of behavior, the inner-presence to hold parent’s desperation and hopelessness, and parenting tools that actually work.
Parents feel desperate for something that works – hoping that I might be the one– the one who knows the one magic solution that will finally bring calm to their chaos.
I don’t have one magic solution.
That I can help them anyway. Even though I don’t have a magic solution.
That what they really need is someone to be with them in exactly the same way they want to be with their children.
I (almost) never take things personally (and I get help when I do). I feel confident that I can set strong boundaries.
Ready to join a community of radical change-makers?
Join the Waitlist for The Baffling Behavior Training Institute’s 2027 Immersion Program
I’ve spent many evenings ruminating about families who are mad at me or who I felt like I was failing, when I should have been eating dinner and playing with my son.
I’ve spent many sessions sweaty, anxious, and blotching with hives while trying to appear cool, calm, and collected with parents who are yelling at me or disparaging their children– though what they are really feeling is lost, overwhelmed, and afraid.
I’ve been frustrated and confused when working for a long time with families who just seem unable to ‘get it.’ (What ‘it’ even means I’m not sure, but that’s been the voice in my head). I’ve been burned out and ready to just stop working with kids.
was never in a single tool.
The minute I stopped ruminating, getting stuck in anger and frustration, & stopped the never-ending quest for the one right tool was when I finally realized that…
being with parents in the way they needed
An Immersion Program Graduate says:
my clients, and everyone in my life has increased tenfold! I’m a trained IFS (Internal Family Systems) therapist and find my attachment to SELF has deepened as I accept the parts of me that I’ve not wanted to be with.
My self critical part has felt more witnessed and understood as I’ve moved through the program. In turn, I’m offering the same presence to others. I’ve been on this journey for awhile and this year I’ve experienced a growth that I didn’t know was possible.”
Immersion Program for Professionals
will re-awaken your love for working with kids and families. This way of working with families will decrease your burn-out and compassion fatigue.
I was fortunate enough to do this inside the deep, resonant, attuned presence of others, in a community that truly believe all parts of me were welcome.
with even the most overwhelmed parents with the most overwhelming children.
An Immersion Program graduate says:
at such a deep level that I’m having a hard time putting my experience into words. I just know I can feel a shift as I’ve embodied this experience of the resonating and attuning presence that I’ve received during my time in Small Group and with my Pod.
I have a new awareness of my own nervous system and what’s happening with me internally. And even more amazing, I have so much more grace and compassion for myself and all my parts. This has been such a freeing experience in how I’m able to be with myself, and consequently others.
I trust at such a deeper level now that a regulated, resonate presence is enough. I don’t have to be a perfect container in my personal or professional roles. It’s been so incredibly freeing to reframe my responsibility as offering invitations for felt safety and trusting that the nervous system of the person I am with will guide me where to go.
This has freed up so much mental space that used to be spent on overpreparing and/or overanalyzing. This freed up space has allowed so much more capacity for me to truly rest into being with at a deeper level.”
Ready to join a community of radical change-makers?
Join the Waitlist for The Baffling Behavior Training Institute’s 2027 Immersion Program
for a wiser and kinder future. Right now, our young ones face many crises – within their families, at school, as well as the challenge of the global struggles all around us. In this environment, supporting parents is one of the most important gifts we can offer this troubled world.
Robyn’s year-long immersive program is all about nurturing the nurturers, providing the solid support that parents need to raise these coming generations to be wise, compassionate, strong, and brave – and also playful and creative. In my experience with offering this work to therapists, the ability to provide this kind of support rests on two foundations. One is a deep understanding of relational neuroscience because it provides those of you who want to support parents with solid knowledge to share about how to nurture their young ones of all ages. The science is so clear about how being present, listening deeply, and offering what the child needs are the pathway for healthy development. In order to do this, we need to be able to hold that same kind of space for parents who are struggling. This means tending to our own mental health, so the second foundation is doing the experiential work that lets us explore and heal our own wounds. The best learning always involves both knowledge and embodying that knowledge.
I’ve known Robyn for many years, and I can’t imagine a more knowledgeable, caring, and skilled person to accompany you on this journey toward being able to support parents as they do the difficult and potentially delightful task of raising their precious children. And I can’t imagine more meaningful work than being one who nurtures the nurturers.
Bonnie Badenoch, PhD, LMFT
Author of: Being a Brain-Wise Therapist; The Brain-Savvy Therapist’s Workbook; Heart of Trauma
That’s me! I’m the founder of The Baffling Behavior Training Institute and the creator of the BBTI’s Immersion Program for Professionals. I lead the Immersion Program’s cohort that meets from 12 – 1:45pm eastern.
I’m a former therapist turned educator, trainer, consultant, and now- author!
I’m a little obsessed with studying the relational brain and then teaching everyone who will listen alllllllll about it.
Understanding what’s underneath behavior has changed everything for me- at work and at home.
I started studying relational neuroscience in 2011, including:
and many, many more (1000 hours!) of trainings and study
I previously taught the Science of IPNB in the Foundations of IPNB Post-Grad Certificate program at Portland Community College
and served on the Global Association for IPNB (GAINS) Board of Directors.
Relational Neuroscience is at the heart of everything I do.
Founder & Creator of:
Author of:
is leading a second, concurrently running cohort of The Immersion Program in 2026! This cohort will meet at 7-8:45pm eastern, allowing students in Asia and Australia to join on Thursday mornings.
In preparation for this role, Rose served alongside Robyn as the 2025 co-lead.
Robyn and her team have been preparing for this addition since the Immersion Program began in 2022. We believe in thoughtful, slow, and deliberate growth and took our time creating a sustainable program with the ability to run a concurrent second cohort.
Rose brings a wealth of knowledge, experience, and practice to the Baffling Behavior Training Institute’s team. She has trained with Robyn since 2018, engaging in regular individual consultation. Rose served as 2023 and 2024 Immersion Program coach and as a co-lead of the entire program in 2025.
Rose co-teaches the child therapy workshop Therapy with Kids with Big, Baffling Behaviors (as well as an abridged, one day, virtual option titled: All Behavior Makes Sense: Play Therapy with Dysregulated Children), which was first developed by Robyn and then turned into a stellar play therapy training by Rose. Therapy with Kids with Big, Baffling Behaviors helps child and family therapists bring the owl, watchdog, and possum concepts into the therapy room.
Rose has additional expertise in grief and nature-based play therapy. She is a co-editor and author of Nature Based Play Therapy and Expressive Therapies. Rose is an EMDR consultant, Theraplay® foundational practitioner, registered play therapist supervisor, and Synergetic Play Therapy® supervisor. She is dedicated to serving her professional community and is a Past-President for the division of New Jersey Association for Creativity in Counseling and served on the board for the World Association of Sand Therapy Professionals.
A quick note from Robyn: Over the years, Rose has become a dear friend and trusted confidant. Watching Rose embody the role of co-leader in 2025 has been both exciting and inspiring. Dare I say- I’m so proud of her! Turning over a cohort of the Immersion Program to a colleague has required me to have much bravery and take a big leap of faith. I take my students investment in our program extremely seriously. After co-teaching with Rose for a year, I couldn’t be more confident in Rose’s ability to provide an exceptional experience to our 2026 (and beyond) students.
of tools and techniques that are grounded in relational neuroscience and explored within a space that will allow for meaningful embodiment.
The Immersion Program
will shift the way you work with parents, and the way you are with yourself.
to stay connected to their kids even in the face of the most bizarre and baffling behaviors
Working with parents is hard. Way harder than you imagined. In fact, you probably came into this work because you love kids! Not their grown-ups.
But you’ve finally come to terms with the reality that in order to truly make change in the kids, you have to make space for change in their grown-ups. You have to be with the grown-ups so they can be with their kids.
An Immersion Program graduate says:
in need of parenting support. There is so much happening in this family that is beyond overwhelming!
I noticed myself becoming dysregulated and lacking in confidence as they listed all the challenges they are up against.
Then I reminded myself, that at least in that moment, the most important thing for me to do is be with them.
I may not be able to solve all their problems. I will be able to be a source of co-regulation, safety, security, presence, and compassion. I feel far more confident in being able to work with all kinds of clients, and all kind of challenges, now.”
I’ve made this as easy for you as possible by giving you exactly what you need to be able to be with parents. You don’t have to take a million different courses and weave them all together like I did.
A community – and a good amount of time (say…12 months!)– to experience being witnessed and practice offering the presence to others that invites the inner healing we need in order to bravely invite our client’s most hurting parts.
Even if our client’s hurting parts are being expressed as anger, criticism, or shame toward us.
And you’ll learn how to invite your parent clients to do the exact same thing for their kids.
Bold and brave humans who are literally creating a better place for all of our kids, and grandkids, and their grandkids.
An Immersion Program graduate says:
understanding, and co-regulation. When I joined the immersion program, I could not imagine how connected I would genuinely feel to a group of virtual members I did not previously know.
Whether I was meeting with the large group, small group, or my pod, I felt “seen”, supported, and connected with the other community members. This community has meant so much to me over the past year.
I see Robyn, Marti, and my fellow students model for me how to create safety and connection in relationships. I recall moments of resonance, presence, and attunement within our meetings and reflect on ways I can grow in my capacity to be with parents and kids in my professional practice.
I feel the support of my pod members as I take on a new challenge. These moments of co-regulation carry with me in sessions as I am able to provide moments of connection, regulation, and felt safety to the parents and kids in my community.”
Cutting-Edge Parenting Coaching Skills. You’ll be confident in the neuroscience, have a toolbox stuffed with tools (that work), and expanded inner-capacity for connecting with even the most intense clients.
Love for your work- and the families you work with. Instead of feeling overwhelmed, hopeless, burned-out, all while imposter syndrome rears its ugly head, you will be able to draw on the tools to invite in groundedness, contentment, compassion, and confidence- even with the most challenging clients.
Impact. You’ll love doing meaningful work that matters to kids and families not just now, but for generations to come.
A new income stream. You’ll have a new service to offer– one-on-one parent coaching to a community of parents who are floundering and desperate.
Flexibility. Parent coaching sessions are effectively offered virtually, expanding your client base, increasing scheduling flexibility, and decreasing overhead expenses.
Ease. You’ll have a built-in new leveraged revenue stream of offering a parent course- you don’t have to create!– to your community. Even if you never formally teach the course, you’ll have everything you need- including worksheets and visual aids- to support the families you work with one-on-one.
Personal Growth. This will be a year of valuable professional investment with an even bigger personal impact.
Resources at your Fingertips. Immersion Program students express amazement at the number of resources available at their fingertips. New resources are continuously being developed!
Radical Community. You’ll be forever connected to a powerful group of thought-leaders who are changing the way we think about children and behavior, impacting generations. Have you ever been in a group of tenacious, creative, outside-the-box thinkers and healers? That alone will change your life.
Ready to join a community of radical change-makers?
Join the Waitlist for The Baffling Behavior Training Institute’s 2027 Immersion Program
will not only positively impact that family’s outcomes, it has the power to change generations that flow from the family. Most helping professionals aren’t prepared for working with parents and feel overwhelmed or frustrated with their efforts. Robyn is exactly the right voice for empowering therapists to develop compassion and skills for seeing the whole family in a relationship-centered way. Her expansive attachment and trauma knowledge keep her centered on principles that matter and her communication skills will offer clinicians a clear understanding of how to best reach parents who are struggling. As a colleague and friend. I have seen Robyn work in countless settings and she surpasses expectations every time. I highly endorse her teaching!
Marshall Lyles, LMFT-S, LPC-S, RPT-S, PhD Candidate, EMDRIA Consultant
Author of: Advanced Sandtray Therapy: Digging Deeper into Clinical Practice
Both cohorts will meet on Wednesdays
Cohort A will be led by Robyn Gobbel from 12-1:45pm eastern.
Cohort B will be led by Rose LaPiere from 7-8:45 eastern (Thursday AM for Asia/Australia).
The investment for The BBTI’s Professional Immersion Program 2026 is:
The Immersion Program is an enormous investment! Time, energy, and financial. It makes so much sense to use discernment and be patient with yourself in making this decision.
Keep scrolling for a detailed FAQ section!
After the FAQ section, if you keep scrolling even more, you’ll find three videos that go into depth about the Immersion Program.
An Immersion Program graduate says:
literally be with people. I have a sticky note on my desk that says “All of you is welcome here, exactly as you are.”
It feels so true and that level of acceptance feels like such a sigh of relief.
Laura’s bright and quirky self showed up in my office for the first time 2016. Laura was my first and only LCSW supervisee. I decided I hit the jackpot and no one else would ever compare to Laura so I stopped supervising while I was ahead ;)
After Laura completed her clinical hours and earned her LCSW license, she kinda just stuck around. Laura is a brilliantly talented clinician and has a special love for the most dysregulated kids- and teens. She’s a surly teen whisperer, indeed. Laura is innately gifted at holding space, curiosity, and connection for parents who are hard to connect with.
Laura has a thriving private practice in Austin, TX and supports me in all-the-things in The Club and now in the Professional Immersion Program. When we were still holding in-person trainings, Laura was my right-hand-lady. Laura has become a trusted friend and I couldn’t pull of The Club or even consider the Professional Immersion Program without Laura involved.
Laura’s clinical training includes basically all the same things as mine does, and she’s a way more talented expressive arts therapist than me. Her favorite store is Austin Creative Reuse. She’s also helped my husband and I take good care of our special needs chicken.
Truth be told, I need way more space than what I have here to tell you all about Katie. Katie and I have known each other for, well, forever. She is hands-down the most gifted child therapist I’ve ever known. Katie taught me about true delight- how to look into the eyes of absolutely ANY child and see their precious, delightful self…no matter how they appeared on the outside.
As I was dreaming up my team for the Professional Immersion Program, I literally sat up straight and screamed “KATIE!” when I had the lightning strike moment of realizing that Katie’s life might be in the perfect place for her to be a small group coach in the Professional Immersion Program.
Lucky for me (and you!) I was right.
Katie and I have shared an office, clients, and many trips to conferences and trainings around the country. She’s an invaluable life-long friend to me because we are both so clear on our relational and professional values. She’s easy to adore and she’s fierce with offering adoration. I can’t wait for you to get to know Katie!
Katie is trained in all-the-things. She truly embodies the integration of the tools, with the science, with presence and connection to herself. Katie has a small private practice working with kids and the families of kids with vulnerable nervous systems in Austin, TX.
Moya Smith is a talented, joyful, and grounded therapist who just so happens to be a talented, joyful, and grounded human. After being a therapist specializing in kids with a history of trauma, adoption, and baffling behaviors in Denver, CO, Moya and her family moved home to Newfoundland, Canada.
Moya became a therapist for the most struggling families after being a struggling family who realized how little help their is for families of kids with vulnerable nervous systems. Moya’s in the trenches experience raising kids with neurodiversity, adoption loss, and nervous system vulnerability allows her to show-up for parents with compassion, curiosity, and tenacity.
I’ve known Moya for…hmmmm…13 years! WOW! We had a blast playing together in our Theraplay Level 2 training. Moya brings a diversity of clinical training to the Professional Immersion Program but it’s her authentic presence that really makes her shine.
I crossed my fingers that Moya would accept the invitation to become a coach in the Professional Immersion Program and well, whatdoya know. She said yes!
Getting to know Jeri Lea over the past several years have been one of the sweetest surprises of my move to Michigan. Jeri Lea and I first crossed paths in 2019 at an in-person training I hosted just after I arrived in Grand Rapids, and we’ve continued to have lovely opportunities to stay connected.
I’ve learned so much from Jeri Lea’s curious exploration of the interplay of nutrition, physical wellness, and nervous system regulation. Jeri Lea is a Distinguished Infant Mental Health Mentor with the Michigan Association for Infant Mental Health and holds an Integrative Nutrition Health Coach certificate. Jeri Lea also weaves in autonomic nervous system regulation based modalities, including infant massage and the Safe and Sound Protocol into her work with children and families.
Jeri Lea integrates her lived experience as an adopted person and therapist with her presence as a small group coach in the Professional Immersion Program. She has a deep understanding of the complexities of parenting a child with a vulnerable nervous system. I am so grateful that she has eagerly agreed to stick around the Professional Immersion Program and join the team of coaches!
Gina is an Immersion Program OG, graduating from the inaugural 2022 cohort and then moving into the role of student coach and becoming an Advanced Practitioner. She’s lucky enough to live in the beautiful pacific northwest, where she offers therapy and parent coaching that is grounded in relational neuroscience. When you bring up Gina’s website, the words “All of You is Welcome, Exactly As You Are” jump off the screen. And you know what? You believe her!
Once, I was sitting on my couch with my husband watching a food show on Netflix. Suddenly, I sat up straight, grabbed the remote, pressed pause, and shouted “OMG THAT’S GINA!” And indeed, it was.
I’m thrilled to have Gina join us in 2026 as a small group coach and eager for Gina’s students to experience both her presence and her expertise. Gina is a registered art therapist, is certified by the International OCD Foundation, and she has decades of experience supporting families of kids with neurodivergence, and vulnerable nervous systems. And because she’s awesome, Gina also loves kayaking, cooking, and drinking excellent coffee!
Polly is a power-house therapist who embodies the pricipals that create the foundation of the Immersion Program for Professionals. I first met Polly eight years ago and our paths continued to occasionally cross until she joined the first cohort of the Professional Immersion Program as a student. Polly then served as a student coach in both 2023 and 2024. We are so lucky she said “yes” to the invitation to become a coach for our 2025 cohort!
Polly is trained in EMDR, Synergetic Play Therapist, Internal Family Systems and more. She lives in CO with her husband and prioritizes spending time with her family and being outdoors. I’ve learned much from Polly’s gentle, yet sturdy, presence, and her seemingly never-ending curiosity.
Polly is also a pretty fantastic down-hill skier and offered me a whole lotta co-regulation during a particularly difficult day on the mountain. I’ve been lucky to get to know Polly personally as well as professionally over the past many years. Polly is thoughtful, intentional, and compassionate. She’s also an absolute blast and whenever we have the opportunity to be together, we spend a great deal of our laughing hysterically. Polly is a wife, a mom, and now a grandma and I witness her continuously striving to deepen all her relationships by showing up with authenticity, an eagerness for connection, and the bravery needed for repair.
Sometimes Megan and I laugh about how strange it is that we didn’t know each other before she was a student in the 2022 cohort of the Professional Immersion Program; it feels like we’ve known each other for decades! Megan’s presence, her commitment to the embodiment of the material, and her relational way of being with the other students in the Professional Immersion Program made Megan an obvious choice when I had a student coach hole to fill in the middle of the 2023 cohort, Since then, Megan’s connection to the program, the material, and our students has deepened and grown, serving again as a student coach in 2024.
Megan is a wise and talented therapist. She is a certified EMDR therapist and a Register Play Therapist supervisor. I’ve watched Megan endlessly pursue personal and professional growth opportunities, as well as take big risks as she steps into the role of faciliator and teacher herself. She is curious, eager, and enthusiastic in her willingness to try new things and experiment with the unknown. Like all of us humans, Megan has navigated a tremendous amount of unexpected challenges and brings her lived experience of being with what is real, even when it’s not what is or was wanted.
Megan accepted our invitation to become a coach in the IPP in 2025 and has become an invaluble part of our team.
Marti and I met each other in 2014 and were instant kindred spirits. We’ve both played integral parts in the development of one another’s professional careers. Marti helped me bring the body into my work with families, and I helped Marti bring a relational approach into her work with families.
Marti is a uniquely gifted occupational therapist in that she does exactly that. She holds her lens of the body and sensory system while honoring our attachment and relational systems. It is my dream that all occupational therapists develop a way of working with families the way that Marti does!
When Marti and I saw clients in the same city, I tried to get her involved in every family I worked with who needed occupational therapy support. Marti is a keen observer who doesn’t just think outside the box- she isn’t aware there even IS a box. I love this about her!
Marti is the author of The Connected Therapist and Sensory Healing after Developmental Trauma. She was previously a fellow with the Child Trauma Academy and you’ve probably seen her on-stage with the Empowered to Connect conference. Marti is the queen of all thing lycra and beautifully balances playfulness with presence.
Marti has a small private OT practices in Georgetown, TX, working with kids with vulnerable nervous systems, and their families. She teaches and trains around the world.
Before becoming a mental health therapist, Iris worked as an occupational therapist in Puerto Rico. Her depth of skill and knowledge, integrating mental health and physical health, is a delightful gift she brings to the Immersion Program.
I met Iris just weeks before the pandemic when I taught a training on movement in play therapy in Northwest, Arkansas. I didn’t realize at the time how much our lives would intersect, and how lucky I would feel when they did!
Iris graduated from the IPP in 2023 and immediately transitioned into the role of student coach. She became an Advanced Practitioner at the end of 2024 and we were lucky enough to have her serve as a student coach again in 2025.
In her free time 🤣 Iris is helping us translate the parent course into Spanish!
Over the last three years, I’ve had the immense joy of watching Iris embody the confidence to stand in her truth; that she’s a grounded, talented, thoughtful, and humble therapist, healer, and helper who has so much to offer children, parents, and other professionals.
Iris owns a private mental health practice in Rogers, Arkansas where she works with children and adults. She integrates her training as an Occupational Therapist with her mental health training and experience, including EMDR, CPP, TF-CBT, and EFT (emotionally focused therapy).
We are so lucky so have Iris as a Cohort B small group coach!
When does registration end?
Once your application is accepted, you’ll be invited to secure your spot in the BBTI’s Professional Immersion Program by making a non-refundable $450 deposit.
Applications will remain open until November 11 OR until the Immersion Program reaches capacity- whichever occurs first.
Due to the overwhelming number of applications already received, we anticipate that the cohort will reach capacity before November 11. In 2024, we reached capacity for the 2025 program at the end of August.
When does the Immersion Program begin? And end?
Start = January 14, 2026
Online learning opens January 2026, approximately one week prior
End = December 9, 2026
(please note, if you are taking the evening cohort from Asia or Australia, you will be meeting on your Thursday mornings. The start date for you is January 15 and the end date is December 10- Thursdays)
Am I required to attend live calls?
Yes. This is a program of presence and live attendance is required. Additionally, you’ll be required to demonstrate mastery and integration of the course material through your presence and participation in live calls. Full group live calls will be recorded and available to re-watch/re-listen if something arises and you cannot make a call. Small group live calls will NOT be recorded. Earning the Immersion Program certificate of completion and becoming a Registered Raising Kids with Big Baffling Behaviors Course Faciliator at the completion of the program is dependent upon missing no more than one live small group and no more than two live full groups.
If you are earning CEs, you must attend all full groups live.
Will calls be recorded?
Full group live calls will be recorded. Small group calls and presence pods will not be recorded.
How much time can I expect to invest in the Immersion Program
Robyn’s Cohort: 12-1:45pm (7 hours a month)
Rose’s Cohort: 7-8:45pm (7 hours a month)
Approximately 4 hours per month
Summer Months OFF
Are scholarships available?
As part of the long-term strategic planning for The Immersion Program for Professionals, including establishing a financial structure that will ensure longevity and sustainability of the program, a scholarship program will be established and grown during the first couple years of the program. It is my anticipation that a robust scholarship program will be available to professionals who serve underserved communities and who do not have the financial assistance of their employer in coming years.
Scholarships are not currently available as we focus on long-term financial health and sustainability that will ensure the ability to offer scholarships in the future.
Are there any additional fees or requirements?
Robyn’s book, Raising Kids with Big, Baffling Behaviors is a required text for the course. You can purchase the text from most major online book retailers.
What’s the Case Presentation mentioned above in program requirements?
Beginning in September, you’ll implement the material from Raising Kids with Big, Baffling Behaviors: A Course for Parents/Caregiversin either a small group or individual format with a parent(s)/caregiver(s) in your work/practice. A final case study on this experience will be presented to your small group in December. This is a requirement for earning the certificate and licensing rights.
Cancellation policy
The Immersion Program for Professionals is a year-long program designed with the expectation that all participants commit to the program with the intention to complete the year and earn the certificate.
The $450USD deposit is non-refundable, should you withdraw your participation prior to the beginning of the program.
The Immersion Program for Professionals is a financial commitment of $5850USD, and monthly payments are allowed. It is a not a monthly membership or subscription program, and payments do not stop if you withdraw from the program. Beginning The Immersion Program for Professionals in January 2025 indicates your commitment to completing the year and fulfilling the financial commitment of $5850USD.
We also understand that life happens. Should an unexpected circumstance arise that prevents you from completing the program, Robyn will work with you closely to create a plan that honors the time, energy, and financial commitment you’ve already invested.
Time & Energy Commitment
The BBTI’s Professional Immersion Program aims to recognize the demands in your life while also honoring that the radical inner shift being invited by the Immersion Program emerges slowly with time and intentionality. The Professional Immersion Program has an intense time and energy commitment. Plan on spending approximately four hours per month in the on-line learning platform (on-demand, on your own time), as well weekly calls from 12-1:45 eastern (Wednesdays) or 7-8:45pm eastern (Wednesdays) depending on which cohort you are registered for.
This totals approximately 11 hours per month. The summer is off!
Previous participants agree that the Professional Immersion Program experience is immersive with a purpose. The frequent touch points with the program and each other invites the integration that the program aims to provide. We are very intentional not to waste your time.
Who can participate in The Professional Immersion Program? Do I need to be a therapist?
All professionals who work with parents of kids with big behaviors are invited to participate in The Professional Immersion Program!
Therapists, teachers, caseworkers, school counselors & social workers, pediatricians, occupational therapists, student support specialists- everyone!
You know who sometimes makes the best parenting professionals? Parents of kids with big, baffling behaviors! If your family is currently experiencing some stability and you’d like to take your experiences and make a difference in the lives of other families, the BBTI’s Professional Immersion Program might be the perfect way to get your new career as a parent coach started!
If you’ve never worked in the parenting field before (or worked with children and support parents as a part of that!) please email Robyn to see if The Professional Immersion Program is a good fit for you.
Will I get any business coaching in the Immersion Program?
OOOH I love this question and several folks who have reached out have asked!
The Professional Immersion Program will leave with you the opportunity to have a brand-new revenue stream (coaching and teaching the parent course) while also enhancing and amplifying the work you already do with families.
Formal business coaching is not offered, though there are many informal discussions that germinate amongst our students and alumni.
Are CEs available?
As of May 7, 2025, Robyn Gobbel LLC is an approved CE provide with the American Psychological Association.
We plan to offer CEs for the 2026 cohort of the Professional Immersion Program. The number and format of the CEs is still being determined.
PLEASE NOTE! It is the student’s responsibility to investigate with their licensing board if APA CEs are accepted. This is not something our team can tell you or guarantee.
The Immersion Program isn’t a therapeutic training and our students do not learn a mental health intervention. Parent coaching does not assess, diagnose, or treat a mental health disorder. If you are a therapist, the Immersion Program will positively impact your therapeutic work because this is an experience that will change your inner-world and the presence you bring to your clients. The Immersion Program is NOT training students to do mental health therapy and our students are responsible for practicing within their unique scope of practice.
Polly Douglass, LPC
Polly lives in the beautiful state of Colorado where she run a private practice and parent/school coaching business. Polly loves consulting with other therapists as they discover their intuitive wisdom, strength and authenticity. Life-long learning is one of my highest values, as well as family and fun! Polly has a beadth of clinical training and expertise, including Synergetic Play Therapy, EMDR, and Internal Family Systems.
When she’s not working with families, you might find Polly on her Peloton bike, hiking in the foothills, watching Hulu and/or eating Skinny Pop.
Polly says she’s “beyond thrilled” to be a Student Coach in the Professional Immersion Program. “The Professional Immersion Program has inspired and transformed my personal and professional life. It’s a gift to share in the journey of discovery, connection and growth as together we practice being with the complexities and messiness of life.”
Megan Meyerhoffer, LCSW, RPT-S ™
Megan Meyerhoffer—an LCSW, RPT-S ™, Certified EMDR therapist, and Parent Coach. My focus extends to areas such as complicated grief, attachment trauma, parenting trauma and the complexities of vulnerable nervous systems. She is a gifted clinician who brings presence and gentle connection into her personal and professional relationships. Megan has led the way among Professional Immersion Program graduates in her teaching of the Raising Kids with Big, Baffling Behaviors Course in her community.
A proud 2022 graduate of the the Professional Immersion Program, Megan says: “I’m thrilled to continue contributing to its transformative impact on individuals and communities. As a Professional Immersion Program Advanced Practitioner, I am excited to immerse myself into the Professional Immersion Program Training and support others as they begin and continue their path.”
Matt Schwab
Matt is a co-founder and NeuroRealational CoachTM at Discovery Horse, where healing takes root on a tranquil therapeutic farm in the heart of Minnesota.
Alongside his life partner, Sara (also a Professional Immersion Program graduate), Matt has been weaving a tapestry of family-based services since the agency’s inception in 2013.
In his personal journey of healing from trauma Matt discovered the power of connection and the importance of diverse voices, especially male representation, in the fields of coaching and mental wellness.
Playful and loving, Matt’s commitment to the well-being of those around him is atestament to the transformative ripple effect of compassion.
Matt is an advocate for change, an embodiment of resilience, and a reminder that, sometimes, the most powerful wisdom comes from the simplicity of lived experience and the bonds we build with one another.
Lucas Harrington, PsyD
Lucas is a clinical psychologist in the Seattle area and a consultant for the autistic-led social-emotional learning game “Ava” by Social Cipher. In his day job at the University of Washington Autism Center his work includes parent coaching, public speaking/consultation, and diagnostic testing. He is co-author of Assessment of Autism in Females and Nuanced Presentations: Integrating Research into Practice. Outside of work Lucas enjoys games and puzzles, reading short stories and essays with a “Micro Book Club”, and spending time with his best friend the digital piano.
Lucas brings a variety of perspectives, including the autistic, ADHD, queer, trans/nonbinary, chronic illness, Jewish, Japanese, and mixed-race communities. He appreciates the way that the Professional Immersion Program framework can help people untangle the aftershocks of individual, family, and collective trauma to reclaim their authentic selves.
Iris Negron, LPC, LMFT
Iris has been working in the beautiful field of counseling since 2016. She earned her master’s degree in Marriage and Family Therapy, with emphasis on Play Therapy, from John Brown University, and is currently licensed in the state of Arkansas.
Iris also has a bachelor’s degree in Occupational Therapy from University of Puerto Rico, a profession she practiced for 21 years. Iris says that she has found her joy by blending these two beautiful professions to help children and families to work from their strengths.
Iris is eager to be a student coach in the “Professional Immersion Program Advance Practitioner” program and believes it will help her go deeper into the process of embodying safety for the families she works with. Iris also dreams of being able to take the Raising Kids with Big, Baffling Behaviors Course to the Hispanic community.”
Becky Knutsen, MEd
Becky is the founder of an educational consulting company and has a dual teaching license in general and special education. Becky is passionate about supporting students and staff in educational settings. When partnering with school staff, she aims to share information about the brain and body connection to behavior while also offering the deep attunement that is at the heart of the Professional Immersion Program.
Becky is a mama to two adopted children. For both personal and professional reasons she fell down the behavior rabbit hole about a decade ago and is still rolling around down there ;) Becky finds that nature has a huge impact on her well being- whether it’s marveling at Lake Superior or the tiny weed that pushed its way through the concrete. Reading is one of Becky’s favorite ways to wind down (especially books that have magical creatures and powers and worlds that have nothing to do with our real one!)
An Immersion Program graduate says:
in assimilating this material has been amazing – in a very quiet, being with sort of way she has given me the confidence to sit with the material and my own reaction to it that truly has helped me understand our role in bringing this content to parents.”
An Immersion Program graduate says:
disciplines, backgrounds, locations, etc., coming together and find commonality, hope, grace, compassion, and honestly, fortitude, to keep doing this very deep, challenging, sometimes intensely frustrating type of work has set this experience apart from other learning opportunities.
On hard days with tricky clients, I was able to hear not just Robyn’s voice, but the voice of my pod, and my small group. I was able to text my pod and say I was thinking of them and needed their love and positivity.”
to create such a needed and important training for professionals on how to work with parents. Robyn is by far the most knowledgeable, real, and genuine parenting expert that I know. Not only is her understanding of relational neuroscience phenomenal, but her ability to translate it in a way that makes sense while offering space for self reflection and healing is just amazing. Bottom line is that she just gets it. I am so excited for this program and so excited for the professionals who take it. I have no doubt that their personal and professional lives will be impacted in a significant way. Thank you Robyn for leading the way.
Lisa Dion, LPC-S– Founder: Synergetic Play Therapy
Author of: Aggression in Play Therapy: A Neurobiological Approach for Integrating Intensity
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Focus on the Nervous System to Change Behavior
