Pacific Quest is pleased and excited to announce the completion of an eighteen month training and certification process with The ChildTrauma Academy. Pacific Quest is now site certified in the Neurosequential Model of Therapeutics, or NMT, which is a “developmentally-informed, biologically-respectful approach to working with at-risk children.” NMT is an approach to clinical practice that allows clinicians and programs to use their environment in a neuro-sequential way. This evidence-based practice integrates multiple principles, techniques, and interventions to be applied in a way that promotes brain development and relational health.
Pacific Quest is the first and only outdoor/wilderness program to be site certified in NMT! As such, Pacific Quest utilizes the garden and nature-based setting, mind-body techniques and clinical therapies in a neurodevelop
mentally-informed manner that is individualized for each student. Bruce Perry, M.D., PhD, founder of the ChildTrauma Academy, adds, ”We are very excited to have Pacific Quest become an NMT Trained Site because they have a great deal of experience and knowledge to share with our community. Pacific Quest’s focus on wilderness therapy, nutrition, and holistic practices is a natural compliment to some of the therapeutic recommendations that are generated by NMT principles, and so their expertise in implementing a blending these approaches can be highly successful and offer us all valuable insights.”
As part of the Phase I NMT site certification process, clinicians at Pacific Quest participated in case consultations with Dr. Perry and other trainees from across the globe. They learned to use the clinical practice tools with fidelity, and completed over 100 hours of training in core principles of neurodevelopment and traumatology. Their training continues through case-based staffings, fidelity exercises and review of current research and practice updates.
Pacific Quest Clinical Director, Dr. Lorraine Freedle has completed Phase I, Phase II/Train the Trainer and is a certified NMT provider and trainer. She comments, “Pacific Quest is an enriched environment with an abundance of opportunities to effect meaningful change. NMT is a very helpful paradigm for case conceptualization and targeted treatment planning so that we may use the resources we have at the right time and in the right way for our students.”