Self-Paced Online Courses

Nervous System RESET is happy to announce a new series of self-paced, online courses…

Learn how the nervous system processes stress.

Understand how to begin tracking activation and settling signals in your own body.

Explore a variety of introductory practices that can better support you managing stress cycles in your life so that you reconnect with your innate resilience and build greater capacity for life’s challenges.

A Nervous System Primer:  How the Nervous System Works + Why It Matters   ($45 US)

This self-paced, online course is designed to introduce you to a working framework that will allow you to become more nervous system-informed, as well as to some foundational practices which can jumpstart your exploration of working with the body to build greater resilience.   This course is a great place to start if you want to grow your understanding of how to work more effectively with your body through a nervous system-informed framework.

Content covered:

  • An overview of the Autonomic Nervous System and its adaptive states
  • An understanding the physiological shifts that occur when we move into survival responses
  • An understanding the behavioral shifts that occur when we are in survival responses
  • A reframing of what resilience is from a nervous system-informed perspective
  • An introduction to a variety of body-based practices that can support your nervous system responses

Price includes 7 lessons with video recordings, written transcripts for each lesson, and additional lesson handouts that are downloadable.  Registrants will have 6 months from date of registration to access the materials.

Getting to Know the Vagus Nerve  ($25 US)

This course introduces you to the power of the Vagus nerve and the important role it plays in both modulating our nervous system responses and assessing for signals of safety.  You will also be introduced to the concept of co-regulation and the understanding of how our nervous systems communicate with each other through non-verbal signals.  This course can be explored as a stand alone option, or coupled with the Nervous System Primer course for a more extensive understanding of the dynamic nature of our nervous system responses.

Content covered:

  • An overview of the Autonomic Nervous System and its adaptive states
  • An overview of the physiology of the Vagus nerve and how it influences our Autonomic Nervous System responses
  • An introduction to the concept of co-regulation

Price includes 4 lessons with video recordings, written transcripts for each lesson, and additional lesson handouts that are downloadable.  Registrants will have 3 months from date of registration to access the materials.

Working with Triggers from a Body-Based Perspective  ($55 US)

Triggers are anything that turns up the pilot light of our survival responses!  Triggers can be sensory cues, seasonal cues, spatial cues, or relational dynamics. This self-paced, online course is designed to introduce you to a working framework so that you can cultivate a deeper understanding of what triggers are and how to work with them from a nervous system-informed perspective. You will also explore some foundational, body-based practices which can jumpstart your ability to build greater resilience as you navigate through the experience of feeling triggered.

Content covered:

  • An understanding of what triggers are from a nervous system-informed perspective
  • An overview of the Autonomic Nervous System and its adaptive states
  • An understanding the physiological shifts that occur when we move into survival responses
  • An understanding the behavioral shifts that occur when we are in survival responses
  • A reframing of what resilience is from a nervous system-informed perspective
  • An exploration of how to work with triggered body states from a nervous system-informed perspective
  • An introduction to a variety of body-based practices that can support your nervous system responses

Price includes 9 lessons with video recordings, written transcripts for each lesson, and additional lesson handouts that are downloadable.  Registrants will have 6 months from date of registration to access the materials.

The Cost of Caring + Caretaking: Understanding the Impact of Secondary Stress + Trauma  ($65 US)

There are so few resources out there for people who are struggling with the very real and challenging experience of shouldering the cost of caretaking loved ones.  What resources exist are often entirely geared for professionals in front line service (such as mental health providers, nurses and first responders) who are suffering from burnout.  And yet, the role of support person is one that many of us occupy in our lives.  Whether it is caring for a loved one with health or cognitive decline challenges, nurturing a child with neural diversity or behavioral challenges, supporting a family member or friend who has suffered an act of violence, or shouldering a partner who is uncovering memories of early life abuse, the cost of caring and caretaking is a real concern.

This course is designed to introduce you to a working framework that will allow you to become more nervous system-informed in the role of support person, as well as to some foundational practices which can jumpstart your exploration of working with the body to build greater resilience.

Content covered:

  • An understanding of secondary stress and vicarious trauma
  • An overview of the Autonomic Nervous System and its adaptive states
  • An understanding the physiological shifts that occur when we move into survival responses
  • An understanding the behavioral shifts that occur when we are in survival responses
  • A reframing of what resilience is from a nervous system-informed perspective
  • An exploration of the challenges that can arise when navigating secondary stress and trauma  in our relationships
  • An overview of how to support your loved one during challenging and overwhelming chapters in life
  • An exploration of how to better resource yourself in the role of support person
  • An introduction to a variety of body-based practices that can support your nervous system responses

Price includes 11 lessons with video recordings, written transcripts for each lesson, and additional lesson handouts that are downloadable.  Registrants will have 6 months from date of registration to access the materials.

A Nervous System Primer for Parenting: Why Your Nervous System Is Your Most Powerful Parenting Tool  ($75 US)

There are so few resources out there for people who are struggling with the very real and challenging experience of being a parent in this fast-paced, modern world.  Even when we have resources to support us in our role as parents, and even if we are not negotiating the demands of raising children with health challenges, neurodiversity challenges or attachment trauma, being a parent may be the most demanding role we ever occupy!  It is hard work even when it is rewarding.

This course is designed to support you in your role as parent by introducing you to the power of your nervous system.  We will explore a working framework that will allow you to become more nervous system-informed, as well as to some foundational practices which can jumpstart your exploration of working with the body to build greater resilience.

Content covered:

  • An understanding of why the nervous system matters in the role of parenting
  • An overview of the Autonomic Nervous System and its adaptive states
  • An overview of the physiology of the Vagus nerve and how it influences our Autonomic Nervous System responses
  • An introduction to the concept of co-regulation
  • An understanding the physiological shifts that occur when we move into survival responses
  • An understanding the behavioral shifts that occur when we are in survival responses
  • A reframing of what resilience is from a nervous system-informed perspective
  • An exploration of how to cultivate safety cues for more effective co-regulation
  • An exploration of how to better resource yourself in the role of parent
  • An introduction to a variety of body-based practices that can support your nervous system responses
  • An overview of how to co-regulate your child during challenging times
  • An exploration of co-regulatory practices you can use with your kids

Price includes 13 lessons with video recordings, written transcripts for each lesson, and additional lesson handouts that are downloadable.  Registrants will have 6 months from date of registration to access the materials.

What People Are Saying. . .

  • Working with Jessica has been such a tremendous gift. The Personal RESET program provides an educational framework and accessible tools for working with one’s body, rather than against it. In working with Jessica I found that I continued to come home to my body.

    This homecoming has allowed me to be with my experiences authentically, and be more present for others in my life. This experience has been invaluable for me personally, and incredibly supportive in my therapeutic work with clients. I highly recommend Jessica’s work to friends, colleagues and clients alike!

    Amanda Zucker LPC, Art Therapist
  • Due to life long struggle with anxiety, I developed a pretty antagonistic relationship with my body and nervous system. I saw it as this thing that got out of control. Like a monster lurking in the dark corners of my mind. Through my work with Jessica I coming to see that there is no monster. That my system is doing the best it can and that it does actually do a lot of work to soothe me and calm my down as well. This is a HUGE shift for me. She has provided with invaluable tools and insight that have allowed me to be gentler with myself and to open up my perspective to see all the things my system is doing right. I highly recommend anyone who struggles with trauma and/or anxiety to work with Jessica. She's has been a tremendous help.

    Jim H.
  • I am so grateful for Jessica and her ability to help me to down regulate my nervous system responses. I searched out someone who could intimately understand trauma responses and help me to identify what was happening to me on a physiological level and also had a systematic method to help override my heightened panic responses. I had already done a lot of work on myself and realized so much of my panic and anxiety was tied to old conditioned responses from challenging life experiences and realized I could not figure them out on my own.

    Lifelong anxiety had led to what seemed like endless panic attacks. I had become like a scared animal where even the smallest trigger would incite panic. I could still manage to cope in public but was finding it increasingly difficult to keep it together to have a “normal life”. So I searched for someone or a program that could help me help myself. I came across her on the internet. Jessica earned my trust with her incredible knowledge of the nervous system, her gentle yet firm guidance and her understanding. She encourages me to keep going. There were so many times that she walked me through my overwhelming confusion, fear and crippling self doubt to a place of calm peaceful insight. I had to do the work but she was there with her incredible summaries, validation and direction. The changes were subtle, but as I have come to realize, this is the language of the nervous system. Subtle, gentle consistent practice over time yields solid true foundational change at my core. I am now able to create more space between my triggers and my responses. I am more able to create that loving space within me and around me to allow my nervous system to heal. I learned that I am not broken and my nervous system was only doing its job. I am also becoming so much more capable of consciously controlling my fight, flight and freeze response. I am no longer having multiple panic attacks a day. I am able to cope much better when I do experience them every couple of weeks now. I have changed. Those subtle changes over time have accumulated into strong solid way of being now. I have been able to down regulate my nervous system to a calmer baseline. I still experience daily anxiety and trust that this process combined with Jessica’s guidance will help me slowly dissolve the anxiety as well. Life isn’t nearly so scary. That is such a gift. I am grateful to be alive now. I will continue to work with Jessica and learn from her to continue to help myself.
    Shannon S., Canada
  • I had a great experience working with Jessica and her RESET program. It helped me to develop skills for managing my daily ups and downs, and recognizing those as a normal and natural part of my body. Some of the tools have helped me to manage acute anxiety, while others have led me to develop a practice to help keep my anxiety more level on a daily basis. I'd definitely suggest folks check out this program.

    Angie Ebba
  • Jessica is truly gifted in her ability to connect, and convey a sense of safety and hope in the nervous system work she shares. My understanding of my own nervous system and my ability to reset has been invaluable. I believe everyone should have sessions with Jessica- the world would be a truly amazing place to live if this were the case. I can't recommend her work highly enough!

    Becky Blanco Mental Health Therapist, England
  • After 35 years of living in a fairly terrified body (& a relatively recent car accident that amplified that) I really needed to move beyond my ‘mind’ in order to find healing. I had searched a long time for something that could help me get unstuck from the effects of trauma. When Jessica and I started working together, I really had no practical concept of what it meant to work with my body.  The techniques I started practicing through the first few sessions had enough of an effect on my nervous system that I was seeing - and experiencing - what I had been missing for so long - the opportunity to feel more calm and safe, to interact with friends and family without being blocked by defensiveness or feeling in ‘fight’ mode, more energy and creativity to focus on my dreams and goals. Whilst I still very much consider myself to be on a journey of healing, the most profound gift has been the relationship and sense of trust I’ve built with my body. This has already seen me better managing terrifying situations (an earthquake, an anaesthetic reaction) with a sense that they have less of a lasting impact on me as my body regulates itself then and there. These are lifelong skills & so different to any ‘strategy’ I’ve learned before. I wholeheartedly believe that working with our nervous systems, and engaging with our bodies are foundational for healing - and this understanding will profoundly influence my own coaching practice going forward. Jessica is so kind and compassionate and has immense knowledge and expertise - I truly hope that people like me who feel they have tried everything to heal will find her.

    Vicki Evans Life Coach
  • Most of my life, my view of the world, my perception of myself, and my experience of inhabiting a body have been colored by what I call free-floating anxiety. And after more than 40 years as a health educator, I have a pretty big toolbox of skills, tools, and practices to deal with change, lower stress and anxiety, and better achieve wellness. But it was not until my recent work with Jessica Schaffer and her Nervous System RESET program that I made a quantum leap in my own sense of well-being by increasing my ability to self-regulate my anxiety levels.  Perhaps most notably, Jessica taught me practices to discharge much of my anxiety and reset my arousal level to one that is much more conducive to creativity, humor, kindness, and the enjoyment of life. I am so grateful to Jessica and her Nervous System RESET program for helping me smooth out my jagged internal landscape and make room to invite in peace. I highly recommend Jessica, her work, her expertise, her grasp of the science behind the skills she teaches, and her presence in the world, to anyone of any age wanting to experience higher level wellness and well-being.

    Suze Rutherford Health Educator
  • I honestly cannot imagine my own healing journey or that of my clients’ without Jessica’s work. Her presence as a healer and person is its own force, but then she has brought incredible clarity, brilliance, groundedness, and hope to working with the how our lives are lived in the body, whether it’s the trauma we are carrying, the ways we limit ourselves, or access to our own healing processes.   By emphasizing safety and self-regulation, she has created a system that empowers.  What I notice most as a practitioner in my clients who work with Jessica is much greater self-regulation while doing work in session, and the ability to stay regulated out of session.  This means many things -- not the least of which is a decreased need for me to work to regulate us both -- but especially the possibility of creating more space for deep process and lasting healing.  I cannot recommend her more highly, and I refer almost all of my clients to her work.

    Erin Moline, MA, LPC
  • I came to Jessica suffering the effects of a traumatic brain injury. Before RESET, my management strategies often led me to be overworked, undernourished and exhausted from trying to outrun the anxiety and discomfort I felt. The reality was, I was achieving success externally at the high cost of my internal wellbeing.  Working with Jessica, understanding my body, recognizing different states and how they affect me and finally learning to manage my experiences and responses by making peace with their reality and diffusing/disrupting the cycle I had imagined was my base state, has been life changing. The difference in knowing I can truly find peace within my body as opposed to the decades of trying to manage my ever changing environmental stressors has given me a awareness of personal confidence, resiliency and peace than I have ever known. I am happier, healthier and more in control of my internal experiences and external responses.

    Kate Blazer MSW, Clinical Social Worker at Alternative School
  • I must share my profound and life changing experience of the Nervous System Reset program which is so simple yet so powerful on so many levels!!!! To name some of shifts I have seen: I am more in tune with my nervous system. I am more aware of what triggers me. I know how to practice simple tools and awareness in the moment to down regulate my nervous system. My stress levels are staying at a healthier and more balanced state. My body feels like it is running more optimally. I have more space to enjoy and appreciate all of of life. My recommendation to each and every person is to schedule with Jessica for her 6- session program.   It is the best gift you could give yourself or anyone you love.

    Laura Houston

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Nervous System RESET should not be used as a substitute for trauma recovery procedures of a medical or psychological nature. Individuals who have physical or psychological/psychiatric conditions that require strict regulation, individuals with fragile psychological defenses, a complex history of trauma or restricting physical or medical limitations should consult their medical practitioner.  Nervous System RESET has not been evaluated by the US Food & Drug Administration or the American Medical Association.  This technique is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.  Medical advice must only be obtained from a physician or qualified health practitioner.  Results may vary between individuals.  There are no guarantees, expressed, or implied.

The information on this site is not intended as psychotherapy nor is it intended or implied to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment.  Nervous System RESET has not been evaluated by the US Food & Drug Administration or the American Medical Association.  This technique is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.  Medical advice must only be obtained from a physician or qualified health practitioner.  Results may vary between individuals.  There are no guarantees, expressed, or implied.