HEALING EARLY DEVELOPMENTAL TRAUMA
SATURDAY APRIL 18th 2026 - 1-DAY WORKSHOP
Learn from Dr. Aline LaPierre (Creator of NeuroAffective Touch®) & Sue Bell OBE DL (CEO & Clnical Director of Kids Inspire).
Featuring an exclusive interview with Dr. Bríd Keenan (Director Ireland Somatic Experiencing® ISE).
Brought to you by PCPSI & Newhaven Therapy & Training.
buy Tickets here
NeuroAffective® Touch
A 1-day workshop in Dublin
| DATE: Saturday April 18th, 2026
| TIME: 10am - 5.00pm Registration opens from 9.30am
| COST: €150 including lunch.
| VENUE: Marino Institute of Education, Dublin
| CPD: 7 CPD hrs. Cert Provided on request.
Learn about this pioneering somatic approach with NeuroAffective Touch® Creator Dr. Aline LaPierre (attending virtually from LA) and UK Faculty Sue Bell OBE DL (CEO & Clinical Director, Kids Inspire, UK), attending in person.
Why this workshop could benefit your practice...
Early developmental trauma is often rooted in non-verbal, physical experiences, requiring a somatic approach for lasting repair. This comprehensive one-day workshop is an introduction to NeuroAffective Touch® (NATouch®), a powerful modality that integrates attachment theory, neuroscience, and therapeutic touch.
- High-Calibre Instructors: A rare opportunity to learn directly from the modality's creator, Dr. Aline LaPierre (joining us virtually), and train in-person with UK Faculty Sue Bell OBE DL, a leading UK mental health expert and CEO & Clinical Director of Kids Inspire.
- The Power of Touch: Join us for the premiere screening of a pre-recorded conversation between Dr. LaPierre and Dr. Bríd Keenan (Training Director, Ireland Somatic Experiencing®). This exchange offers valuable insights for practitioners seeking to deepen their understanding of somatic trauma work.
- Practical Application: Learn some key somatic practices you can confidently integrate into your work.
- Professional Recognition: Earn valuable CPD Hours.
IMMERSE YOURSELF FOR A DAY IN A CUTTING-EDGE THERAPY, LEARNING DIRECTLY FROM ITS VISIONARY CREATOR AND UK FACULTY.
WHAT IS NEUROAFFECTIVE TOUCH®?
NeuroAffective Touch® is a professional psychobiological approach that integrates the key elements of somatic psychotherapy, attachment and developmental theory, and affective and interpersonal neurobiology. Polyvagal-informed, our training uses intentional, mindful touch to bring the unconscious memories held in the body into conscious awareness.
Through offering direct communication and support to the body at the nonverbal level, where we all receive our first imprints, NeuroAffective Touch® treats lifelong emotional traumas to reconnect us to the wholeness of our relational matrix.
REGISTER NOW ➡HERE'S WHAT'S ON OFFER:
A comprehensive
Introduction Day
This workshop is designed to blend theoretical depth with practical clinical application.
TEACHING & SKILL BUILDING
Learn about the importance of touch in healing early adversity and a couple of key practices that you can integrate into your work.
SCREENING OF "THE POWER OF TOUCH"
See an exclusive pre-recorded conversation between Dr. Aline LaPierre & Dr. Bríd Keenan (Director Ireland Somatic Experiencing®, ISE). Witness a rich exchange between two stalwarts of somatic healing work.
AUDIENCE Q&A
During the day, there will be plenty of opportunity to ask questions with a focus on interactive & participative learning, drawing on everyone's experience.
LIVE NATOUCH® DEMO
Witness for yourself the depth & power of this approach as Sue Bell OBE DL applies the principles of NeuroAffective Touch® in a live demo.
INFO ON PROFESSIONAL TRAINING
This workshop serves as an introduction to the NeuroAffective Touch® Practitioner Training.
For more information CLICK HERE
PANEL DISCUSSION
Ask your questions directly to Dr. Aline LaPierre (joining virtually), Sue Bell OBE DL, and a panel of experienced practitioners using touch in their clinical work.
WHO IS THIS WORKSHOP FOR?
This workshop is open to all healing professionals that would like to know more about NeuroAffective Touch® and how to work with early developmetal trauma.
This includes but is not limited to:
It's also open to anyone wanting to know more about early developmental trauma. And those who are interested in NeuroAffective Touch® as a possible healing modality option for themselves, their family or loved ones.
- Psychotherapists, Counsellors, Social Workers, Art or Music Therapists
- Psychiatrists, Medical Doctors, Nurses, Chiropracters, Allied Health Professionals, Occupational Therapists
- Body Workers, Acupuncturists, Massage Therapists, Cranial Sacral Therapists.
- Somatic Therapists - having attended Somatic Experiencing® Training, Sensory Motor Training, Hakomi Training, or an equivalent Somatic Training Program.
Your Professional Pathway!
A step closer to healing & community
FOUNDATION for the professional training
This one-day event serves as the perfect introduction to the comprehensive 2-Part NeuroAffective Touch® Professional Training.
CLICK HERE to learn More About training in NeuroAffective Touch®.
Who will be facilitating your experience?
DR. ALINE LAPIERRE
Dr. LaPierre is the creator of NeuroAffective Touch® and Director of the NeuroAffective Touch® Institute.
She is the co-author of the bestselling Healing Developmental Trauma: How Trauma Affects Self-Regulation, Self-Image, and the Capacity for Relationship, a groundbreaking book in developmental psychology now available in fifteen languages.
Dr. LaPierre is past faculty in the somatic doctoral program at Santa Barbara Graduate Institute, a clinician, author, speaker, and teacher. She is currently President of the United States Association for Body Psychotherapy (USABP) and Editor-in-Chief of the International Body Psychotherapy Journal (IBP).
In the field of somatics, she has studied Somatic Experiencing® (SE), Postural Integration, Cranio-Sacral Therapy (CST), Reichian Therapies, Bodynamics Analysis, Continuum, BodyMind Centering (BMC), and EMDR.
In the field of psychotherapy, Dr. LaPierre is a graduate of Pacifica Graduate Institute, which intimately connected her with Jungian and Archetypal psychologies, and of The New Centre for Psychoanalysis (NCP), focusing on the evolution of psychoanalysis from Object Relations to Relational and Inter-Subjective approaches. She was a member of the Allan Schore Affective Neuroscience study group for several years.
Dr. LaPierre maintains a private practice in Brentwood-West Los Angeles. Her current work focuses on developing NeuroAffective Touch® programs for couples and families.
SUE BELL OBE, DL
Founder, CEO, DL and Clinical Director, Kids Inspire, Director, Inspire Wellbeing Services.
Sue Bell OBE founded Kids Inspire in 2007, after recognising a gap in local provision for young people struggling with emotional and behavioural difficulties - often rooted in experience of trauma, neglect, abuse, or bereavement. What began as a small initiative to offer understanding and therapeutic support has since grown into an award-winning charity transforming the lives of children and families across Essex, Suffolk and beyond.
Under Sue's leadership, Kids Inspire has become known for its creative, trauma-responsive approach and commitment to relational healing. In recognition of her work, Sue was awarded an OBE in 2023 for services to charity, mental health, and education. She has also received the Government's Mental Health Hero Award, and saw Kids Inspire honoured with the Queen's Award for Voluntary Service (2020) - the UK's highest accolade for voluntary organisations.
A UKCP-registered Child and Adolescent Psychotherapist, qualified teacher, and the county's only Somatic Relational Trauma Therapist. Sue integrates the creative arts, NeuroAffective Touch®, and psychotherapy to help children and adults rebuild safety, connection and self-worth. She is particularly known for her expertise in working with children not living with their biological parents, supporting them and their carers to heal attachment wounds and rediscover trust in relationships.
Alongside her role at Kids Inspire, Sue is a Director of Inspire Wellbeing Services and teaches internationally. She is the first faculty member for the NeuroAffective Touch® Institute and taught on the MA in Child and Adolescent Psychotherapy, bringing her integrative and body-based perspective to the training of future therapists.
Sue's ongoing mission is to promote trauma-responsive, relational practice that restores hope and possibility - helping children, families, and communities move from surviving to thriving.
DR BRÍD KEENAN
Dr Bríd Keenan has worked as a Gestalt psychotherapist, a clinical supervisor and trainer for over 30 years as well as a process consultant with community-based organisations. She has been a therapist for 15 years with a local community based NGO supporting the relatives of those killed in the conflict in the North of Ireland.
She has a particular interest in transgenerational trauma and the impact of traumatic memory on peace building. She has co-authored a number of resources on conflict related trauma and has presented papers to international conferences in South Africa, Berlin, England and Krackow. Bríd provides workshops throughout Ireland, as well as in other countries. She is a Somatic Experiencing® & NARM practitioner.
In 2013, she founded Ireland Somatic Experiencing® ISE (a non-profit organisation) and has worked tirelessly in establishing Somatic Experiencing® training in Ireland. She co-founded the Gestalt Centre in Belfast (2012) and is a member of the European Association for Gestalt Psychotherapy (EAGT).
