Heart as a Therapeutic Tool CE Webinar for therapists, counselors, psychologists, social workers, marriage and family therapists
 
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The Heart as a Therapeutic Tool: Science-Based Approaches to Regulation and Connection - 4 hours


To access the discount form for registering for multiple workshops or participants, please click here.

When & Where:

  • Date: Wednesday, April 29, 2026
  • Time: 12:00pm – 4:30pm Eastern Time
  • CE Hours Included: 4 (please see below for details)
  • Location: Live Interactive Webinar (“Synchronous”) on Zoom
  • Investment: $109 before Friday, April 17th at 5:00pm Eastern Time, $122 after
  • Presented by: Ellen Baker, LPC, NCC, NBCFCH (see bio below)
  • Workshop Recording: A recording of this workshop will be available to review for 60 days, and should be available within two weeks of the live presentation. However, participants must attend live to receive the "Synchronous" CE Certificate.
  • Instruction Level: Intermediate
  • Target Audience: Psychologists, Counselors, Social Workers, Marriage & Family Therapists

Educational Objectives:

After completing this workshop in its entirety, you will be able to:

  • Discuss heart–brain integration and its role in supporting nervous system flexibility, physiological safety, and emotional regulation.
  • Discuss the function of the autonomic nervous system, including heart coherence and heart rate variability (HRV), as mechanisms involved in regulation, stress response, and recovery.
  • Illustrate how cardiac rhythms, breath, attention, and emotional states influence physiological regulation and nervous system functioning.
  • Evaluate how heart-centered, bottom-up approaches complement cognitive and relational interventions within trauma-informed psychotherapy.
  • Demonstrate evidence-informed, heart-centered regulation techniques to support client resourcing, emotional regulation, and insight in psychotherapy.
  • Apply heart-based regulation strategies to enhance therapist self-regulation, therapeutic presence, and ethical self-care.

Workshop Description:

Heart–brain integration supports healing and insight by enhancing nervous system flexibility and physiological safety, which are necessary conditions for emotional regulation, reflective awareness, and adaptive processing in psychotherapy.

In this workshop, we will examine how the heart can be intentionally used as a clinical resource to support regulation, insight, and therapeutic change. Following a brief historical and conceptual overview of heart-centered perspectives and contemporary clinical applications, the course then focuses on the science of heart–brain integration, including autonomic nervous system functioning, heart coherence, and heart rate variability (HRV). Attention is given to renewing emotional states such as gratitude, appreciation, compassion, and care, and how these states support physiological safety and coherence. Heart-centered, bottom-up approaches are presented as complementary to cognitive and relational interventions, informed by trauma-informed and polyvagal principles. The training addresses how these regulatory conditions support trauma processing and the physiological context necessary for memory reconsolidation, and concludes with practical, evidence-informed heart-centered techniques for client care, therapist self-regulation, and ethical psychotherapy practice. Throughout the training, clear distinctions are maintained between evidence-based physiological mechanisms and symbolic or experiential frameworks to support ethical, scope-appropriate clinical practice.

Course Outline:

  • Welcome, Orientation, and Ethical Framing (15 minutes)
    • Overview of course purpose, learning objectives, scope of practice, and ethical considerations.
  • Historical and Conceptual Foundations of Heart-Centered Practice (20 minutes)
    • Review of historical, cultural, and early psychological perspectives on the heart in emotion and healing.
  • Heart–Brain Integration and Autonomic Nervous System Function (45 minutes)
    • Examination of bidirectional heart–brain communication, autonomic nervous system roles, and nervous system flexibility.
  • Heart Coherence and Heart Rate Variability (HRV) (30 minutes)
    • Discussion of heart coherence, HRV, and their relevance to emotional regulation, stress response, and recovery.
  • Break
  • Heart Coherence and Heart Rate Variability (HRV) Continued (10 minutes)
    • Discussion of heart coherence, HRV, and their relevance to emotional regulation, stress response, and recovery.
  • Renewing and Regenerative Emotional States (15 minutes)
    • Exploration of gratitude, appreciation, compassion, and care and their impact on physiological safety and coherence.
  • Heart-Centered, Bottom-Up Approaches in Psychotherapy (20 minutes)
    • Integration of heart-centered regulation with cognitive, relational, and trauma-informed psychotherapeutic approaches.
  • Trauma Processing and Memory Reconsolidation (20 minutes)
    • Examination of how physiological regulation supports trauma processing and the conditions necessary for memory reconsolidation.
  • Clinical Application: Heart-Centered Techniques (35 minutes)
    • Demonstration and practice of evidence-informed heart-centered regulation techniques for clients.
  • Therapist Self-Regulation and Ethical Self-Care (20 minutes)
    • Application of heart-based strategies to support therapist regulation, presence, and sustainability.
  • Integration, Distinctions, and Closing (10 minutes)
    • Review of key concepts, differentiation of evidence-based physiology from symbolic frameworks, and closing discussion.

Workshop Schedule (Eastern Time):

  • 11:30am - 12:00pm | Sign-In and Welcome
  • 12:00pm - 2:00pm | Session
  • 2:00pm - 2:30pm | Break
  • 2:30pm - 4:30pm | Session
  • 4:30pm | Continuing Education Certificates Available

Presented by: Ellen Baker, LPC, NCC, NBCFCH

Ellen Baker is a Licensed Professional Counselor in Georgia and the owner of Counseling with Heart, a solo private practice in the north metro Atlanta area. She holds a BA in Psychology from Emory University and a master’s degree in counseling from Georgia State University.
Ellen began her career in residential and foster care, supporting children and families through strengths-based, trauma-informed work. Her path later expanded into program supervision, state-level training, and clinical consultation. These experiences shaped her collaborative, system-oriented approach. She opened her private practice in 2013.
Her work integrates brain and body-based approaches, including hypnotherapy, EMDR, Brainspotting, EFT (tapping), and IADC therapy. She values working with individuals navigating anxiety, depression, and the impact of trauma, and is also committed to supporting fellow therapists in their own healing and growth.
She is a Certified Clinical Hypnotherapist and Clinical Fellow in Hypnotherapy, as well as a HeartMath® Certified Trainer with clinical certification in Stress, Anxiety, and Emotional Management. Ellen is also a certified Spiritual Life Coach and offers group coaching, training, and consultation. At the core of Ellen’s work is a belief in the healing power of connection—helping clients feel safer, more grounded, and more aligned as they move forward.

4 Core CE Hours Included - Details by License Type Below:

  • PSYCHOLOGISTS: The Knowledge Tree, A Summit Professional Education Company is approved by the American Psychological Association to sponsor continuing education for psychologists. The Knowledge Tree, A Summit Professional Education Company maintains responsibility for this program and its content. For more detailed information on the current CE ruling in Georgia, or if you are licensed in another state or country, please click here.
  • COUNSELORS: The Knowledge Tree, A Summit Professional Education Company has been approved by the National Board for Certified Counselors (NBCC) as an Approved Continuing Education Provider (ACEP), ACEP No. 7153. Programs that do not qualify for NBCC credit are clearly identified. The Knowledge Tree, A Summit Professional Education Company is solely responsible for all aspects of the programs. Please click here for more detailed information.
  • SOCIAL WORKERS: TKT has applied for approval for this workshop through the Georgia Society for Clinical Social Work (GSCSW). If you are licensed in another state or country, please click here for more detailed information.
  • MARRIAGE & FAMILY THERAPISTS: TKT has applied for approval for this workshop through the Georgia Association for Marriage & Family Therapy (GAMFT). If you are licensed in another state or country, please click here for more detailed information.

Registration: To register for individual workshops, you may use our online payment option, or to pay by check you may print and complete the Registration Form and mail or fax it to our office. The registration form is available on our website: www.theknowledgetree.org. Registration is permitted until the time the workshop begins, unless otherwise specified.

Multiple Workshop Special: There is a 10% Discount with registration for two workshops. There is a 15% Discount with registrations for three or four workshops. There is a 20% Discount with registration for five or more workshops.

Refund/Cancellation Policy: If you can no longer attend a workshop you have registered for, you can either receive a credit for another workshop or receive a refund if you are within the refund policy period. Refunds will be given for cancellations received at least five days prior to the workshop. More information about refund/cancellation can be found here.

Attendance Policy: 100% attendance and completion of a course evaluation is required at any CE program in order to receive credit for that CE program. No partial credit is given. Certificates of completion will be available in each attendee’s account once the broadcast has ended and the course evaluation completed.

ADA Requests: We will make every effort to accommodate any reasonable ADA request. Please call or email us at least two weeks prior to the event. Payment and registration are required to fulfill an ADA request.

No Conflict Policy: Neither The Knowledge Tree nor its speakers have received any commercial support for this program or its contents and will not receive any commercial support prior to or during this program. 

System Requirements: Live Interactive Webinars are facilitated via Zoom. System requirements for the Zoom platform are linked at our FAQ page.

We are an approved vendor for the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs for easy reimbursement of educational expenses for VA employees.


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For information about our Continuing Education Workshops, please contact our Customer Service team at:

404.913.2005

theknowledgetree@summit.zendesk.com

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The Knowledge Tree, a Summit Professional Education Company, offers courses that provide continuing education hours as required by many national, state and local licensing boards and holds Approved Continuing Education Provider/Sponsor status with professional organizations including APA and NBCC. Each licensee should check our detailed CE information page and ensure courses taken meet their specific state board requirements.