NeuroAffective Touch^® Team

Dr. Aline LaPierre is the coauthor of Healing Developmental Trauma: How Early Trauma Affects Self-Regulation, Self-Image, and the Capacity for Relationship. She is the creator of NeuroAffective Touch^® and Director of the NeuroAffective Touch Institute.

Dr. LaPierre has been actively involved in the field of somatic psychology and body psychotherapy for over 35 years. She specializes in the integration of body-based approaches with relational psychodynamic psychotherapy and energy approaches. She is passionate about exploring how body and mind work together and reflect one another.

Dr. LaPierre is currently President of the United States Association of Body Psychotherapy (USABP) and Editor-in-Chief of the International Body Psychotherapy Journal (IBPJ).

For more information, please visit her Aline LaPierre extended bio page.

In addition to being our Executive Director, Victor Osaka can also be found behind the camera as videographer, producer, and editor of the Institute’s training materials and promotional videos.

Victor was first introduced to alternative healing as a child by his grandmother, a Kahuna healer in Hawaii. His mother, a practicing Buddhist, raised him with the principles of that spiritual path. Being naturally intuitive, Victor has always been called to the healing arts and has explored many modalities, including Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), craniosacral therapy, and shiatsu. He is certified in Postural Integration^® and is an accomplished martial artist. When he finds the time, he relaxes by playing his ukulele.

With Aline and Laura, Victor is cofounder of Nurture to Heal™. He uses his degree from FIDM Los Angeles and his experience in apparel design to play a significant role in the design and manufacturing of the Nurture to Heal™ Therapeutic Pillows.

A graduate of the Pierce College Addictions Studies Program, Somatic Experiencing^® Practitioner, and bodyworker, Laura has worked in stress, pain management, and self-regulation for over 25 years. She is trained in many bodywork styles, starting with her first loves, Esalen Massage^®, craniosacral therapy, and Ortho-Bionomy^®.

Laura uses Somatic Experiencing^®, bodywork, and NeuroAffective Touch^® to treat attachment and developmental trauma. Her study of Bodynamics, The NeuroAffective Relational Model (NARM), and Kathy Kain's Touch Training for Therapists and Resilient Child series have deepened her understanding of developmental trauma.

Laura believes life is a course of study and the body it's textbook. In her work with clients, she finds that the road leads back to one's unique blueprint. Utilizing her somatic menu of interventions, Laura provides missing connections that support emotional, physical, and psychological stability and healing.

Laura maintains a private practice in Los Angeles, where she supports clients in the exploration of somatic awareness and helps them experience the body as home.

Sue Bell OBE has over 30 years’ experience working therapeutically with children, young people, adults, and families. Her professional journey began in the performing arts, drama therapy, and psychology, where she developed a deep commitment to helping young people find safe, embodied ways to express themselves. Even during her early teaching career, she was consistently drawn to those at risk of exclusion, many of whom found refuge, belonging, and voice within her drama studio.

Sue later trained as a Psychodynamic Counsellor and Integrative Arts Child and Adolescent Psychotherapist, specialising in work with children and young people who have experienced abuse, neglect, and early relational trauma. Many of those she worked with were not living with their biological parents and presented with complex patterns, including disordered eating, self-harm, substance use, abusive relationships, educational exclusion, and social isolation.

In 2007, Sue founded Kids Inspire, a UK children’s mental health and trauma-recovery charity. From its inception, she embedded a family-inclusive therapeutic model, ensuring that parents and carers received parallel therapeutic support alongside the child. This relational approach was designed to foster safety, repair attachment ruptures, and support sustainable, long-term outcomes across the whole system.

Sue has undertaken extensive training in NeuroAffective Touch, Somatic Experiencing, NARM, Integral Somatic Psychology, Internal Family Systems (IFS), EMDR, Dyadic Developmental Psychotherapy, Creative Arts Trauma Therapy, and related body-based and relational modalities. Central to her clinical philosophy is the belief that developmental trauma cannot be fully healed without attuned, relational touch. Her work focuses on restoring the connection between mind and body, meeting younger developmental parts with compassion, and supporting nervous systems to experience safety through co-regulation and relational presence.

Her clinical practice spans the lifespan (ages 4–84) and includes working directly with children, adults, and parents/carers. She also supports families and caregivers to understand and apply NeuroAffective Touch principles within everyday relational contexts, strengthening attachment, regulation, and felt safety beyond the therapy room.

Sue is an experienced trainer, supervisor, and mentor, and is deeply committed to supporting practitioners to develop confidence, clarity, and ethical sensitivity in relational and touch-based work. She has been actively involved in assisting and teaching across NeuroAffective Touch trainings since 2020, a role that feels like a natural extension of her clinical, developmental, and teaching roots.

In recognition of her contribution to children’s mental health, charity, and education, Sue was awarded an OBE in 2021, and in 2025, she was invited to be a Deputy Lieutenant of Essex, recognised for her public service and work with children and families.

Michelle brings over 20 years of experience in enrollment management, student engagement, and holistic education to her role at the NeuroAffective Touch® Institute. With a master’s degree in school counseling and a deep passion for personal development, she gently guides prospective students through the admissions process and supports them throughout their training journey.

Michelle’s work is rooted in empathy, connection, and the belief that true healing happens when mind, body, and spirit align. She draws inspiration from a variety of somatic practices and is dedicated to creating a welcoming and supportive space for all who feel called to this work. Outside of the institute, Michelle continues to explore her own path of growth, weaving together spiritual inquiry, somatic wisdom, and a love of lifelong learning.

Jenn Campolo joined the NeuroAffective Touch Institute in 2023 to support the Institute’s digital communications.

She has served as a copywriter and editor in the wellness and personal growth fields for nearly a decade and has additional experience in print journalism and book editing.

Jenn was first introduced to body-mind integration techniques as a young child by her father, a biofeedback pioneer who led her through body scans to help her get ready for bedtime. Since learning to meditate in her teen years, she has been an avid explorer of psycho-spiritual work and the healing arts.

She holds a BA in English from Yale and an MFA in Creative Nonfiction from the Pacific University of Oregon, where she wrote her master’s thesis on caregiving, loss, and renewal. Outside of her professional work, she enjoys swimming, reading, and spending time with her friends, her cat, and her husband.