The science that changes how you hold the room.
Anchored Ascent offers clinicians, therapists, and practitioners a deep, neurobiologically-grounded pathway into the most complex terrain in trauma work — subcortical responses, pre-verbal wounding, dissociation, and the somatic roots of lasting transformation. This is not continuing education. It is a fundamental shift in how you see, sit with, and support another human being's healing.
The frameworks that underpin all of the work.
Every offering within Anchored Ascent is rooted in the most rigorous, clinically-validated neurophysiological research available. These are the pillars.
Deep Brain Reorienting (DBR)
As a Level 2 DBR practitioner working toward DB-P certification, this work forms the neurobiological backbone of Anchored Ascent. DBR targets the earliest subcortical responses to shock — the startle, the orienting, the freeze — before narrative, before memory. We bring this cutting-edge framework into your clinical toolkit with precision and care.
Nonviolent SAFE PTI EMDR
EMDR delivered through the SAFE PTI lens honours the wisdom of the nervous system rather than overriding it. Titrated, relational, and grounded in present-moment safety, this approach allows bilateral stimulation and resource installation to work with — not against — the body's innate healing intelligence.
Ruth Lanius & Neuroimaging Research
The pioneering neuroimaging work of Ruth Lanius fundamentally changed how we understand the traumatised brain. Her research on the default mode network, dissociation, and the window of tolerance is woven throughout Anchored Ascent's clinical framework — translated into practical, session-ready understanding.
Polyvagal-Informed Practice
Polyvagal theory is not a technique — it is a map. Understanding the three-part autonomic hierarchy — ventral vagal, sympathetic, dorsal vagal — transforms how you meet clients in their activation, collapse, and everything between. We teach you to work with the nervous system, not just the narrative.
Support for every stage of your clinical journey.
Clinical Consultation
Individual & group formats
- Complex trauma and structural dissociation case consultation
- DBR framework integration into existing practice
- SAFE PTI EMDR titration and pacing guidance
- Subcortical-focused case conceptualisation
- Working with freeze, collapse, and dorsal shutdown
Intensive Training
Workshop & retreat formats
- Experiential neurophysiology training for practitioners
- DBR foundations and application workshops
- Polyvagal-informed clinical skills intensives
- SSP and iLS integration for therapists
- Small group formats for depth and supervision
Professional Newsletter
Bi-weekly deep dives
- Advanced DBR and Frank Corrigan research breakdowns
- Case conceptualisation through a neurobiological lens
- Clinical pearls for subcortical and pre-verbal trauma
- Ruth Lanius neuroimaging findings applied to practice
- Peer discussion forum access
Standing on the shoulders of giants.
Anchored Ascent is built on a foundation of rigorous, evidence-based clinical research. These are the theorists, clinicians, and researchers whose work informs everything we do.
Ruth Lanius
Neuroimaging of PTSD & Dissociation
University of Western Ontario
Frank Corrigan
Deep Brain Reorienting (DBR)
Subcortical trauma & orienting
Stephen Porges
Polyvagal Theory
Autonomic nervous system hierarchy
Peter Levine
Somatic Experiencing
Body-based trauma resolution
Bessel van der Kolk
The Body Keeps the Score
Complex trauma & embodiment
Pat Ogden
Sensorimotor Psychotherapy
Body-centred trauma therapy
Level 2 DBR Practitioner
Deep Brain Reorienting
DBP Candidate
Working toward DB-P certification
SAFE PTI EMDR
Nonviolent principles
SSP Trained
Safe & Sound Protocol
Polyvagal Informed
Stephen Porges framework
iLS Practitioner
Integrated Listening Systems
"The clinician's nervous system is the instrument. What we cannot regulate in ourselves, we cannot hold in another. This is not metaphor. It is neuroscience."— Anchored Ascent Clinical Philosophy
Your most embodied self is waiting.
Whether you are on your own healing path, sitting with clients in the complexity of trauma, or ready for an immersive intensive — there is a place for you in Anchored Ascent. Take the first step.