CTI Summer Training Institute
Embodied Trauma Treatment: The SMART Model Across the Age Span
Presented by Elizabeth Warner, Ed.M., Psy.D.; Anne Westcott, LICSW; Alexandra Cook, Ph.D.
This workshop will introduce participants to the SMART model for complex trauma. First developed for children and youth, principles of sensory integration informed the use of a room with open space and equipment such as physio balls, balance equipment, weighted blankets, crash mat, trampoline, and suspension.
The movement-based sensory inputs – vestibular, proprioception, and tactile – facilitate somatic regulation at a fully embodied level for children and adults alike. Anchored by regulation at a bodily level, opportunities for trauma processing as well as greater ease in relationship to another person are available. Notably, when therapists learn to follow the person’s lead and attune in an embodied fashion, the therapeutic processing of traumatic experience organically emerges from the regulation work.
The workshop will address SMART with children and youth, including didactic material, clinical video, and experiential opportunity. In addition, experiential opportunity for utilization of SMART with adults will be offered with discussion of differences and similarities with youth-based SMART therapy. For both developmental groups, the role of play will be discussed.
Presenter Information
Elizabeth Warner, Psy.D.
Dr. Elizabeth Warner, Psy.D., is a clinical psychologist with 40 years of experience working with children and families in psychiatric inpatient and outpatient settings, schools, mental health clinics and residential treatment. Early in her career, she spent 15 years working with severely disordered children including those with complex traumatic stress, autism and other developmental issues, utilizing innovative treatment methodologies for process study at the acclaimed Language & Cognitive Development Center in Newton, MA. Over the past 15 years, her focus has been on development of innovative lifespan treatment for toddlers through emerging adults whose lives have been impacted by chronic stress and complex trauma, and their caregivers. As co-developer of the Sensory Motor Arousal Regulation Treatment (SMART) model, Liz oversaw training and consultation in SMART for outpatient, in-home, therapeutic day school, and residential treatment settings in the U.S., Canada, Hong Kong and Finland. She lead development of SMART applications for in-home therapy as well as for use with youth and adults with developmental disorders, and constructed session videotape coding systems for studying regulatory processes in treatment.
Anne Westcott, LICSW
Anne Westcott, LICSW has worked with children and families impacted by trauma and chronic stress since she began her career in community support work in 1985. Obtaining her Master’s Degree at Columbia University School of Social Work, Anne developed school-based mental health programs in Boston and worked on an interdisciplinary outreach team servicing some of the most vulnerable children in Massachusetts. She has trained and supervised clinicians for over 20 years in outpatient, home-based, and residential settings. Anne is a co-developer of the SMART model, a Sensorimotor Psychotherapy™ national trainer, and co-author of the Hidden Strengths Children’s Series.
Alexandra Cook, Ph.D.
Dr. Alexandra Cook, Ph.D., is a clinical psychologist who has dedicated her professional life to working with traumatized children, adolescents, and adults. During her graduate school years, she worked on qualitative and quantitative research on the consequences of child maltreatment and the mediating protective factors involved in resiliency. Dr. Cook served as the Director of Children’s Services at the Trauma Center in Brookline, MA, and subsequently as the Center’s Associate Director, spending over 20 years at this center of excellence in trauma treatment, training and research. In addition to co-developing the SMART model, Dr. Cook is the lead author of the formative White Paper on Complex Trauma in Children and Adolescents generated by the National Child Traumatic Stress Network, and co-author of With the Phoenix Rising: Lessons from Ten Resilient Women Who Overcame the Trauma of Childhood Sexual Abuse.
Learning Objectives: (6 CE hours)
Participants who complete this module will be able to:
- One
- Two
- Three…
Schedule:
Wednesday, July 22, 2026
8:00-10:30 am Theoretical Foundations
10:45 am-1:00 pm Skills and Techniques
AND select one of the following options (first come first served) for Experiential Applied Practice:
2:30-3:45 pm OR 4:00-5:15 pm