The seminal work of Stephen Porges on the autonomic nervous system shows how we can cultivate emotional safety so that our families, our clients, perhaps even our nation can begin to heal from the experiences that frighten us. Bonnie Badenoch finds Porges’ work to be central in understanding how to open a nonjudgmental receptive space between client and therapist. Patty Wipfler brings decades of experience using simple Parenting by Connection Listening Tools with parents and children to strengthen connection and help to heal both parents’ and children’s fears. In conversation, they will explore the ways we humans can develop this capacity for presence.
Bonnie Badenoch, PhD, LMFT is a marriage and family therapist, supervisor, teacher, and author who delights in integrating the discoveries of relational neuroscience into the art of therapy. She co-founded the nonprofit agency, Nurturing the Heart with the Brain in Mind in Portland, Oregon. She offers immersion training experiences dedicated to supporting the ongoing mental health of fellow therapists while helping them internalize the principles of interpersonal neurobiology. Bonnie speaks internationally about applying IPNB principles both personally and professionally. She is the author of Being a Brain-Wise Therapist (2008) and The Brain-Savvy Therapist’s Workbook (2011).
Patty Wipfler is the mother of two sons, and the Founder and Director of Hand in Hand, a nonprofit organization serving parents and professionals working with parents and children. She has written two curricula for parents, “Building Emotional Understanding” and “Tantrum Training,” written booklets that have sold over 600,000 copies in ten languages, and trains parents and professionals in Parenting by Connection, an approach based on her 35 years of work with parents and children in the US and 22 other countries. Over 60 of her articles and audio podcasts are available at www.handinhandparenting.org. Her current publication is Listen: Five Simple Tools for Your Everyday Parenting Challenges introduces parents to five simple, practical skills even the most harried parent can use. These tools will help parents strengthen their connection with their child and help build their child’s intelligence, cooperation, and ability to learn as they grow. The book delivers detailed information accompanied by more than one hundred real-life stories from parents who’ve used this approach to address the root causes of their child’s difficult behaviors.