Phil Bird Psychology

14/08/2025

Secure your spot and unlock a new lens for trauma and neurodiversity 🧠✨️

Building New Pathways - Supporting children and families who have experienced trauma.

📅 2nd-3rd of October, 2025
🕐 9:30am - 4pm
📍Online event

The 2-day expanded Building New Pathways series will include:

👉Understanding the impact of trauma on brain development and the “Building New Pathways” model – nervous system repair strategies based on the Neurosequential Model of Therapeutics (NMT – Bruce Perry);

👉Learn about clinical applications of the Polyvagal Theory and how to apply practical strategies for safety in the home, school and therapeutic environments;

👉Explore the common behaviours that we might see as a result of compromised brain development;

👉Develop a renewed understanding of a child’s behaviour and family dynamics through The Window of Tolerance and the Needs Map for trauma-based symptoms;

👉Explore practical strategies to be used to prevent challenging behaviour;

👉Learn how to assess trauma-based symptoms and behaviours within the ‘Pathways’ framework to guide treatment planning and review progress;

👉Explore strategies to create safe and therapeutic environments for traumatised children and adolescents;

👉Explore trauma-informed strategies for common difficulties and behaviours such as anxiety, defiance, emotional outbursts, hyperactivity, sleep problems and aggressive behaviour.

👉Explore sensory-based and relational approaches to facilitate safety, regulation and relational security;

👉Learn how to develop therapeutic relationships with children and adolescents who have experienced early attachment ruptures;

👉Learn how to work with the child’s attachment network to develop safety, caregiver attunement and attachment security;

👉Develop skills and further understanding in supporting caregivers who are experiencing attachment stress and caregiver burnout.

👉Learn about the NEuroSensory Therapeutic (NEST) Program principles for supporting children and families who have experienced trauma.

👉Get access to exclusive assessment and therapeutic tools for supporting children and families within the ‘Pathways’ framework.

👉 Access to the recording if you

Building New Pathways is designed for those who need to support children and adolescents who have experienced early developmental trauma. Building New Pathways explores trauma and brain development, practical strategies for complex behaviours, and relationship-based strategies for improving connecti

25/07/2025

The Developing Brain Parent Workshop: Tomaree PS 🧠✨️

Thankyou to all the parents who attended The Developing Brain: Responding with purpose workshop on Monday night.

We explored some of the key concepts from the Needs-Based Approach to parenting, including:

⭐️ The key stages of brain development;
⭐️ How to identify the core needs behind behaviours;
⭐️ The core ingredients to respond and co-regulate through behaviours;
⭐️ The essential four R's to support sleep and the developing brain;
⭐️ How to respond to the need, rather than react to the behaviour.
⭐️ And lots of great questions from the audience.

Big thanks to for inviting me and Tomaree PS for hosting!

Stay tuned for the online parent series coming soon! 🧠✨️

20/05/2025

Thankyou to all the clinicians and educators who attended the Level 2 training over the last two days! 🌟

I hope you left feeling more empowered to understand the language of the nervous system and continue to make meaningful change in the lives of the children and families you are working with 🌱💡

✨️COMING SOON✨️
Stay tuned for the new series: Supporting Adult Nervous System within the Pathways Framework! 🧠

11/04/2025

✨️✨️ Tickets selling fast!! ✨️✨️

Advanced neurobiology and practical applications of the Pathways approach.

Who is it for??
✔️Psychologists
✔️Occupational Therapists
✔️Social Workers
✔️Speech Pathologists
✔️Educators
✔️Behaviour Support
✔️Caseworkers

💡Building New Pathways (Level 2) is designed for attendees who have attended the Building New Pathways (Level 1) workshop.

💡If you haven’t attended the Level 1 training, please click the link below to complete the foundational (Level 1) training prior to accessing the Level 2 training.

ACCESS LEVEL 1 TRAINING ON DEMAND HERE: 👇👇 https://www.philbirdpsychology.com.au/trauma-training-level-1

✨️What's included in the Level 2 training?✨️

👉 Explore the key neurobiological networks underlying trauma and attachment patterns;

👉 Learn advanced applications of the Polyvagal Theory and how to apply practical strategies for safety in the home, school and therapeutic environments;

👉 Explore a variety of case studies and practical applications of the Pathways approach;

👉 Learn and practice advanced methods in assessing trauma-based symptoms and behaviours within the Pathways framework to review progress and guide treatment planning;

👉 Explore case studies and video analysis to support assessment methods;

👉Learn advanced methods for supporting the child's attachment network to develop safety, caregiver attunement and attachment security;

👉Learn advanced neuroscience-informed treatment methods for supporting children and young people to repair from trauma;

👉Explore clinical applications for the Pathways approach when working with adults;

👉Practice video analysis and review case studies to refine your skills and knowledge and tune in to ‘language of the nervous system’

BOOK NOW: 👇 👇
https://www.philbirdpsychology.com.au/trauma-training-level-2

Building New Pathways is designed for those who need to support children and adolescents who have experienced early developmental trauma. Building New Pathways explores trauma and brain development, practical strategies for complex behaviours, and relationship-based strategies for improving connecti

10/04/2025

Thanks for having me Little Kindy Singleton! Early Education settings have an essential role in nurturing brain development through the first 5 years of life. It is always such a pleasure to run these workshops and collaborate with educators in the amazing work that they do. They really are specialists in co-regulation and connection! 🧠⭐️

10/04/2025

Thanks for having me Little Kindy Singleton! Early Education settings have an essential role in nurturing brain development through the first 5 years of life. It is always such a pleasure to run these workshops and collaborate with educators in the amazing work that they do. They really are specialists in co-regulation and connection! 🧠⭐️

24/03/2025

Such a great turnout for Day 1 of the Building New Pathways training!
We had a great mix of Psychologists, Occupational Therapists, Social Workers, Speech Pathologists, Educators, Behaviour Support and Caseworkers all coming together to learn about the needs of the nervous system 🧠

I look forward to seeing everyone for Day 2! ⭐️

14/10/2024

Big thanks to Sonya and the team at East Lismore Community Pre-School for inviting me out. An amazing group of educators with such an important role and so much passion for supporting the needs of children in their community 🧠✨️

Yesterday, the team had the great privilege of participating in some amazing training with Phil Bird.

It was all about seeing children through a developmental needs focus, rather than the old school notion of problem behaviours or what’s happened to you focus?

This way, whether children are struggling to seperate at drop off, overwhelmed by busy preschool life, struggling with sensory input, we see it all from the question of “What NEED are you seeking?”

Building safety, regulation, relationships and then learning, we can help children and their families work towards resilience and stronger sense of self for when they start Kindergarten.

A big shout out to Phil for sharing his amazing knowledge and wisdom and for coming to see us in such with such a busy schedule.

09/09/2024

5 questions to consider before trying to change a behaviour...

👉1. Do they FEEL safe?
A child can BE safe, but not FEEL safe. This is known as neuroception. We must have a neuroception of safety before we can regulate our energy and emotions. ✨️

👉2. Do they have a trusted adult to support them to co-regulate their energy and emotions?
We need repetitve experiences of co-regulation before we can develop the capacity for self-regulation. ✨️

👉3. Do they have choice and control in their life?
A child needs a balance of autonomy and connection. When they feel that they have no choices or control through their day, it often impacts on the capacity for connection ✨️

👉4. Do they have a trusted and predictable connection with an adult in that environment?
The consistent presence of connection is the cornerstone for resilience behaviours in any environment ✨️

👉5. How can we as an environment meet their need for safety, co-regulation, control and connection? ✨️
Understanding behaviours begins with asking the right questions. We need to ensure that the questions we ask align with the developing needs of the nervous system 🧠

Sometimes behaviours are an expression of a DEVELOPMENTAL NEED rather than an indicator of a diagnosis. 💡

Instead of: What diagnosis do they have?

✔️We can consider...What need are they seeking?

And..

✔️ How can we meet that need?

This is how we support the natural process of the developing brain 🧠✨️

02/09/2024

Thankyou to the team at CALM Inc. for having me out for this event! It was a great day with plenty of insightful discussion on supporting the needs of the young people in our community 🧠✨️

26/08/2024

Thankyou to all who attended the Building New Pathways (Level 2): Advanced neurobiology and clinical applications of the Pathways approach. ✨️✨️

There was lots of insightful discussion around collaborative approaches from a range of disciplines including psychologists, social workers, occupational therapists, behaviour support practitioners, teachers, and counsellors to support the needs of the nervous system in the aftermath of trauma. 🧠

I hope you all left more empowered and equipped with new insights and tools in the important roles you all have in supporting children and families. ⭐️

Next up: Building New Pathways for Parents: Attachment and the developing brain (3 Week Online series).
📅 Starting 16th of September, 2024.
👉 Tickets and more information: https://www.philbirdpsychology.com.au/parent-training