7 CPD POINTS/HOURS AWARDED
THE POWER OF TOUCH – HEALING EARLY DEVELOPMENTAL TRAUMA
1-day workshop on the Theory & Practice of NeuroAffective Touch®.
Learn about this pioneering somatic approach with:
NeuroAffective Touch® creator Dr Aline LaPierre (attending virtually from LA)
UK Faculty Sue Bell OBE DL (CEO & Clinical Director of Kids Inspire, UK).
Featuring an exclusive interview with Dr Bríd Keenan (Director Ireland Somatic Experiencing® ISE).
Brought to you by PCPSI & Newhaven Therapy & Training.
To purchase tickets CLICK HERE.
The Workshop includes
✔︎ 1 day LIVE event at Marino Institute of Education, Dublin.
✔︎ A certificate with 7 CPD points/hours on request.
Dates & Times
TIMETABLE: 10am to 5.00pm. Registration open from 9.30am.
1 Day Workshop | Saturday 18 April 2026
Limited Tickets
Early bird tickets €125 – available until Monday February 16th 2026.
Full Price tickets €150.
Places are limited so book early.
To purchase tickets CLICK HERE.
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Overview
What is NeuroAffective Touch®?
NeuroAffective Touch® is a therapeutic approach that combines somatic (body-based) touch with psychotherapy to help individuals heal from developmental and relational trauma. It uses gentle, compassionate, and non-invasive touch to access and process emotional and relational wounds that are often stored in the body and are difficult to address through words alone. The modality helps to regulate the nervous system and build a more integrated mind-body connection.
What is covered in the workshop?
This workshop will give learners an overview of how NeuroAffective Touch® is delivered and the power of attuned touch in healing early trauma.
The program for the day includes the following:
- Lectures and practical teaching including skill-building. Learn the importance of touch in healing early adversity and some key NeuroAffective Touch® skills from Sue Bell OBE DL. Gain knowledge you can directly integrate into your practice.
- Screening of ‘The Power of Touch’ – a pre-recorded conversation between Dr Aline LaPierre & Dr Bríd Keenan, Director of Ireland Somatic Experiencing® (ISE). Come and hear Dr LaPierre’s own story and how the modality developed over time. See a very powerful and rich exchange between two stalwarts of mental health healing & innovation. The screening will be followed by a discussion & audience Q&A.
- A live demonstration of NeuroAffective Touch®. Witness for yourself the depth and power of this approach, as Sue Bell OBE DL applies the principles of NeuroAffective Touch® in a live demo.
- A panel discussion between a variety of Irish professionals who are already integrating therapeutic touch into their work.
- Live Q&A with Dr Aline LaPierre attending virtually from LA.
This workshop also serves as an introduction to The NeuroAffective Touch® Practitioner Training.
For more information – CLICK HERE
Learning Objectives
✔︎ Learn about NeuroAffective Touch® and its role in healing early trauma through an integrated body-mind approach.
✔︎ Learn about the 5 Principles of Attuned Touch and how it can help the body to feel safer, calmer and more connected.
✔︎ Experience a guided somatic contemplation.
✔︎ Explore how the body’s midline supports grounding, balance and sense of wholeness.
✔︎ Learn about NeuroAffective Touch® & its origins through a conversation with its creator, Dr. Aline LaPierre, interviewed by Dr. Bríd Keenan.
✔︎ Watch a live demonstration showing how attuned touch is offered with care, presence, and respect for pacing.
✔︎ Hear from experienced therapists about how touch can be used in different therapeutic and healing settings.
✔︎ Reflect on how NeuroAffective Touch® may support your own wellbeing, your professional work, and possible next steps for learning.
Target Audience
This workshop is open to all healing professionals that would like to know more about NeuroAffective Touch® & how to work with early developmental trauma. This includes but is not limited to:
- – Psychotherapists, Counsellors, Social Workers, Art or Music Therapists.
- – Psychiatrists, Medical Doctors, Registered Nurses, Chiropractors, 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 a similar Somatic Training Program.
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.
Presenter Biographies
Dr Aline LaPierre is the creator of NeuroAffective Touch® and Director of The NeuroAffective Touch® Institute. NeuroAffective Touch® is a somatic, neurologically informed psychotherapy that uses therapeutic touch as a vital psychobiological intervention.
Dr. LaPierre is the co-author of the bestselling Healing Developmental Traua: 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, consultant, 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 (IBPJ).
In the field of somatics, she has studied Somatic Experiencing® (SE), Postural Integration, Cranial-Sacral Therapy (CST), Reichian Therapies, Biodynamics 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 Center for Psychoanalysis (NCP), focusing on the evolution of psychoanalysis from Object Relations to Relational and Inter-Subjective approaches. She was a member of Allan Schore Affective Neuroscience study group for several years.
Dr LaPierre maintains a private practice in Brentwood-West Los Angeles. Her current interests include 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 founds Kids Inspire in 2007 after recognising a gap in local provision for young people struggling with emotional and behavioural difficulties – often rooted in experiences 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 and 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 UKDP-registered Child and Adolescent Psychotherapist, SEP, 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 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 practices that restores hope and possibility – helping children, families, and communities move from surviving to thriving.
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).
To purchase tickets CLICK HERE.
