Have you ever tried to calm yourself down during a panic attack - only to find that the very tools you’ve been taught suddenly don’t work? That was the turning point for Caitlin Rose, a performance neuroscience coach and founder of Build Resilience. Her own struggle with trauma and anxiety led her to uncover a hidden truth: it’s not just about regulation, it’s about capacity.

In this episode of The Practice of Therapy Podcast, Caitlin shares how understanding the difference between nervous system regulation and capacity can transform the way therapists support clients - and the way we heal ourselves.

In this episode, we talk about:

• The crucial difference between nervous system regulation and capacity—and why tools don’t always work when we need them most
• Practical ways to expand the window of tolerance through vagal tone, CO₂ tolerance, and vascular flexibility
• How building nervous system capacity acts as a scaffolding for other modalities like EMDR, brainspotting, and somatic experiencing

Resources Mentioned In This Episode 

Use the promo code “GORDON” to get 2 months of Therapy Notes free

Consulting with Gordon

The PsychCraft Network

Meet Caitlin Rose

Caitlin Rose is a trauma consultant and educator dedicated to helping therapists bridge the gap between somatic theory and practical application. With a deep understanding that trauma lives in the body, Caitlin teaches clinicians how to move beyond mechanistic views of regulation into a dynamic of Nervous System Collaboration. Her work focuses on leveling the playing field for trauma survivors, who often live in states of chronic constriction and collapse, by equipping practitioners with tools to support nervous system capacity alongside trauma processing.

Through her work at Build Resilience, Caitlin guides therapists in creating conditions where clients can experience agency from the start, build trust and safety directly with their nervous systems, and sustain progress between sessions. She is passionate about transforming the therapeutic process into one that is more efficient, compassionate, and deeply human—for both client and clinician.

Caitlin’s approach empowers practitioners who want to push the edges of their skills, offering a missing foundation that makes everything else they do more powerful.

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