Childhood trauma therapy, handled with the time it takes.
Acute, developmental, and complex trauma in children ages 5–12. Trauma-informed care is foundational across every discipline on our team.
Trauma-informed across the whole team.
Every clinician on our team is trained in trauma-informed practice. That is the standard the program is built on, and it shows up in how the space is put together, how the day is paced, and how the team meets a child who is carrying something heavy. It informs everything we do.
The environment regulates before we ask the child to.
What trauma therapy looks like.
Inside the daily program, trauma care looks like:
- Phase-based trauma therapy: safety and stabilization first, then narrative work only when the child has the regulatory capacity to sustain it
- Expressive arts and other nonverbal modalities (sand tray, play) for children who don't yet have words for what they're carrying
- Occupational therapy and sensory work for the nervous-system layer underneath the symptoms
- Family therapy and parent coaching: trauma rarely impacts the child alone
- School coordination with your permission, including support for trauma-aware accommodations
Trauma exists under the surface.
Trauma may present as something else first: anxiety, ADHD-looking attention difficulty, sensory dysregulation, mood symptoms, and behavioral outbursts. To treat trauma effectively, our team holds both the surface presentation and what sits underneath it.
Where to start.
NorthStar Day is for children whose trauma responses are interfering with daily activities. Our structure gives children the time and space to heal at their own pace. Phase-based work takes time. We won't rush it.
The first call is a 15-minute conversation with our admissions specialists. We listen first, then point you toward the right next step for your child.
Tell us what's going on with your child.
A 15-minute call. We'll listen first, then help you figure out the right next step.