Home for Positive Experience Support

The Guiding Wisdom of the HeartShift Project

"As the child interacts with a safe and nurturing environment, the brain develops optimally and this leads to a healthy sense of self and secure attachment." — Gabor Maté, M.D., a retired physician specialising in addiction, trauma, stress and childhood development

“We don't think ourselves into new ways of living, we live ourselves into new ways of thinking.” — Richard Rohr, OFM —author and founder of the Center for Action and Contemplation

“Learning is the process whereby knowledge is created through the transformation of experience.” — David Kolb, PhD — Educational theorist and creator of Experiential Learning Theory

“Between stimulus and response there is a space. In that space is our power to choose our response. In our response lies our growth and our freedom.” — Viktor E. FranklMD, PhD — Psychiatrist, Holocaust survivor, and founder of Logotherapy

“Safety IS the treatment.” — Stephen Porges, PhD, PhD – Neuroscientist, Professor, and Developer of the Polyvagal Theory

About the HeartShift Project

The HeartShift Project is the dedicated home of Cecilia’s developing framework—Positive Experience Support—a Neuro-Inclusive and Trauma-Responsive approach. Moving beyond traditional behaviour management, this mutually beneficial methodology focuses on cultivating safe, meaningful and growth-promoting experiences for children, and simultaneously strengthening the efficacy and well-being of their adult caregivers/supporters. Developed through years of dedicated clinical work, Positive Experience Support is shaped by the insights of working with neurodivergent and trauma-impacted children, families, educators and allied health professionals. Every interaction has contributed to the creation of this project.

What is Positive Experience Support?

Grounded in:

• Developmentally-informed movement-based psychology

• Creative Arts Therapy

• Sensorimotor strategies

• Sensory Processing-Informed practice

• Self Psychology

• Intersubjective Self Psychology

• Positive Behaviour Support

• Trauma-Responsive and Neuro-Inclusive principles

This approach is:

• Relational – Emphasising attunement, connection and co-regulation to build positive relational experiences.

• Sensory-Informed – responsive to each individual’s unique sensory processing style and needs, children and carer included.

• Strengths-Based – Fostering emotional safety, personal growth and authentic self-expression.

• Mutually Beneficial – Centring the needs of children while simultaneously prioritising carer well-being and burnout prevention.

Programs Offered through The HeartShift Project:

• Professional Learning & School Based Programs – Tailored programs for early childhood and primary school educators, as well as learning support teams.

  • “Creative Approach to Support Positive Behaviour - using Creative Arts, Sensorimotor and Play Based Activities” – Utilising creative arts, movement activities and play-based strategies to support children’s positive engagement, behaviours and development of self-regulation, this program is designed for early childhood centres and is eligible to apply for Innovative Solutions Support Funding.

  • “Making Sense of Behaviour for Educators” – Customised programs for early childhood and primary school educators that offer a sensory-informed, regulation-focused and relationship-centred framework for understanding and responding to challenging behaviours.

  • “Making Sense of Behaviour for Parents” – This program is designed to equip parents of primary school-aged children with the knowledge and tools to understand challenging behaviours through the lens of sensory processing, developmental stages and attachment needs. Parents will gain insight into their child's unique regulation needs and learn how to provide effective sensory and emotional support at home, along with practical strategies to foster connection, emotional regulation and positive relational experiences that lead to more positive behaviour.

  • “The Sens-I-ble Way to providing trauma responsive and neuro-affirmative support” – This program offers educators the opportunity to complete their own Sensory Matrix™ assessment to explore their unique sensory processing patterns. Participants will gain a deeper understanding of how individuals—including children with different sensory needs—experience and respond to sensory input, and how this impacts classroom dynamics, behaviour perception, and response strategies. Through this lens, educators are equipped to implement personalised self-care and apply a trauma-responsive, neuro-affirmative approach using strategies that benefit the entire classroom environment.

• Creative Change Expressive Therapy Student Program – A therapeutic program designed to foster a sense of safety, nurture authentic self-expression and support the development of self-regulation, self-identity and social inclusion within learning environments.

• Neuro-Affirmative Parenting – Empowering families to build stronger connections and a deeper understanding of neurodivergent experiences within the home environment.