The Neuroscience of Trauma

I am deeply influenced by leaders in trauma research and practice, including Bessel van der Kolk, Richard Schwartz, Janina Fisher, and Gabor Maté, while remaining committed to developing my own grounded, ethical framework.

Science matters.
So does humanity.

I hold both.

  • For over two decades, Alison has worked alongside individuals and families navigating trauma, loss, injustice, and profound life transitions.

    Across clinical practice, investigative work, and consultation, she noticed the same pattern again and again:

    People heal when they feel safe enough to understand their story, regulate their nervous system, reclaim their voice, and build a meaningful future.

    This observation became the foundation of the 4R Method™.

    Root. Regulate. Reclaim. Rise.

    It is not a technique.
    It is a way of walking with people through change.

  • Formulated after decades of working with generational patterns of trauma, addiction, and poverty, the 4R method simplifies the process needed to resolve the past and rise into the future. This isn’t talk therapy. It is a proven method for rewiring your brain and becoming the person you want to be.

    Root
    Understand your story

    Regulate
    Create safety in your body

    Reclaim
    Reconnect with your power

    Rise
    Live with purpose

  • Clients often describe this work as:

    • Grounded

    • Direct

    • Compassionate

    • Clear

    • Deep but steady

    We believe in shared responsibility within the therapeutic relationship, and we move at a pace that respects both growth and safety.

    This is not quick-fix work. It isn’t easy.
    It is meaningful, intentional, lasting change.

    When we work together, you can expect:

    ✔️ A collaborative relationship
    ✔️ Clear boundaries and ethical care
    ✔️ Respect for your lived experience
    ✔️ Practical tools and insight
    ✔️ Space for complexity
    ✔️ No judgment, no shortcuts

    You will never be reduced to a diagnosis.

    You will be treated as a whole person.

  • This rehabilitative therapy is designed for people seeking thoughtful, depth-oriented work. We offer a welcoming and inclusive space, but our approach may not be the best fit for everyone.

    This may not be the right fit if you are:

    • Looking for quick solutions or short-term advice only

    • Seeking crisis stabilization or immediate emergency support

    • Primarily needing medication management without therapy

    • Looking for a therapist who will take a highly directive or authoritarian role

    • Wanting a purely skills-based or worksheet-focused approach without deeper exploration

    • Unwilling to engage in reflective or collaborative work

    If you are in immediate danger or experiencing a mental health emergency, please call 911 or contact a local crisis service.

    Our goal is always to help you find the support that best meets your needs - even if that support is not with us.

Get Started

You don’t have to carry it alone or fear being misunderstood.

When you’re ready, I’m here to listen.

Schedule a 20-Minute Consultation
Reach out to start the conversation

Meet Alison Hundt Russell

Founder of Root & Resolve | Creator of the 4R Method™

You don’t have to explain your survival here.
When I didn’t have the words as a child, I communicated through rhythm and rhyme. It was a strategy that I stopped using when I stopped surviving. This is me, reclaiming that part of me again. This is me.

I didn’t come to this work from a textbook.
I came through it.

I have been the kid
who learned too early
how unsafe the world can feel
empty fridge, cold house,
nervous system trained
to scan what wasn’t real.

I was the overachiever,
the first-gen climb,
the one who worked twice as hard
just to buy back time.

I’ve sat in courtrooms.
Classrooms.
Crisis rooms behind bars.
I’ve grieved the ones we lost
And fought hard for the ones still ours.

I’ve listened to stories
most people turn away from.
I’ve learned how pain lives
in the body,
in the silence,
in the spaces words don’t come.

So when you sit across from me,
you won’t have to over-explain.
I know what survival looks like
in the body
in the story
in the pain.

Here, you don’t have to perform.
You don’t have to shrink.
You don’t have to hold it all alone
While you’re standing on the brink.

We slow it down.
We make meaning.
We help your nervous system hear:

You made it this far.
You are not broken.
And you don’t have to stay stuck here.

I’m Alison.
Still human.
Still listening.
Still here.

When I am not working, I am grounded by my partner and young children, Noa and Micha, every day. And every morning, I watch our adopted companion animals play in the forest, including two dogs, two cats, countless squirrels, a school of Cardinals, a pair of annually-returning Nuthatches, Blue Jays, Mourning Doves, and Carolina Wrens, as well as their offspring who return year after year. And if I take the time to sit and stare, I can usually spot our resident dilapidated woodpecker seeking insects in the trees. I love tending to the roots of dying plants and creating new roots through propagation and seed collection and gardening. I’m happiest with dirt under my fingernails and my toes nestled in the earth.

I am grounded when I am creating or experiencing something new. Or when my children create and experience something new - like this stack of rocks in the photograph, built and then captured by my toddler. It is with their help, and a lifelong practice of mindfulness and compassion, that I am constantly reminded that balance doesn’t mean perfection. Symmetry sometimes needs a bit of creativity. And healing is found in acceptance and repair.

Outside The Therapy Room