Stephen J. Terrell, PhD Founder & Developer of Transforming Touch®
Transforming Touch® Training
What is Transforming Touch®?
Transforming Touch® is a regulation-focused, touch-based approach that supports the nervous system's natural ability to settle and organize.
Sessions involve light, respectful contact offered with careful attention to pacing, choice, and comfort. The goal is not to fix or correct, but to support your body as it finds its own way toward greater ease and stability.
You remain fully clothed, and you are always in control of the session.
Why Transforming Touch®?
Many people live with ongoing stress, tension, or a sense of being overwhelmed without realizing how much their nervous system is carrying.
Transforming Touch® offers a calm, supportive way to help your body settle, without forcing change or pushing through discomfort. This work meets you where you are.
Sessions are paced slowly and guided by your body's responses, helping build a sense of safety, ease,
and trust over time.
What is Developmental Trauma?
Developmental trauma refers to stress or disruption that occurs early in life, often before we have words to describe what is happening. It can shape how our nervous system responds to relationships, touch, stress, and rest.
These experiences are stored in the body, not just in memory. Transforming Touch® works directly with these body-based patterns in a gentle, non-invasive way.
What Theory Underpins Transforming Touch®?
Transforming Touch® is a regulation-focused modality, meaning it prioritizes helping your nervous system feel safe, supported, and organized.
In simple terms, regulation-focused means we pay attention to how your body responds moment by moment and support it to settle, rather than pushing for emotional release or insight.
This approach draws from nervous system regulation principles, attachment and relational safety, and body-based understandings of developmental trauma. Clients often feel this as increased ease, steadier breathing, clearer boundaries, or a growing sense of safety during sessions.
Stephen J. Terrell, Psy D, SEP
Stephen founded the Transforming Touch® Institute over 20 years ago for individuals and families experiencing the effects of Developmental Trauma. Today, we provide neurophysiological focus counseling services for individuals and families, as well as professional development training for therapists, clinicians, and others.
Professional Training & Development
Professional training and development for somatic practitioners, psychologists, psychotherapists, bodyworkers, nurses, chiropractors and others looking to improve their education and help clients.
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Nurturing Resilience An Introduction To Our Innovative Somatic Approach
Kathy L. Kain and Stephen J. Terrell draw on fifty years of their combined clinical and teaching experience to provide this clear road map for understanding the complexities of early trauma and its related symptoms. Nurturing Resilience is a practical, integrated approach for therapists working with people (both adults and children) who have been impacted by developmental trauma and attachment difficulties.
TEB LIKE 123 An Introduction To How TEB Helps Our Bodies
TEB is a form of healing that uses Transforming Touch to help cue the nervous system towards regulation. Come along with us on this journey as we explore how this therapy helps our bodies, and what exactly happens during a TEB session.
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