David Emerson, YACEP, TCTSY-F, is the Director of Research and Public Policy, Center for Trauma and Embodiment.
In 2001, David originated Trauma-Sensitive Yoga (TCTSY) as an innovative model of care within the Western medical and mental health fields. In 2002, he co-founded what would become Trauma Center Trauma-Sensitive Yoga, the original and most widely researched model of trauma-sensitive yoga in clinical practice.
In 2018, David, together with Jennifer Turner, established the Center for Trauma and Embodiment (CFTE), which continues to expand the field of embodied mental health interventions through programs such as TCTSY, Trauma-Informed Weight Lifting (TIWL), and ReScripted, a theater-based intervention for youth impacted by psychological trauma.
An expert in embodied approaches to trauma recovery, David Emerson has been training clinicians and organizations internationally since 2006. He is the author or co-author of numerous peer-reviewed papers on yoga and trauma, the co-author of Overcoming Trauma through Yoga, and the author of Trauma-Sensitive Yoga in Therapy: Bringing the Body into Treatment. His work continues to shape the integration of somatic practices within trauma treatment and inform the global dialogue on body-based healing.