Everyone who knows anybody with an intellectual or developmental challenge is talking about developmental trauma therapy. Attunement Solutions uses the dynamic systems approach, mindfulness-based interventions, and therapeutic multi-sensory environments because they are all grounded in the new science of change. Stress reactions are nervous system messages to our conscious minds that current environmental conditions need attention. Attunement Solutions Practitioners know that our environment always influences the rate of human system change.  

Developmental psychology research has shown how thought and behavior patterns increase in social complexity over the lifespan by moving through phase transitions. Attunement Solutions Practitioners consider this because we know that trauma self-organizes into developmental phases just like human growth and development. The most important thing is that new science of change principles tell Attunement Solutions Practitioners the most efficient way to heal trauma. 

Attunement Solutions Therapy Program Design and Development 

Scientific grounding for treatment intervention design and development. Practice-based research on effectiveness of the dynamic systems approach for treating children with cerebral palsy has been happening since the late 1980’s. This practice-based research and well-integrated service system model development process continues today. That is because, to understand how complex adaptive systems change over time, is to know the exceptional treatment outcomes to be expected by using the dynamic systems approach and the critical importance of embedding it in well-integrated service programs.  

The dynamic systems approach to treatment describes phase transitions as peaks and valleys. This kind of self-organizing pattern change process happens over time, so the precise timing of each intervention is our key to success. Attunement Solutions practice interventions follow the principles of change in all complex adaptive systems. The complex adaptive system that Attunement Solutions heals is now diagnosed as developmental trauma. 

The feeling of being different always causes stress and people with intellectual or developmental challenges typically grow up feeling different. Stress-based thought and behavior patterns self-organize into adaptive behavior challenges. Later, complex adaptive behavior challenges can self-organize into mental health diagnoses. This explains why it takes longer to heal old trauma. 

Attunement Solutions Practitioners consider how stress-based thought and behavior patterns have the potential to self-organize into greater pattern complexity over the lifespan. This helps us remember a few important scientifically grounded treatment principles. Here is the first. 

When a therapist follows science of change principles, healing developmental trauma late in life feels like coaching a client while they take unsteady steps across an ice-covered river. The only way to strategically approach treatment is by understanding the size and meeting the complexity of each phase transition. It is an ongoing process that requires the well-integrated program I describe today. 

A therapeutic multi-sensory environment (MSE) is an essential travel tool as frozen-state stress-based patterns are melted and adaptive behavior assessment scores improve. That is because, MSE effects can be used to slowly and strategically melt the frozen ice of new possibilities. It’s only when these clients feel the possibility of something different that they muster the courage it takes to keep moving forward. 

Attunement Solutions Practitioners remember that emotional triggers were often developed during the days of traditional behaviorist approaches. Like every other practitioner, behaviorists now know that freedom of choice is a deeply hard-wired human need. Older clients with developmental trauma typically accumulated frozen-state stress-based adaptability patterns from the effects of old paradigm behaviorist approaches.  

It takes finesse to coach people who feel like they are trying to find a safe way to cross a frozen river. This is where mindful therapy approaches like attunement become our go-to tool for the job. One misstep into their loss-of-freedom-of-choice memory pool can stop forward progress. 

When an Attunement Solutions Practitioner follows science of change principles, healing developmental trauma early in life requires a slightly different focus. That is because we need to focus on two interconnected therapeutic processes at the same time. This requires us to be especially attuned to tiny shifts in mood or emotion that tell us we may be entering the uncertain waters of turbulent-state stress-based adaptability patterns. 

Attunement Solutions Practitioners have a two-part strategy for these clients. First, we focus on stopping the accumulation of future emotional trigger baggage. Second, we support clients as they develop more complex adaptive behaviors. By developing more complex adaptive behaviors, they are naturally decreasing size of the complex adaptive system called developmental trauma. 

Attunement Solutions Practitioners use the same scientific understanding and therapeutic tools but apply our own double-loop treatment process. Our double-loop treatment process means that we aren’t so focused on “doing things right”. Instead, we are focused on “doing the right things” for meeting treatment goals and aims.  

This shift in focus may sound complicated but it comes naturally with new paradigm science. The dynamic systems approach increases our ability to use the double-loop treatment process. Mindfulness-based interventions and therapeutic multi-sensory environments are still the right tools for the job. This strategic approach to treatment allows us to stay aware of the size and meet the higher level of pattern change complexity this age group generally has during each phase transition. 

Scientific grounding for program design and development. This begins a story of the Attunement Solutions program design and development process (https://www.attunementsolutions.com). Since the dynamic systems approach to treatment describes phase transitions as peaks and valleys, we do too. Attunement Solutions translates peak and valley phase transitions into four mountain terrain metaphors. Think like a mountain climber and I’ll explain what I mean.  

By always using the same mountain terrain metaphors to teach interventions and assessments, Attunement Solutions Practitioners create a shared therapeutic language. By combining this with dynamic system statistical analysis, we translate the meaning behind that language into numbers. Numbers have a universal meaning for explaining the current size of a complex adaptive system like developmental trauma.  

Attunement Solutions Practitioners use this process to teach team members and other therapists principles of the dynamic systems approach. We use this to explain to organization and program leaders the critical importance of embedding dynamic systems approaches in well-integrated (and therefore adaptable) program designs.  This same process is valuable for describing pattern conditions in systemic program assessments and for Containers-Differences-Exchanges (CDE) Action Planning. 

A well-integrated program design can only be developed by using systemic program assessments. Systemic program assessments are carried out by Chief Experience Officers at each program we design and develop. A healthcare organization’s Chief Experience Officer must first be trained by an Attunement Solutions Practitioner in completion of dynamic systems analysis and CDE Action Plans. For more information about the role of a Chief Experience Officer, follow this link to an earlier blog (https://attunementsolutions.com/blog/new-paradigm-scientific-investigation-into-the-past/).  

Scientific grounding for our simple form of dynamic statistical analysis. For program development purposes, Attunement Solutions matches our meaningful set of metaphors with a simple numerical scale. That numerical scale accurately stands for four self-organizing complex adaptive system phase transitions. Like other forms of statistical analysis that measures change-over-time, Attunement Solutions developed this scale using statistical pattern assumptions, an established or arbitrary change-rate, and a change-over-time formula.  

• The simple dynamic systems statistical pattern equation we use is N = a X 10b. 
• Order of magnitude = N. A dynamic system’s order of magnitude or size increases during each phase transition. First phase state or pattern conditions has an arbitrary value of a = 5. Since order of magnitude is concerned with proportion, any whole number could have been used.  
• The order of magnitude increases during each cycle or phase transition by 10 to the power of b because this is the way statisticians calculate the order of magnitude.
• Statistical analysis begins with a first pattern condition. Using the simple pattern equation, this is expressed as N = 5 X 10 or N = 50.  

The Attunement Solutions Dynamic Statistical Analysis Scale 

Adaptability Pattern	Size and Complexity Score	Score Applications
Valley Terrain	N = 51 to 500	Designing and developing better treatment outcomes for people with frozen-state stress-based patterns and for improving adaptive behavior assessment scores.
Sloping Terrain	N = 501 to 5,000	Designing and developing educational and service delivery approaches to avoid further accumulation of turbulent-state stress-based patterns, for melting frozen-state stress-based patterns, and for improving adaptive behavior assessment scores.
Steep Terrain	N = 5,001 to 50,000	Designing and developing educational and service delivery approaches to avoid further accumulation of turbulent-state stress-based patterns, for melting frozen-state stress-based patterns, and for improving adaptive behavior assessment scores.
Peak Terrain	N = 50,001 to 500,000	Designing and developing better treatment outcomes for people with turbulent-state stress-based patterns and for improving adaptive behavior assessment scores.

 Uses of the Attunement Solutions Dynamic Statistical Analysis Process  

Attunement Solutions uses this statistical analysis process to design and develop better treatment outcomes. It can also be used during program development to design better educational and service approaches.  Data is used for designing well-integrated, holistic, and adaptable programs that meet timing requirements of the dynamic systems approach. Attunement Solutions uses it to produce practice-based research data so that lessons learned from one program development process helps future programs.  

For leadership and staff coaching purposes, Attunement Solution uses this process to show organization and program leaders the importance of having a common language. We use it to explain treatment and program design/development processes in personally meaningful ways. It is helpful for explaining to everyone the importance of applying the dynamic systems approach for trauma-informed mental health care and treatment. Experience reminds us of the importance of having a quick, efficient numerical scale for measuring treatment and program development outcomes.  

Quite a few processes are available for teaching people to see phase transitions but only this scale can be used for measuring their size and pattern complexity. Few show pattern relationships through numbers. Until we show the size of a pattern change, Bigs and Littles are typically envisioned out-of-proportion.  

Creating a Better Future for People Living with Developmental Trauma 

This dynamic system statistical analysis was used to illustrate what new paradigm scientists mean when they say the outcomes of complex adaptive system self-organizations are multiplicative. Until we show the size of therapeutic changes we are talking about, other therapeutic gains can be viewed out of proportion with reality. The truth is clear that programs across the country serving people with intellectual or developmental challenges will expect to benefit from lessons learned during current program design and development projects. 

Today’s statistical analysis shows why a well-integrated program is essential to achieve the exceptional treatment outcomes Attunement Solutions Practitioners have come to expect. It shows why an in-house Chief Experience Officer is needed at each program design and development location. For more information on how a Chief Experience Officer learns to use the dynamic systems approach and CDE Action Planning process, follow this link for free resources on applications of the CDE Model (https://www.hsdinstitute.org).  

Attunement Solutions knows that healthcare organizations and educational systems need help with seeing the current applications and future potential of taking the dynamic systems approach in treatment and for developing well-integrated program designs. By combining meaningful metaphors and dynamic system statistical analysis, Attunement Solutions is paving the way for nationwide applications of new paradigm science in today’s mental health therapy and service organizations. We at Attunement Solutions believe this is the future of mental health therapy services for people with developmental trauma.