Transforming Trauma: Episode 137

We often discuss the NeuroAffective Relational Model (NARM) as it relates to the adult journey of healing from complex trauma, but what about younger clients? How responsive are teens to NARM’s trauma-informed approach? And how receptive are families to the evolving nature of their child’s agency, capacity for connection, and self-regulation?

On this episode of Transforming Trauma, host Emily Ruth is joined by Kami Black, LCSW, founder of ROOTs Transitions, a program that supports adolescent females ages 15 to 18 and their families by blending elements of outdoor therapy and residential treatment in Park City, Utah. The pair explore ROOTs’ commitment to utilizing NARM as both a therapeutic modality and a rubric for staff engagement. They also discuss the program’s assessment, treatment, and reintegration phases, plus the value of embracing and navigating dysregulation within the safety of the on-site therapeutic environment.

“I definitely fell in love with NARM. I’m trying to embody it as much as possible, and it informs how I show up with my staff and clients.” Kami’s appreciation for NARM inspired her, in part, to create a residential space that focuses on the attachment, relational, and/or developmental traumas of teenage girls. “Through my years of working in residential [settings],..I didn’t feel super creative,” admits Kami. “When I found NARM, I realized something [that] the residential treatment industry had been missing out on, so I was excited to bring that into ROOTs.”

ROOTs – which stands for Reclaiming Our Original Truths – is grounded in a relational and flexible approach to treatment depending on each girl’s needs: six-to-nine months’ residency as opposed to 12+ months of traditional programs. Kami credits NARM for providing a therapeutic container in which families can safely navigate the discomfort of healing from C-PTSD and create better strategies for emotional development in real time rather than leaving the family to struggle once the client returns home.

Kami and her team receive ongoing training and support from CTTC Faculty in their integration of NARM into ROOTs. Kami appreciates the humanistic approach of NARM and its emphasis on the intersubjective process (human to human relationships), including the relationships the clients create with their staff. Additionally, they engage the parents as active participants in their own healing in support of their child’s healing process. Kami says, “It’s so important that parents start to address their own trauma around what they’ve been through with their children and, maybe, how that reminds them of their childhood.”

Transforming Trauma is grateful to Kami for creating such a welcoming and safe haven in support of meaningful healing for adolescent females and their families.

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GUEST CONTACT AND BIO

ROOTs Transition

As a young adult, Kami Black, LCSW, knew that she wanted to be a therapist and help give back to a community that once served her and address the trauma impacting others. After completing her schooling, she began working with adolescents and their families, as well as signing up for any trauma training that she could find. This included EMDR, Somatic Experiencing, Brainspotting, and many others. About five years ago, Kami came across NARM at a conference. She was intrigued by the language, and specifically the way it articulated complex trauma healing through a deeply interpersonal process. She trained in NARM and hoped that one day this healing modality would be at the foundation of a program she was envisioning.  ROOTs Transition emerged from her vision, and has been open for almost three years now.  And, NARM is now the foundation of their clinical approach and how they train their therapists, guides and staff.  The principles of NARM also inspire and challenges them each day to stay curious and provide agency to those around them.