What is Developmental Transformations (DvT)?
Developmental Transformations (DvT) is a playful, embodied approach to therapy that prioritizes trauma-informed care through nervous system co-regulation, imagination, and relational play.
DvT centers liberation, relationships, community, embodiment, soma, pleasure, playfulness, awe, wonder, delight, spontaneity and creativity.
Our training programs provide clinicians and practitioners with the tools to get in touch with their own creative impulses, playful nature and aliveness.
Clinicians learn to be embodied therapists while also gaining skills to work with various client populations using the DvT method.
DvT practice makes space for therapists and healers to embrace their own silliness and flaws, explore their own brokenness and trauma, to heal, grow and stand in the truth of their full human experience.
DvT is about going with the flow! Finding joy in the midst of unbearable stress, building creative and emergent survival strategies in the face of oppression, a playful way to navigate the tumultuous instability that life often throws our way.
Healing is more dimensional when we honor the body and the imagination.
Who is the DvT Training For?
• Social workers, counselors, clinicians, psychotherapists, healers, somatic practitioners
• Creatives, actors, improvisers, clowns
• Art therapists, dance therapists, drama therapists
• Anyone looking to infuse more embodiment and playfulness into their healing work with clients, or for professional and personal growth.
DvT Training Demo
The Training Process
Students may pursue a Level 1 Certificate (one-year program) and the additional, advanced Level 2 Certificate (two-year program).
Individuals who complete the Level 1 Certificate may begin practicing DvT under the supervision of a qualified DvT supervisor.
Graduates of the Level 2 Certificate program are recognized as DvT Practitioners and may practice DvT independently, consistent with their professional training, credentials, and scope of practice.
Trauma Centered DvT Practice
Trauma Centered DvT is a more specialized form of DvT that uses desensitization techniques to help clients navigate their traumatic experiences.
By playfully representing personal material, clients can navigate past experiences and discover new ways of engaging with their triggers.
Often watching a DvT session on screen can seem unclear or confusing at first, but every intervention is thoughtfully constructed keeping in mind the client's comfort level, their nervous system needs and spontaneous impulses.
At Bay Area DvT| DvT San Francisco | iWest practitioners will receive training in how to clinically use DvT in a trauma centered way.
Upcoming Events & Supervision
Level 1 & Level 2 Training Dates
Year 2026-27
TRAINING DATES
TRAINING LOCATION
- Oct. 3–4
- Nov. 21–22
- Dec. 12–13
- Jan. 9–10
- Feb. 6–7
- Feb. 20–21
- Mar. 6–7
- Apr. 10–11
- May 8–9
- Jun 5-6
The Finnish Hall Berkeley,
1970 Chestnut St,
Berkeley, CA 94702
All trainings are from 10:00am to 6:00pm on Saturday and Sunday.
DEMO of A DvT Session
Alicia Stephen, MA, RDT, integrates trauma-centered psychotherapy, creative expression, playfulness, and liberation-centered frameworks to cultivate a good-enough, neurodivergent-friendly learning environment. Her teaching invites practitioners to expand their clinical capacities while feeling supported to explore embodied approaches to trauma healing with curiosity, creativity, and care.