Expressive Trauma Integration - Dr. Odelya Gertel Kraybill

Expressive Trauma Integration - Dr. Odelya Gertel Kraybill ETI™ webinars for parents and therapists. Psychotrauma, psychoneuroimmunology, neuroimmune parenting and biohacking dysregulation. Dr. Odelya Gertel Kraybill

Expressive Trauma Integration™ (ETI) is an integrative therapeutic approach that utilizes cutting edge research on Biohacking Dysregulation in PTSD and neuroimmune conditions while addressing all domains of health. ETI integrates recent findings and practices from neuroscience, attachment and developmental psychology, expressive and body oriented therapies, cognitive reframing, behavioral modifica

tion, mindfulness, nutritional psychology, and psychoneuroimmunology.​




Disclaimer
The information on this page is for educational and informational purposes only and is not intended as a substitute for professional therapy, diagnosis, or treatment. Use of this page does not imply or establish any type of professional-patient relationship. The use of this page does not constitute or offer any specific medical or psychological advice whatsoever to anyone, nor is it intended for such use. Providers of this page are not responsible for any misinterpretation of the information provided here or any consequences resulting from its use. Providers take no responsibility for other websites/pages that may link to this page, and such links do not imply any relationship with or endorsement of other websites. Bio

Dr. Odelya Gertel Kraybill PhD, LCPC, is a trauma researcher, psychotherapist, neurodivergent parenting consultant, and PANDAS mom. She has studied trauma and nutritional psychology for over two decades. One of her research interests in the last decade has been wellness and integrative health, especially nutritional psychology in the context of chronic stress and trauma. She advocates for mental health interventions that target root causes (chronic stress, neuroinflammation, neuroimmunity, autoimmunity, brain-gut-axis) and addresses all domains of health (emotional, cognitive, physical, spiritual, and social). She consults individuals and families with the most complex mental health conditions. She helps her clients investigate root causes and tailor short-term and long-term intervention plans. She collaborates with neurologists, psychiatrists, infection disease specialists, paramedical specialists (occupational therapists, physical therapists, nutritionists), neuropsychologists, teachers, and parental advocates to help her clients target all aspects of life toward maximum wellness. She provides one-time, short-term, and long-term consultations, trains clinicians, and runs webinars and support groups for neuroimmune parents nationwide.

When I first wrote about the ETI Secure Attunement Framework, I did not know it would be read by over 250,000 people.Wha...
08/29/2026

When I first wrote about the ETI Secure Attunement Framework, I did not know it would be read by over 250,000 people.
What I did know is that therapists working with developmental trauma needed something more than attachment theory alone. They needed a clinically structured, neuroscience-informed framework that answered the question practitioners were actually asking: how do I provide the attuned relationship my client never had, and how do I build it into a treatment structure that leads somewhere?

The ETI Secure Attunement Framework answers that question.

Three core objectives. Five implementation elements. A mapped process that moves clients from dysregulation to self-regulation, then self-attunement and self-sustainability.

Taught in full in ETI Certificate I, with 21 NBCC CE hours: https://bit.ly/ETICerI


A therapist does not interact with a client's thoughts or behaviors. They interact with an existing right-brain formatio...
08/27/2026

A therapist does not interact with a client's thoughts or behaviors. They interact with an existing right-brain formation, shaped long ago in early childhood, in response to the child's attachment experience with caregivers.
This formation is intuitive, non-verbal, and pre-rational.
Which means that the most effective therapeutic response to developmental trauma is not cognitive. It is relational, somatic, and attuned.
This is the neuroscience at the foundation of the ETI Secure Attunement Framework.

It is taught in full in ETI Certificate I, with 21 NBCC CE: https://bit.ly/ETICerI
Read blog here: https://bit.ly/OGKBlog


A child comes apart in days. Food narrows, rituals appear, sleep breaks. Weeks earlier, a fever nobody wrote down.I have...
08/26/2026

A child comes apart in days. Food narrows, rituals appear, sleep breaks. Weeks earlier, a fever nobody wrote down.
I have been that parent, told I was reading too much into it. Two studies published this year say otherwise. One shows what these children look like. The other shows how strep changes a brain it never enters. Neither offers a cure. Both change where you look for help. My new blog explains how.

Click to read: https://bit.ly/twostudies

Over 250,000 people have read this blog: What is Developmental Trauma?The question it addresses remains one of the most ...
08/25/2026

Over 250,000 people have read this blog: What is Developmental Trauma?
The question it addresses remains one of the most challenging in clinical practice: how do you help a client who has experienced developmental trauma form secure attachment and develop self-regulation?
The answer is not a technique. It is a framework.
Attunement is the verb. Secure Attachment is the result.
I wrote about this in depth. And now, the ETI Secure Attunement Framework is at the core of ETI Certificate I, which offers 21 NBCC CE hours: https://bit.ly/ETICerI
Read blog here: https://bit.ly/OGKBlog


Internal Secondary AlertsWhen trauma is triggered, the body often reacts with symptoms such as a racing heart, dizziness...
08/22/2026

Internal Secondary Alerts

When trauma is triggered, the body often reacts with symptoms such as a racing heart, dizziness, headaches, sweating, nausea, dry mouth, or feeling hot or cold.

Over time, these physical sensations can become linked to the trauma itself. As a result, the sensations are no longer just reactions to a trigger. They become triggers.

A racing heart, nausea, or even shivering in cold weather can activate the same fear, distress, and memories as the original trauma reminder.

This is why trauma therapy addresses not only external triggers, but also the body's internal responses.

ETI Certificate I 21 CEs: https://bit.ly/ETICerI


After a critical incident, accidents, violence, sudden loss, the instinct is to get into therapy as quickly as possible....
08/19/2026

After a critical incident, accidents, violence, sudden loss, the instinct is to get into therapy as quickly as possible.

But therapy is not the first line of response after trauma. Meeting basic survival needs comes first. Then Psychological First Aid. Then psychosocial support. And only after these stages does formal therapy become appropriate.

If caregivers are well-informed about the dos and don'ts of responding to trauma, they can help reduce the consequences for survivors and perhaps mitigate the likelihood of developing PTSD.

I wrote about what needs to happen after trauma before therapy begins, and why getting this sequence right matters enormously.

ETI Certificate I — 21 CEs register here: https://bit.ly/ETICerI


Most people think the first thing to do after trauma is get into therapy.It is not.Therapy should not be the first line ...
08/18/2026

Most people think the first thing to do after trauma is get into therapy.

It is not.

Therapy should not be the first line of response after a critical incident. Before therapy can be appropriate, something else needs to happen: Psychological First Aid.

PFA is a short-term set of support strategies that can be provided by anyone trained in it. It addresses immediate emotional support, psychoeducation about stress and trauma responses, reconnection to resources, and short-term sustainability planning.

Only after these needs are met does therapy become appropriate.

I wrote about when therapy is inappropriate after trauma and what needs to come first.

ETI Certificate I — 21 CEs register here: https://bit.ly/ETICerI


Self-regulation is the ability to manage extreme emotions (positive or negative affect*), sensations, and thoughts. Self...
08/15/2026

Self-regulation is the ability to manage extreme emotions (positive or negative affect*), sensations, and thoughts. Self-regulation is essential to trauma therapy, for virtually all survivors deal with ongoing emotional reactions to things that remind them of the past (triggers and secondary alerts) and with the increased vulnerability to stress that usually follows trauma.

Trauma shocks every system in your body and mind
Trauma disrupts five interconnected systems simultaneously: cognitive (processing thoughts and judgment), emotional (shame, guilt, fear, anger), physical (muscles, metabolism, sleep, immune function), spiritual (meaning-making and worldview), and social (every relationship you hold).

The result? Survivors feel consumed by a constant sense of vulnerability, all inner resources poured into simply coping, leaving little room for living. Some tip into hyperarousal, carrying an invisible volcano inside. Others shift into hypoarousal: numbness and withdrawal. Many cycle between both.

Understanding this is the first step toward changing it. Self-regulation is not about controlling yourself it is about learning to work with your nervous system, not against it.

ETI Certificate I 21 CEs: https://bit.ly/ETICerI


Self Regulation is one of the core foundation of trauma therapy and refers to the ability to maintain control over our r...
08/13/2026

Self Regulation is one of the core foundation of trauma therapy and refers to the ability to maintain control over our reactions (sensorial, emotional, cognitive).

Body Awareness is essential for self-regulation, enabling us to mindfully detect our body reactions and sensations that are associated with triggers (sensory stimuli, alerts, movements, postures, etc.), and reactions that are associated with a sense of expansion.

Through activities like Grounding (bringing awareness simultaneously to what we experience in the body and to connecting to ground/earth) and Embodiment (bringing awareness to the body while also noticing sensations) we can enhance body awareness and promote self regulation.

ETI Certificate I 21 CEs: https://bit.ly/ETICerI


The ISP Complements Any Therapeutic ModalityAn Individualized Sustainability Plan does not replace therapy. It supplemen...
08/12/2026

The ISP Complements Any Therapeutic Modality

An Individualized Sustainability Plan does not replace therapy. It supplements it — providing essential maintenance and stabilization for clients managing the ongoing effects of stress and trauma.

Regardless of the therapeutic modality being used, an ISP provides the foundational structure that makes clinical work sustainable. Without it, progress tends to remain localized to the specific focus of treatment, with no overarching strategy for addressing the client as a whole person.

Learn more about ISP ETI Certificate I 21 CEs: https://bit.ly/ETICerI


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