Relationships Matter

Connection Is Our Superpower: How I Met Dr. Julie Barta

Dr. Bruce Perry teaches us that relationships and connections are our superpower. We’re not the fastest, strongest, or biggest creatures on the planet. We are, as he says, “meat on feet.” But together, in community, we can accomplish incredible things. Dr. Perry’s research through the Neurosequential Network shows that the strongest predictor of our current mental health is the quality of our connection to others. Not our income. Not our job title. Not even how much sleep we get. It’s relationships.

Relationships are why and how I met Dr. Julie Barta, and it’s what led me to collaborate with Nested Center for Development.

The Power of Connection in Action

Julie and I met on a Zoom call one day. She had connected with me through the Neurosequential Network. Like me, she is a school psychologist, and she was looking for like-minded folks to help her continue to grow NestEd's vision.  It was instant connection!

And we have shared in mutual delight with one another ever since.

Our conversations turned into a collaboration, which became a community. At NestEd, we focus on helping families connect in small, easy ways and even the hard, big ways. We focus on relational health. We work across states to help families feel and understand that

Every brain matters. Every family is supported. 

Why It Matters

Our current world works against REAL connection. We are inundated with doom, we can become consumed by technology, and our culture prizes business over connectedness. But as Dr. Perry reminds us in The Boy Who Was Raised as a Dog and What Happened to You? that we heal best and fastest when we are connected with others.

How do we connect?

For me, it happens in the small interactions “out in the wild” like at the grocery store. Or little funny texts to old friends. It happens in the intentional Saturday craft markets with friends, or at the weekend getaway to learn to paint. It does not happen when I’m mindlessly doomscrolling. That, I know for sure.

An Invitation

At NestEd Center for Development, we’re building opportunities for families to connect. We are building our online community, both for clinicians (of all flavors) and families. Join us!

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