Foundational Safe and Sound Protocol (SSP) Training

Stephen Porges, Ph.D., Unyte’s Chief Scientific Advisor, Author of PVT, and Creator of SSP 

Stephen W. Porges, Ph.D., is a Distinguished University Scientist at Indiana University, where he is the founding director of the Traumatic Stress Research Consortium at the Kinsey Institute. He is the author of the Polyvagal Theory, a theory that emphasizes the importance of physiological state in the expression of behavioral, mental and health problems. Based on this theory, Dr. Porges created the Safe and Sound Protocol™, now used by thousands of therapists around the globe.

Deb Dana, LCSW, Author, and Unyte Advisor

Deb Dana, LCSW, is a clinician, consultant, author and speaker specializing in complex trauma. Deb’s work shows how an understanding of Polyvagal Theory applies to relationships, mental health and trauma, and how we can use an understanding of the organizing principles of Polyvagal Theory to change the ways we navigate our daily lives.

Kim Barthel, OTR/L, C/NDT

Kim Barthel is an award-winning Occupational Therapist, multi-disciplinary teacher and best-selling author who is active in supporting people in many contexts internationally. Kim is passionate about understanding complex behavior, neurobiology, trauma-sensitive practice, attachment, sensory processing, mental health, leadership and learning. 

Liz Charles, Ph.D., MBBS MRCGP DRCOG

Dr. Liz Charles is a physician in the U.K. with a passion for neuroscience relating to social and emotional well-being. Inspired by the Polyvagal Theory, she now uses this lens to explore the wide-reaching effects of trauma on the brain and body, and specializes in the remote delivery of SSP for adults experiencing the effects of complex trauma.

Doreen Hunt, OTR/L

Doreen Hunt has been a pediatric Occupational Therapist specializing in sensory processing disorders and Ayres’ Sensory Integration therapy for more than 30 years. She is a Unyte Clinical Advisory Board member and co-owner of Children’s Therapy of Woodinville in Washington, and has been using the SSP since it was originally released in 2017.

Heather MacDuffie, Ph.D., MSW

Heather MacDuffie’s private psychotherapy practice, founded in 2003, focuses on adults with complex psychiatric and medical presentations. She brings a scientifically rigorous frame of reference to understanding, articulating and applying Polyvagal Theory to the many rich schools of psychotherapy, including analytic, object relations, Jungian (symbolic), cognitive, relational and somatic/experiential.

Ana do Valle, OTR, SEP, SIPTC 

Ana do Valle has been an Occupational Therapist for more than 40 years, with 28 years of experience working in hospitals and 17 years with school systems, and has a private practice in Boulder, Colorado. Ana is experienced in delivering the SSP when working with clients who experience emotional dysregulation and sensory processing differences.

Karen Onderko, CAB and Founding Polyvagal Institute (PVI) Member

After leaving her career in financial risk management and investment banking in New York City, Karen Onderko turned her attention toward the brain and studied neuroscience at the University of Colorado Denver in 2009. Her focus on researching executive functioning led her to become more interested in clinical applications of neuroplasticity. Karen has been instrumental in the growth and knowledge of the SSP within the provider community.

Amanda Edwards, LPC

Amanda Edwards is EMDR-trained, and provides play-based and nurturing therapy and wellness services for women, children and families in the Parker, Colorado area. Her specialty is working with children and their mothers, supporting them to understand one another and grow together to feel connected each and every day.

Allison Hunt, OTR/L

Allison Hunt is a licensed Occupational Therapist and relationship coach in Australia. Allison has been using the SSP in her clinic-based pediatric OT practice since 2018 and is passionate about incorporating Polyvagal-informed therapy modalities in support with the SSP.

Shelly Melroe, LMFT

Shelly Melroe is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist trained in dialectical behavior therapy (DBT) and EMDR, as well as several specialized protocols like Cravings and Urges, preverbal and somatic focus. The SSP has led Shelly’s practice to include Polyvagal and trauma methods that work outward from the nervous system.

Paula Scatoloni, LCSW, SEP

Paula Scatoloni (she/her), LCSW, CEDS, SEP, is a Somatic Experiencing® Practitioner, certified SSP provider, co-founder and faculty of Embodied Recovery Institute, and Licensed Clinical Social Worker in Durham, North Carolina. She has developed protocols and clinical services at institutions, such as Duke University, and has co-developed programs including The Embodied Recovery Institute and Ai Pono Outpatient Treatment Center for Eating Disorders.

Les Aria, Ph.D., Pain Psychologist

Dr. Les Aria specializes in treating psychophysiological disorders, functional neurological disorders, chronic pain and medically unexplained conditions. His passion for mind-body interventions fosters a one-of-a-kind approach to helping patients relate differently to their pain and, as a result, move toward pain recovery and wellness.

Jill Hosey, MSW RSW

Jill Hosey is a Master of Social Work (MSW) and Registered Social Worker (RSW), EMDRIA Approved Consultant, expert SSP provider and lead author of the EMDR + SSP Combined Delivery Guidelines. Jill is a trauma therapist and clinical consultant in a collaborative private practice, providing integrative therapy across the lifespan with a focus on the treatment of complex trauma, attachment trauma and dissociative disorders.

Njoki Wamae, MBACP

Njoki Wamae is a masters-level psychotherapist offering a range of family psychotherapy services, parenting support and training, and has been delivering the SSP since 2019.

Cathy Cavaliere, OTR/L

Dr. Cathy Cavaliere has been a practicing clinician for more than 20 years, with 15 years working in pediatrics, including early intervention, schools and private practice. Her doctoral work used Polyvagal Theory to guide her investigation of the physiologic components of sensory processing and the differences in heart rate variability (HRV) in response to sensation in children with autism and typically developing children.

Jason Tafler, Unyte’s Founder and CEO

Jason Tafler, founder and CEO of Unyte, has been interested in health, neuroscience and the mind-body connection for as long as he can remember. He always knew he wanted to make a difference in the world. What he didn’t know was the path life would take him to get there.

Rebecca Knowles, OTD, OTR/L, RYT

Rebecca Knowles is a clinician, researcher and educator specializing in sensory processing and mental health. She has worked in diverse settings as an occupational therapist, including schools, hospitals, outpatient clinics and substance use treatment centers.

Kelly Beins, OTR/L

Kelly Beins is Unyte’s Clinical Practice Manager and OTR/L. Her work in sensory integration started in 2005 and has since been combined to include areas such as behavioral health interventions, mental health diagnoses, picky eating and more. With more than 28 years of experience in occupational therapy, Kelly mentors other therapists in parent partnership and use of an integrative model of practice.

Leah Dawang, Unyte’s Strategic Partnerships Manager, SE™ Student – Advanced

Leah Dawang is Unyte’s Partnership Cultivation Manager, envisioning all members of the helping and healing communities linking arms in love and transforming the world. She is an SSP provider in the final stages of becoming a Somatic Experiencing® practitioner and is passionate about all things that lead to love, including the nervous system, spoken word, and important, hard and beautiful conversations.