Join us for this two-hour training designed for early childhood professionals that explores how stress impacts both young children and the adults who care for them. Grounded in the science of resilience, this session will examine how stress shows up in the brain and body, influences behavior, and shapes relationships. It will also highlight a core infant and early childhood mental health principle: when adults feel more regulated and supported, they are better able to offer the “headspace and heartspace” needed for attunement, serve-and-return interactions, and responsive caregiving that scaffolds healthy social-emotional development.
Together, we will learn to recognize signs of stress in ourselves and in young children, and explore how ongoing or chronic stress can create cycles that feel hard to step out of—leaving us overwhelmed, reactive, or stuck on a kind of “merry-go-round” in our daily work. This session will help make sense of why this happens and, most importantly, what we can do about it. Building on the Reconnect for Better Days approach, participants will engage with simple, practical, body-based tools to interrupt these cycles, support regulation, and strengthen resilience.
Our Presenter(s):
Katie Goetz, LCMHCS, CCS is a licensed clinical mental health counselor supervisor with a specialty in trauma-informed interventions. Katie received her master’s degree in counseling at Western Carolina University and has specialized training in cognitive behavioral therapy, integrated care, somatic therapies and Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR). Katie is an Adjunct Professor in the graduate counseling program at Western Carolina and has taught courses in integrated care, positive psychology, and addictions. Katie currently serves as the Director of Resiliency Education at Resources for Resilience and holds a small private practice in North Carolina providing therapy, clinical supervision, and consultation. Katie is passionate about bridging the gap between clinical neuroscience and everyday habits, while collaborating with others in helping roles to engage in the work while maintaining well-being. Katie lives in western North Carolina where she enjoys playing soccer and learning each day from her children and neighbors.
