What is NARM®?
The NeuroAffective Relational Model ™ addresses Complex Trauma (C-PTSD), including attachment, relational and developmental trauma, by working with adaptive patterns that reflect unconscious patterns of disconnection that impact our identity, emotions, physiology, behavior and relationships.
The NeuroAffective Relational Model™ (NARM®), it is the foundational approach that informs my psychotherapy practice. In 2018, I was reading every book I could get my hands on about depth psychology and holistic approaches. I stumbled upon the book Healing Developmental Trauma: How Early Trauma Affects Self-Regulation, Self-Image, and the Capacity for Relationship by Laurence Heller, PhD and Aline LaPierre, PsyD. It was my introduction to NARM® and I knew, on the deepest level, I wanted to start training in this approach to therapy. Years later I continue to integrate the model, advancing from becoming a NARM® Therapist to now a NARM® Master Therapist. One of my favorite things about NARM® is it reflects the depth and complexity of humanity.
NARM® integrates a body-centered and psychodynamic approach, within a context of interpersonal neurobiology, grounded in mindfulness and a phenomenological approach to addressing identity and consciousness of Self. NARM® offers a comprehensive theoretical and clinical model for the resolution of Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) and C-PTSD. NARM® offers a framework for post-traumatic growth by supporting increased resiliency, greater health outcomes, healthier relationships, personal growth and social change.
What this has translated to for me and my practice:
- Starting in the present: what’s happening in you and relationships right now can be our guide.
- Strength‑based: we can draw on what’s already working — your resources and capacities — as part of the healing process.
- Holistic: including the body, mind, and emotions, I offer invitations and ongoing consent so you can reconnect with all of yourself in your own time, without having to resort to old strategies of disconnection including overwhelming yourself.
- Relationship is at the heart of the work: mindful interventions are powerful tools, but the deepest healing process happens in attuned connection.
I have found NARM fits well alongside other approaches I sometimes integrate — like EMDR, parts work (IFS), and NeuroAffective Touch® — so I can collaborate with you around what best supports you at each step.
“The spontaneous movement in all of us is toward connection, health, and aliveness. No matter how withdrawn and isolated we have become, or how serious the trauma we have experienced, on the deepest level, just as a plant spontaneously moves toward sunlight, there is in each of us an impulse moving toward connection and healing. This organismic impulse is the fuel of the NARM approach.”
—Laurence Heller, PhD and Aline LaPierre, PsyD
What Working Together Can Look Like
- Slowing down enough to notice the patterns you learned to survive
- Building capacity to stay present with yourself on all levels – body sensations, thoughts, and emotions – one small step at a time
- Exploring how old strategies show up in your life: in your relationship to yourself, to others and to your body
- Getting curious about what could be possible: more connection, more choice, more self‑trust, more acceptance…
We’ll move at a pace that respects your unique system. No pushing for connecting, no rushing, with lots of room to learn as we go.
Ready to Explore?
If this resonates, please reach out for a consultation!
Reach Me
Jennifer DiGennaro MA LPC
1324 Lake Drive Suite 8
Grand Rapids, Michigan 49506
Tel: 616.446.6728
E-mail: Jen@NourishedEnergy.com
Schedule a free 15 minute phone consultation with Jen