The Nervous System Check-In is a trauma-informed practitioner prompt guide designed to support emotional safety, regulation, and readiness for learning within Family-Centered Coaching sessions. Because conversations about income changes, benefits, and life transitions can activate stress responses, this tool helps normalize emotional awareness and reduce shame by inviting participants to notice their internal state before moving into problem-solving. Through gentle questions about breath, body sensations, emotional awareness, safety, energy, and capacity, coaches can better understand where a participant is within their window of tolerance and adjust pacing accordingly.
How to Use This Tool: Use these prompts at the beginning of a session to help a participant settle into the space, or pause mid-session if energy shifts or emotional load increases. Select one or two questions from categories such as Breath & Body Awareness, Emotional Awareness, Safety & Grounding, Energy & Capacity, or Readiness for Engagement. Maintain a calm tone and follow the participant’s cues, allowing their responses to guide pacing and depth. Close by asking what they need to feel supported moving forward or what feeling they would like to carry with them. This tool can be used flexibly—at opening, during transitions, or as a reset—to ensure conversations remain regulated, participant-led, and emotionally safe.
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BCC-Nervous-System-CheckInThe Prosperity Agenda provides these resources as the designated national administrator of Family-Centered Coaching.