The Resilience Toolkit Certification Program gives Facilitators a deep, embodied understanding of stress and trauma physiology in a groundbreaking framework for building inner resources and creating meaningful change. Our Certification Program prepares you to implement The Resilience Toolkit in your own life, so you can authentically and competently guide others along a path of healing and transformation.
Your clients lack motivation and follow through, or simply can’t break through plateaus. You feel like you’re just chasing your patients’ problems around a tree, more a game of whack-a-mole than true healing. Your students are distracted or disruptive, and not meeting their potential.
Regardless of your profession, working with people who are stuck in cycles of stress and trauma is frustrating. Stress and trauma create so much of the dysfunction, distress, and disease that block human healing, growth, and success. Yet with effective tools that unwind stress and build resilience, you successfully navigate challenges, feeling competent and content in your professional abilities.
There are many stress reduction modalities. So what’s unique about The Resilience Toolkit?
- Utilizes a carefully selected suite of mindfulness and movement practices applied based on stress cycle activation
- Activates the human body’s physiologic mechanism to complete the stress and trauma cycle – the therapeutic tremor
- Easily learned, reproduced, and practiced with immediate results being the norm
- Successful in both stress management and trauma healing contexts
- Designed to be used in individual therapeutic environments, group settings, or as a self-help modality
- Smoothly integrates with other traditional mental health and/or physical treatment modalities to support health and healing for those with more severe emotional and/or physical dysfunction or disease
- Can be used across the lifespan from school age to geriatric populations
- Explicitly addresses social ecological risk and protective factors
- Links the development of individual resilience with increased capacity to work for positive change on the community and structural levels
- Inherently cross-culturally adaptive due to the biologic nature of the therapeutic tremor
- Minimal contraindications
- Cost-effective
Grounded in theory and a social justice context, The Resilience Toolkit utilizes carefully curated evidence-based and promising stress reduction practices. These mindfulness and movement skills promote embodied self-awareness, nervous system and emotional regulation, and interpersonal connection. The Toolkit empowers people with an intersectional framework to identify their own stress cycles, confidently implement appropriate regulation skills in a way that honors cultural and historical experiences, and effectively build resilience over time.
The Resilience Toolkit Facilitator Certification program is a rich experiential process that gives you the tools to take The Toolkit into the world. In an all virtual format, the cohort-based program consists of recorded and live lectures, small group mentoring and discussion, peer and independent practice sessions, suggested reading and reflective writing, supervised teaching, and case consultation. Interactive and cooperative learning foster responsibility, self-awareness, and competency.
Program Requirements
- Admission requirements: The Resilience Toolkit Facilitator Certification Program is open to anyone interested in working with stressed and traumatized people.
- Prerequisite:
- Attendance in The Resilience Toolkit 3-part series OR 3 individual Toolkit sessions
- Completion of The Resilience Toolkit Workbook or similar reflective journal
- Program Length:
- The Alchemical Resilience Collective: eight weeks
- Certification: 18 weeks
- Average Time Commitment:
- The Alchemical Resilience Collective: 45 minutes weekly
- Certification: Six hours weekly, PLUS three 4.5-hour workshop sessions
- Technology Requirements: Computer with webcam, stable internet, basic facility with Google documents
- Professional Requirements: Professional liability insurance during facilitation portion of the program
- Program Requirements:
- Eight facilitated sessions in The Alchemical Resilience Collective*
- Opening Meet the Faculty and Students Session
- Three online 4.5-hour weekend workshop sessions on the Saturdays of weeks 6-8
- Online pre-recorded lectures
- Individual mentoring sessions (online or in-person)
- Two session facilitating Toolkit w/ individuals**
- Two sessions facilitating Toolkit w/ small groups**
- Eight virtual small group meetings with Trainer every other week
- Minimum of 13 weekly virtual peer group practice and facilitation sessions
- Minimum of one peer individual facilitation
- 14 weekly written journal reflections on personal practice
- Independent and peer-based writing and presentations
- Selected articles and media
- Case study
- Closing Gathering
*This requirement may be met prior to enrollment through completion of a minimum of two months participation in Lumos Transforms’ facilitated The Alchemical Resilience Collective (ARC)
**The Certification Trainer may add extra sessions or assignments at her Optional discretion.
Program Objectives
Trainees will demonstrate:
- Embodied knowledge of personal body-mind system with focus on stress-relaxation physiology and trauma responses.
- Ability to identify, attune, follow, and respond to others’ body-mind system, especially stress-relaxation physiology and trauma responses.
- Explore the impact of historical, cultural, and ecological context on stress-relaxation physiology and trauma responses with individuals and groups.
- Ability to competently and safely teach Toolkit framework and facilitate Toolkit skills to others for regulation, resourcing, and stabilization within the trauma-informed paradigm.
- Ability to support others in developing robust, sustained personal practice of The Toolkit.
Program Curriculum
- Embodied self-awareness
- Stress and resilience from multiple lenses:
- Ecology and ethology
- Evolutionary neurobiology
- Anatomy and physiology
- Biopsychosocial and social ecology
- Neurophysiology
- Sex and gender
- Race, culture, and history
- Instruction and facilitation of Toolkit mindfulness and movement practices with individuals and groups
- Trauma-informed facilitation principles
- Facilitation in virtual settings
- Ethics and professionalism
- Behavior change theory
- Lessons from Motivational Interviewing
- Habit formation
Program Costs and Payments
Cohort 15 – US
- Total $3,820* USD (*$3,700 USD if you have already completed The Alchemical Resilience Collective prerequisite)
- Payment plans –
- 4-month plan:
- $980 USD deposit due on registration
- One-time $100 USD administration fee due with the second payment.
- $947*/$907 USD per month for three months
- 6-month plan:
- $980 USD deposit due on registration
- One-time $100 USD administration fee due with the second payment.
- $568*/$544 USD per month for five months
- 4-month plan:
- CEU certificate cost is $30 USD for weekend workshop (optional)
- Certification fees are payable by credit card or check.
Cohort 15 – UK
- Total £ 3165 GBP* (£ 3065 GBP if you have already completed The Alchemical Resilience Collective prerequisite)
- Payment plans –
- 4-month plan:
- £ 812 GBP deposit due on registration
- One-time £ 83 administration fee due with the second payment.
- £ 784.33*/ £ 751 GBP per month for three months
- 6-month plan:
- £ 812 GBP deposit due on registration
- One-time £ 83 administration fee due with the second payment.
- £470.60*/ £ 450.60 GBP per month for five months
- 4-month plan:
- Payment plans –
Enrollment Policies
* Cancellation Policy: Registration fee is fully refundable prior to beginning program ONLY with at least 10-day written notice, minus a $100 USD administration fee.
* Withdrawal Policy: Trainees who cancel with less than 10-day notice or withdraw early from the Program will receive a prorated refund based on the number of weeks remaining at the point of withdrawal at $218 USD per week, minus an early withdrawal fee of 10% of the remaining balance.
* Program Extension Policy: Participants who do not complete the program in 18 weeks, will incur a $200 USD monthly charge until program completion or withdrawal, whichever comes first. The monthly charge will not be prorated. If the Certification Trainer determines that extra supervisions are needed for the trainee to meet basic competency, the extra supervisions will be billed at $175 USD per hour.
* Transfer Policy:
- Up to 8 weeks – Trainees who opt to transfer to a later cohort will receive a prorated refund based on the number of weeks remaining at the point of transfer at $218 USD per week, minus a transfer fee of $370. At re-enrollment, Trainees will pay $109 USD per week for the weeks up to the original point of transfer and $218 USD per week thereafter.
- After 8 weeks – Trainees who opt to transfer to a later cohort will receive a prorated refund based on the number of weeks remaining at the point of transfer at $218 USD per week, minus a transfer fee of $550. At re-enrollment, Trainees will pay $218 USD per week from the original point of transfer through the remainder of the Program.
In an effort to increase representation, equity, and access, our hope is for this scholarship to make an impact in the lives of people who hold historically and systemically marginalized identities, and who live and work in geographical areas that are also historically and systemically marginalized, that are part of the Global South, or where there are currently no Resilience Toolkit Facilitators.
Scholarship description
Two scholarships for Cohort 15 have already been awarded. Please check back for information regarding Cohort 16.
Scholarship Application Information
- Scholarship applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis by the Resilience Toolkit Certification Training Team.
- Preference will be given for applicants who:
- Have completed Resilience Toolkit Certification Program prerequisites
- Hold historically and systematically marginalized identities
- Live and work in geographical areas and with individuals, organizations, and/or communities that are historically and systematically marginalized
- Live and work in the Global South
- Live and work in areas where there are no Resilience Toolkit Facilitators
- Describe a clear plan for using their Resilience Toolkit training with marginalized individuals, organizations, and/or communities
- Agree to complete a post-certification quarterly survey tracking the impact of their Resilience Toolkit work, including demographics and numbers of people reached.
- Applicants will be notified of their selection by email four weeks before the start of each training cohort.
- Applicants who are not selected will have the option to roll their application over for the subsequent training cohort.
Professional Continuing Education Credits for Registered Nurses
- Participants eligible for 6.5 Continuing Education Units (CEUs) per in-person full workshop day and 2.5 CEUs per in-person half workshop day from the California Board of Registered Nursing
- Provider approved by the California Board of Registered Nursing, Provider #CEP15871, for total of 15.5 Contact Hours
Level I Certification
- Requirements
- Completion of the foundational Level I Certification course
- Benefits
- Lifetime Level I Certification
- Lifetime access to the foundational Level I Certification course online content (Cohorts 13 and beyond)
- Listing in the Certified Facilitator database on The Resilience Toolkit website indicating certification level
- Membership in private online community for Certified Facilitators
- Eligibility to license The Resilience Toolkit Workbook for clients
Level II Certification
- Requirements
- Level I Certification
- Completion of a minimum of four mentorship hours or approved continuing education per calendar year
- Benefits
- All benefits of Level I Certification
- One free post-certification group mentorship session annually
- Fifty free usages of The Resilience Toolkit Workbook for clients
Level III Certification
- Requirements
- Level II Certification
- Initial application
- 60 individual sessions, at least 20 of which must be with unique clients
- 15 small group (3-6 people) and 10 med-large group (7 or more people) sessions, with a minimum of 125 total combined group participants
- Two case studies over 4-session period OR one case study over 8-session period
- Interview with a Certification Trainer
- Completed application
- Renewal – Completion of a minimum of eight mentorship hours or approved continuing education per calendar year
- Benefits
- All benefits of Level I Certification
- Two free post-certification group mentorship sessions annually
- Unlimited usages of The Resilience Toolkit Workbook for clients
Director of Certification
Nkem Ndefo, MSN, CNM, RN, (she/they) is the creator of The Resilience Toolkit and founder of Lumos Transforms. She is a skilled practitioner, dynamic speaker, and valued strategist. She is known for her unique ability to connect with people of all types by holding powerful healing spaces, weaving complex concepts into accessible narratives, and creating synergistic and collaborative learning communities that nourish people’s innate capacity for healing, wellness, and connection.
Certified Trainers
Arrowyn Ambrose (she/her) is a Certified Council Trainer, Certified Teaching Artist, and Certified Race Equity and Healing Justice Facilitator. She has studied Viola Spolion’s long-form organic improvisation and creative writing. With a background in the creative and performing arts, Arrowyn believes in the healing power of story and is passionate about ethical storytelling.
Jane Courtney, RN, RTC, SEP, (she/her) is a Registered Nurse, Registered Therapeutic Counsellor, and Somatic Experiencing Practitioner. She holds a degree in Nursing from The University of Michigan and has worked in a variety of hospital and clinical settings in the US and Canada. Most recently, Jane completed Somatic Touch Training for Resilience and Regulation, which focuses on early developmental trauma.
Devika Shankar (she/her) is a transnational feminist, organizer, and passionate advocate for justice. For over 12 years, Devika has worked with youth, women of color, immigrant, and LGBTQ survivors providing counseling, support services, and advocacy, and over the past 4 years, has worked with individuals who do harm in relationships, as well.
Mary P. Shriver, CMT, (she/her) is a Certified Provider of Trauma Release Exercises (TRE®), Licensed Massage Therapist, Certified Compassion Fatigue Educator, and holds a B.S. in Psychology from Denison University. Additional training includes the Trauma Resilience Model and Community Resilience Model through the Trauma Resource Institute, Motivational Interviewing for Behavior Change (MINT), and Level 1 Resistance Flexibility with Bob Cooley.
Ije Ude, MA (she/her) is a Certified Life Coach and Wellness Strategist. She holds a Master’s degree in Counseling Psychology and has worked in the gender violence and social justice movements for the past 20 years as an organizer, trainer and youth worker.
Certification Coordinator
Franceli Izaguirre (she/her) is a Los Angeles native with management experience in diverse sectors and a passion for health and wellness. She has a BA in Sociology from California State University, Los Angeles, and is currently pursuing a nutrition certification. Franceli believes in life-long learning and is always striving to set goals that allow for personal growth.
Upcoming Trainings
Facilitators
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Anyone who wants to deeply understand and work with stress, trauma, and resilience.
Parents • Educators • Healthcare Providers • Mental Health Professionals • Social Workers • Coaches • Fitness Professionals • Bodyworkers • Healers • Managers • Public Servants • Activists • Military • Clergy • First Responders
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The Resilience Toolkit Facilitator Certification program is a rich experiential process that gives you the tools to take The Toolkit into the world. Interactive and cooperative learning fosters responsibility, self-awareness, and mastery.
What Graduates are Saying
Level ll Certification
Certified Facilitators of The Resilience Toolkit who hold a Level ll Certificate have completed the foundational Level l Certification program and continue to update their knowledge and skills with ongoing education and mentorship.
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Level lll Certification
Certified Facilitators of The Resilience Toolkit who hold a Level lll Certificate have demonstrated deep experience and masterful skills working with individuals and groups. Level lll Facilitators continually sharpen their competencies with ongoing education and mentorship.
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Internship
The Resilience Toolkit Post-Certification Internship Program offers Certified Toolkit Facilitators mentorship during facilitation experience with placements at non-profit and community-based organizations working with a wide range of populations in individual and/or group formats.
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