BalanSense-Therapy, LLC

BalanSense-Therapy, LLC Contact information, map and directions, contact form, opening hours, services, ratings, photos, videos and announcements from BalanSense-Therapy, LLC, Occupational therapist, 1224 South Queen Street, York, PA.

We are offering a new, unique combination treatment approach for auditory & sensory processing including nervous system regulation and co-regulation based on the Polyvagal Theory through SSP (Safe and Sound Protocol) & iLs (Integrsted listening system)

02/02/2026
Sensory Challenges vs. Nervous System DysregulationWhy sensory struggles don’t exist in isolation — and what your body i...
02/02/2026

Sensory Challenges vs. Nervous System Dysregulation
Why sensory struggles don’t exist in isolation — and what your body is really communicating
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If sensory input feels like “too much”… there may be more going on
Many children and adults are told they have sensory processing challenges — yet even with therapy, strategies, or accommodations, the struggles continue.
That’s because sensory challenges are deeply connected to the nervous system.
When the nervous system doesn’t feel safe, sensory input is more likely to feel overwhelming, irritating, confusing, or even painful.
This guide will help you understand the difference — and the connection.
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What is the sensory system?
The sensory system helps us take in information from our body and the world around us.
This includes:
• Touch
• Movement (vestibular)
• Body awareness (proprioception)
• Sound
• Visual input
• Taste and smell
• Internal body signals (interoception)
When sensory processing is well-organized, we can filter, respond, and adapt.
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What is the nervous system?
The nervous system is your body’s safety and survival system.
Using a polyvagal-informed lens, the nervous system constantly asks:
“Am I safe right now?”
Depending on the answer, the body shifts into different states that affect:
• Emotion
• Attention
• Sensory tolerance
• Energy
• Behavior
• Connection
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Key difference (and why it matters)
Sensory challenges are about how the body processes input.
Nervous system dysregulation is about how safe the body feels while processing that input.
When safety feels low:
• Noise feels louder
• Touch feels threatening
• Movement feels disorganizing
• Visual input feels chaotic
👉 The issue isn’t the senses alone — it’s the state of the nervous system.
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Real-life examples
Child example
A child melts down during transitions, covers their ears, avoids touch, and struggles in busy environments.
Often labeled as sensory defensiveness — but underneath, the nervous system may be stuck in fight/flight, scanning for danger.
Adult example
An adult feels exhausted, overwhelmed by noise, avoids social situations, and struggles with chronic tension or pain.
Often dismissed as anxiety or burnout — but the nervous system may be living in long-term survival mode.
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Why strategies alone don’t always work
When the nervous system is dysregulated:
• Sensory tools may only help temporarily
• Coping strategies feel effortful
• “Pushing through” increases exhaustion
Regulation must come before expectation.
The body needs to experience safety — not be told it is safe.
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What helps: a polyvagal-informed OT approach
At BalanSense Therapy, we support both the sensory system and the nervous system by:
• Prioritizing safety and connection
• Using regulated sensory input intentionally
• Supporting nervous system flexibility
• Meeting the body where it is
This may include:
• Polyvagal-informed Occupational Therapy
• SSP (Safe and Sound Protocol)
• Focus / Integrated Listening approaches
• Gentle, body-based regulation strategies
• Primitive Reflex Integration
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In other words!
Your body isn’t overreacting.
It adapted to protect you.
With the right support, the nervous system can learn flexibility, allowing sensory experiences to feel more manageable — and life to feel more livable.
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A gentle next step
If this resonates, support is available.
📍 BalanSense Therapy, LLC
Polyvagal-informed, non-traditional Occupational Therapy
York, PA
🌿 We work with the nervous system — not against it.
Learn more or schedule a free discovery call:
www.balansense-therapy.com

01/30/2026

💛 Emotions, Sensory Responses & the Nervous System 💛

Humans are meant to feel all emotions—joy, excitement, frustration, sadness, and everything in between. Big emotions are not a problem. What matters is how the nervous system supports us in moving through them.

According to Polyvagal Theory, a child’s sensory responses and emotions are guided by their nervous system. When the nervous system feels safe, children can experience emotions, recover more easily, and stay connected. When it feels overwhelmed, everyday sensory input (noise, touch, movement, transitions) can push the body into survival states—fight, flight, or shutdown.

💡 This isn’t misbehavior—it’s the nervous system doing its best to protect.

With polyvagal-affirmed therapy, we don’t try to remove emotions. Instead, we help the nervous system build flexibility—the ability to move in and out of emotional states while staying regulated, connected, and resilient.

At BalanSense Therapy, we focus on safety first. As the nervous system becomes more flexible, children can better navigate daily situations, sensory challenges, and emotional ups and downs.

✨ All emotions are welcome. Support makes the difference. How do you help your child through their emotions? Are you able to regulate while your child is dysregulated?

-regulation

01/29/2026

Is My Nervous System Stuck in Survival?
A gentle guide to understanding stress, sensory overload, and why your body reacts the way it does
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You are not alone! Your nervous system is protecting you!

If you often feel overwhelmed, shut down, anxious, exhausted, or on edge, it may not be a mindset or motivation problem. These experiences are often signs that your nervous system is spending too much time in survival mode.
Your body learned how to protect you. This guide will help you gently understand what that looks like — and what can help.
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A simple nervous system overview (Polyvagal-informed)
Your nervous system constantly scans for safety or danger — even when you’re not aware of it.

When safety is present, your body can:
• Connect
• Learn
• Play
• Rest
• Digest
When safety feels missing, your body may shift into survival states.
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Survival State Checklist
You may recognize yourself in one or more of these patterns:

🔥 Fight / Flight (Mobilized State)
• Racing thoughts
• Anxiety or panic
• Irritability or anger
• Restlessness
• Sensory sensitivity (noise, lights, touch)
• Sensory over-responsiveness
• Difficulty sleeping

❄️ Shutdown / Freeze (Immobilized State)
• Numbness or disconnection
• Fatigue or low energy
• Brain fog
• Feeling flat or depressed
• Avoidance
• Sensory under responsiveness

👉 These are not character flaws — they are protective responses.
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Why symptoms don’t just “go away”

If your nervous system learned that the world is unpredictable, overwhelming, or unsafe, it may stay on high alert — even when life looks calm on the outside. This is a result of your nervous system unable to shift out of “fight or flight” or “freeze” over longer periods of time.
That’s why:
• Talk therapy alone doesn’t always help
• Willpower doesn’t fix it
• Logic doesn’t calm it

The nervous system needs to experience safety — not be talked into it.
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What helps build nervous system flexibility?

A polyvagal informed approach focuses on:
• Creating safety first
• Supporting regulation before expectations
• Increasing flexibility between states
• Using sensory input to calm the body

At BalanSense Therapy, we support the nervous system through:
• Polyvagal informed Occupational Therapy
• Safe, structured sensory input
• SSP (Safe and Sound Protocol) 30+ research-backed listening program
• Focus / Integrated Listening approaches and movements with 30+ research backed listening programs
• Co-regulation informed teachings
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A gentle next step
If this guide resonates, you don’t have to figure it out alone.
📍 BalanSense Therapy, LLC
Polyvagal informed, non traditional Occupational Therapy
York, PA
🌿 We move at your nervous system’s pace.
Learn more or schedule a free discovery call:
www.balansense-therapy.com

-regulation

01/27/2026

❣️🎧🎶🧠🔗🗝️
Hi everyone,
I am Kathrin, the owner of BalanSense-Therapy, LLC in York, PA. Let me tell you a little more detail why BalanSense-Therapy, LLC in York, PA exists today.

❣️Of course there are personal reasons, my son who was diagnoses with ADHD at age 7. Personally, I also have been dealing with symptoms, and experiencing sensory challenges including auditory processing difficulty, since I was little. But, I did not realize it until I was an adult.

For as long as I can remember, I’ve been curious about why people react the way they do—not just physically, but emotionally and energetically. Why does one child melt down in a noisy room while another seeks constant movement? Why does an adult feel exhausted, anxious, or in pain even when medical tests say they’re “fine”?
Early in my career as an Occupational Therapy Assistant, the traditional path made sense to me. And while I helped many people, something always felt incomplete.
Clients would say things like:
• “My body never feels calm.”
• “I know I’m safe, but I don’t feel safe.”
• “My child isn’t misbehaving—something else is going on.”
They were right.
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🔗The Missing Piece: The Nervous System

I began to notice a powerful pattern:
Most of my clients—children and adults alike—weren’t struggling because they lacked skills.
They were struggling because their nervous systems were overwhelmed, dysregulated, or stuck in survival mode.
This led me deeper into:
• Sensory Processing – how the brain receives, filters, and responds to sensory input
• Polyvagal Theory – how the autonomic nervous system drives safety, connection, fight/flight, and shutdown

Suddenly, everything made sense.
Behavior wasn’t the problem.
Pain wasn’t “all in their head.”
Anxiety wasn’t a character flaw.

These were adaptive nervous system responses to a world that felt too loud, too fast, too unpredictable—or not safe enough.
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💡From “Fixing” to Listening

Polyvagal theory changed how I practiced OT.
Instead of asking:
“How do we fix this behavior?”
I started asking:
“What is this nervous system trying to communicate?”
Instead of pushing skills, I focused on creating safety—internally and externally.
When people feel safe:
• Sensory input becomes tolerable
• Emotions become manageable
• Learning and healing become possible
This shift transformed outcomes for:
• Neurodivergent children
• Individuals with sensory sensitivities
• Adults with chronic stress, pain, trauma, or burnout
• Families who felt stuck and unheard
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💡Why BalanSense Therapy Is Different!
🧠🔗
I created BalanSense Therapy, LLC because I knew there had to be a better way—one that honored the whole person, not just a diagnosis or insurance code.
BalanSense is:
• Neurodiversity-affirming
• Nervous-system–informed
• Sensory-based and relationship-centered
• Rooted in safety, connection, and regulation
Here, therapy is not about forcing change.
It’s about supporting the nervous system so change can happen naturally.
We use tools like:
• Sensory integration strategies including primitive reflex integration
• Polyvagal-informed interventions
• The Safe and Sound Protocol (SSP)
• Focus iLs (integrated listening system
• Movement, rhythm, and co-regulation
• Education that empowers—not overwhelms
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My Promise to You

Whether you are a parent, an adult seeking support, or a professional looking for a new approach, my promise is this:

🗝️You will be seen.
🗝️Your experiences will be validated.
🗝️Your nervous system will be respected.

Because healing doesn’t begin with doing more.
It begins with feeling safe enough to be yourself.
That is the heart 💖of BalanSense Therapy.

01/27/2026

Our most popular packages are: #1 SSP (Safe and Sound Protocol) Package, and #2 SSP +Co-Regulation Package. Children and Adult Services.

What you get for your buck!

#1: SSP -Package $1,200:
-1 comprehensive Evaluation by an certified Occupational Therapist
-Up to 20 hours to complete the SSP listening therapy program, with one-on-one guidance of certified therapist to connect or reconnect with your body
-Customized nervous system regulation exercise program handout
-Gentle, manual hands-on therapy by certified therapist to stimulate the vagus nerve and to keep it active

#2: SSP + Co-Regulation -Package $1,500:
This one is a parent's favorite as they get additional 5 hour one-on-one support and guidance while their child is participating in SSP treatment. Supporting the parent through co-regulation techniques, environmental changes, emotional dysregulation, Q and A, and more.

Like to learn more, drop a comment below, or join our email list to unlock exclusive insights and support tailored just for you. Stay informed and empowered with resources that enhance your sensory journey and well-being.

Here: https://balansense-therapy.com/contact

01/27/2026
01/27/2026

Address

1224 South Queen Street
York, PA
17403

Opening Hours

Monday 8am - 8pm
Wednesday 8am - 8pm
Friday 8am - 8pm

Telephone

+17177794706

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