Traci Howland, LMFT

11/06/2025

Teaching Through the Nervous System

Bringing body-based wisdom into the training of future MFTs and Professional Counselors

In my work teaching the next generation of master’s-level clinicians—future MFTs and Professional Counselors—I keep coming back to the body. Our nervous systems carry the imprint of safety and threat, and healing begins when we learn to move again between those states. State flexibility is at the heart of resilience, and co-regulation is the bridge that brings us back to connection.

The work of Dr. Stephen Porges, Dr. Bruce Perry, Dr. Aimee Apigian, and Dr. Daniel J. Wiener has deeply shaped how I understand trauma and the living dialogue between brain and body. Their ideas remind me that therapy is not only about story but about physiology—about helping both therapist and client return to presence, one regulated breath at a time.

I’m curious how others notice and work with state shifts—in yourselves, your clients, or your students—when the body starts to speak before words do.

https://www.linkedin.com/posts/traci-howland-lmft-999a111b_polyvagaltheory-traumainformedtherapy-rehearsalsforgrowth-activity-7391995574394236928-GjQW?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_desktop&rcm=ACoAAAQ-RUUBbohsxmmTA2dIs0ZUZnuox6RCDU4

Teaching Through the Nervous System Bringing body-based wisdom into the training of future MFTs and Professional Counselors In my work teaching the next generation of master’s-level clinicians—future MFTs and Professional Counselors—I keep coming back to the body. Our nervous systems carry the...

10/16/2025

Wow — I’m feeling so grateful today!

Last week, for the first time ever, I shared that I had a few openings for therapy clients. I’ve always been referral-only and never posted publicly before… and the response completely blew me away.

I’m now full again after welcoming three new clients — and, ironically, two returning clients reached out, and another decided to increase to weekly sessions. (That’s usually how these things go!)
Knowing that people who know me trust me enough to make a referral means more than I can say.

It’s such a privilege to do this work and to be part of people’s healing journeys. Thank you for the trust, confidence, and connection. 💛

10/06/2025

Open for referrals: I now have a few openings for individual therapy or coaching clients. The days/times available are Tues AM (telehealth)or Thursday some AM, some afternoon, in person in Marlborough or telehealth. I could potentially find another time/day if needed. I take Anthem, Husky, United Healthcare, Cigna, Aetna, Optum, Connecticare or out of network/self-pay. I am licensed in CT so client must reside in CT by law. Coaching is private pay and is not limited to juristiction. (But is Not therapy!) Please contact me through the following websites. With Gratitute,

Therapy: www.resilientspiritpsychotherapy.com

Coaching: www.resilientspiritcoaching.com

Traci Howland is an authentic compassionate down to earth therapist who will join with you to identify your goals and support you on your journey to healing, growth and emotional reilience

09/30/2025

For the "About Me" section:

I want to learn more. I want to help more. Yet I cannot do any more — and therein lies the dilemma. There is so much information and so little time to deeply understand and integrate it all.

I immerse myself in neuroscience, trauma theory, and therapeutic approaches that bridge the mind, body, and spirit. As a full-time psychotherapist in private practice, I spend more than 24 hours each week in direct client contact — connecting, listening, and supporting people in their healing from trauma. I apply what I learn with my clients and hold the honor and privilege of walking alongside them in their life-changing journeys back to their authentic Self.

Over the years, I have studied and practiced experiential methods that foster safety, embodiment, and freedom, often through creative and action-based techniques. I integrate approaches that emphasize social engagement, self-leadership, and awareness of the autonomic nervous system, helping clients reconnect with their inherent capacity for healing.

In addition to my clinical practice, I run weekly therapy groups, alternating between several different series throughout the year. Teaching has become another avenue for growth: what began with training students in action methods has expanded into teaching graduate-level courses in counseling theories, techniques, and mindfulness. Each opportunity deepens my own understanding of the mind-body connection and strengthens my ability to support others.

At the same time, I balance many personal responsibilities, including the ongoing journey of parenting young adult children. One of my children navigates a world that often struggles to embrace neurodiversity. Supporting him as he learns to thrive on his own terms is both a challenge and a profound lesson in compassion, resilience, and acceptance.

Mindfulness, trail running, creativity, time in nature, animals, and continued learning have been my anchors. I yearn to continue researching, to one day pursue a doctoral degree, and to write about the extraordinary healing I witness in my trauma recovery groups — sharing what I have learned about the brain, the mind, the body’s response to stress, and the spiritual dimension of recovery.

At present, I cannot work less or learn more under my current circumstances. Still, I will continue to share my “field research” with others and trust that the larger plan for my work and life will unfold exactly as it is meant to. I am ready for it.

Thoughts?

08/26/2025

Email to sign up soon! Limited spots available and this tends to be a popular group. Begins 9/18/25 (Thursdays 5:30-6:30)

06/27/2025

🥰

You are your one, true love.
You are the only person that will always be there,
at every moment of every day,
capable of compassion, empathy, kindness.
The person who will always see and know you —
who will understand what you were going for,
and who can help you take responsibility and right the ship when things have gone awry.

And when you are your own biggest supporter, other humans are drawn to your light.
They become wonderful partners in this wild, uncertain journey of life.
It becomes easier to see them for who they are,
to love and support them without trying to change them.

And it becomes natural to walk away from the people who can't see your light, or who are constantly trying to change it.
When you love you, you simply become love.

If this is unnatural to you, don't worry.
It simply takes time, presence, and curiosity.
It takes the willingness to get to know what beckons you forward, and the gentle compassion to start to get to know the hardened, resistant parts that try to stop you;
that keep you feeling stuck.

How often do you sit with just you?
How often to you write yourself love notes, or take yourself on long walks?
You deserve your attention, too.
And, boy, does it do wonderful things for your heart.

06/08/2025

Presenting in a couple weeks with the esteemed Dr. Daniel Wiener about the role drama and other action methods play in marriage and family therapy and the importance of teaching in graduate programs. 😜

06/04/2025

"The only way out is through, the sooner we're in the better" Alanis Morrisette

06/01/2025

Share freely! Understanding and loving your Self is healing and transformative 💚

03/18/2025

Please share! Satina is wonderful!

01/12/2025