The Supporting Transformation and Resilience (STAR) program is a groundbreaking doctoral project in the field of occupational therapy designed to enhance the resilience, quality of life, and overall well-being of adult survivors of childhood trauma who are raising a child with a disability. Childhood trauma can profoundly impact an individual's life, and caring for a child with a disability can introduce additional challenges, making it essential to develop a comprehensive support program tailored to this specific population. STAR uses a mixed-method experimental design with a waitlist control group. The STAR program leverages a hybrid approach, combining psychoeducational and experiential components underpinned by a peer mentor model. The in-person sessions are proposed to be held at the YMCA, spanning a 12-week period with weekly in-person gatherings. Furthermore, participants will engage in a once-weekly asynchronous email support group and have access to online modules available around the clock. The waitlist control group will be granted access to the online modules, offering a basis for comparison with the participants actively engaging in the in-person and online aspects of the program. The aim of the STAR program is not only to gather critical data but also to offer support and resources for survivors of childhood trauma, creating a holistic approach that addresses their unique needs and circumstances. The STAR program holds the potential to shed light on the impact of a novel occupational therapy health promotion initiative on the resilience, quality of life, and overall well-being of its participants. This project anticipates significantly contributing to the occupational therapy and trauma fields. It has the potential to enhance the lives of those who face the challenges of both childhood trauma and caring for a child with a disability.

Through perspectives from neuroscience, transpersonal psychology, and transcendentalist philosophy, the art of yoga is proposed as a supporting modality for healing through complex trauma. Personal narrative and original paintings further speak to a process of coming back Home. Where trauma strips one of self, yoga breeds connection back to Self. Yoga is union of individual consciousness with universal consciousness. Yogic philosophy invites one into a space of grey, somewhere between object and subject, physical and spiritual, tangible and ineffable. It is there one comes to find healing by sitting back as a pure observer. In the journey of trauma uncovery, one comes to meet an embodied sense of safety that prevails across levels of body, mind, and soul. The stars begin to shine once again in the universe held within.