Hey there! I’m Robyn!

I love coffee, P!NK, and everything about the brain. Once (recently!) my teenager went ballistic on me for getting ANOTHER (glitter!!!) coffee mug in the mail. I mean…can you ever have enough? I love cultivating deep, resonant connections with anyone who is up for it, and I especially love teaching anyone who will listen to harness the power of neuroscience so they can cultivate deep, resonant connections, too. I mean, what would change in the world if we could all do that? To see, be with, feel, and deeply know each other…and ourselves.

I think everything could change.

Before the COVID-19 pandemic, I was a therapist for almost 20 years, specializing in complex trauma, attachment, and adoption.

Now I create communities and educational experiences grounded in regulation, connection, and felt safety for parents and professionals all over the world.

I’m a podcast host and write books, too!

If you are trying to navigate life with a child with a vulnerable nervous system

and big, baffling behaviors, you’re find the right place!

Hey there! I’m Robyn!

I love coffee, P!NK, and everything about the brain. Once (recently!) my teenager went ballistic on me for getting ANOTHER (glitter!!!) coffee mug in the mail. I mean…can you ever have enough? I love cultivating deep, resonant connections with anyone who is up for it, and I especially love teaching anyone who will listen to harness the power of neuroscience so they can cultivate deep, resonant connections, too. I mean, what would change in the world if we could all do that? To see, be with, feel, and deeply know each other…and ourselves.

I think everything could change.

Before the COVID-19 pandemic, I was a therapist for almost 20 years, specializing in complex trauma, attachment, and adoption.

Now I create communities and educational experiences grounded in regulation, connection, and felt safety for parents and professionals all over the world.

I’m a podcast host and write books, too!

If you are trying to navigate life with a child with a vulnerable nervous system and big, baffling behaviors, you’re find the right place!

Compassion is the Neurobiology of Change

This stack of books tells you just about everything you need to know about me. When I’m not obsessively studying the brain, I’m teaching about it. And when I’m not doing either of those things, I’m running, grabbing a boot camp class on Zoom, or climbing the aerial silks. I truly discovered the joy of movement- and how that becomes the joy of ourselves. Moving, playing, and writing (Thank you Liz Gilbert for so beautifully capturing the magic of creativity, especially through writing!) are some of my favorite ways to support others (and myself) in learning about and loving themselves.

That sweet little book on the top? Well, me and poetry have had a tenuous relationship…until this book. Do yourself a favor and snag this precious little book of poetry. I’d probably jump right to #66. Then you’ll know exactly what it’s like to find someone- maybe a therapist, maybe someone else- who is willing to get lost with you. And to wait for you. Wait. With certainty.

I read books and drink coffee on five unbelievably green (well, sometimes covered in white) acres outside Grand Rapids, MI with my husband and teenager. This long-time Austin, TX family headed north so we could boat on Lake Michigan, ski the teeny tiny hills of the midwest, and have more time to be together (and the chickens, and garden, and bees, and our doodle-dog, too).

Also, I Love…

sparkly shoes!

Robyn’s experience

Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology

Master’s Degree in Social Work
(MSW)

Previously

Licensed Clinical Social Worker (Texas)

Licensed Master Social Worker- Clinical (Michigan)

As of April 30, 2023, I have placed my license to practice therapy on ‘inactive’ while I focus on teaching, writing, providing education, and creating communities for the kids and families impacted by complex trauma, nervous system vulnerabilities, and big, baffling behaviors.

Certifications Previously Earned while Practicing as a Therapist

Eye Movement Desensitization & Reprocessing (EMDR)
Certified

EMDR Integrative Team Treatment for Attachment Trauma in Children
Certified

Trust Based Relational Intervention® Educator

Certified Therapist with Foster & Adoptive Children and Families
(Portland State University)

Circle of Security Parent Educator

Neurosequential Model of Therapeutics (expected completion date: Spring 2024)

Theraplay Levels 1 & 2

Somatic Experiencing – level 1

Yogapeutics® Aerial Yoga

DEEP Training with Candyce Osserfort-Russell, LPC

Internal Family Systems (IFS) Online Circle

Nurturing the Heart with the Brain in Mind
Year Long Immersion in Interpersonal Neurobiology with Bonnie Badenoch, PhD, Vancouver, WA

The ALERT Program®

Interpersonal Neurobiology (IPNB)
studied with:
Daniel Siegel, MD
Bonnie Badenoch, PhD
Juliane Taylor Shore, LMFT-S, LPC-S, SEP

Foundations of Interpersonal Neurobiology Certificate Program (2019)
Science of IPNB Instructor
Portland Community College

Post Graduate Certificate in Therapy with Foster & Adopted Children & Families (2018 – 2020)
Treating the Continuum of Attachment Difficulties in Adoptive and Foster Families Instructor
Portland State University & Oregon DHS

Raising Kids with Big, Baffling Behaviors: Brain-Body-Sensory Strategies that Really Work

September 2023

Published by Jessica Kingsley Publishers

Endorsed by:

Stephen Porges, PhD

Tina Payne Bryson PhD

Bonnie Badenoch, PhD

…and more

CLICK HERE to read the summary, check out all the endorsements, and buy a copy!