Brazelton Institute Trainings

 

Please click here to register for any of our upcoming trainings

 

Unless noted, trainings are offered virtually on Zoom.

 

Questions? Email us at institute@childrens.harvard.edu  

 

2025 Schedule (please note: all times are US Eastern Time):

 

NBO – Level 1:

  • March 18-20; 9am-2pm
  • April 3, 7 and 17; 10am-3pm
  • May 13, 14 and 28; 12pm-5pm
  • June 3-5; 8am-1pm
  • September 18-19; 9am-5pm – In Person
  • November 17-19; 9am-2pm

 

NBO-High Risk – Level 1:

  • February 6, 13 and 20; 9am-2pm
  • October 9 and 16; 9am-5pm

 

NBO offered in French (includes Level 1 + Level 2): 

  • March 6, 13 and 20; 8am-1pm
  • September 8, 22 and 29; 8am-1pm

 

NBO offered in Spanish (includes Level 1 + Level 2):

  • March 25-27; 12-5pm
  • November 12-14; 12-5pm

 

NBO Advanced Workshop for Families Living with SUD:

  • April 10; 1-5pm
  • October 23; 1-5pm

 

NBO - Level 2 Certification Course start dates:

  • Thursday, February 27; 4-5pm
  • Thursday, April 1; 12-1pm
  • Wednesday, June 11; 4-5pm
  • Thursday, September 25; 12-1pm
  • Wednesday, October 29; 4-5pm
  • Tuesday, December 2; 12-1pm

 

NBO - Level 2 Refresher Course start dates:

  • Thursday, April 3; 9am-3pm
  • Wednesday, October 15; 9am-3pm

 

NBO - Level 3 Advanced Mentoring for NBO-certified Practitioners start date:

  • Wednesday, September 3; 10am-12pm

 

NBAS - Introduction to the Neonatal Behavioral Assessment Scale:

  • March 17; 9am-5pm
  • November 6; 9am-5pm

 

NBAS - Advanced Training in the Neonatal Behavioral Assessment Scale:

  • March 17-18; 9am-5pm
  • November 6-7; 9am-5pm

 

NBAS Training to Reliability:

Please contact Yvette Blanchard at yvette.blanchard@childrens.harvard.edu to discuss your training to reliability.

 

Training Descriptions:

 

NBO Training Program

The NBO training program provides participants with the theoretical foundations and practical skills necessary to enable them to use the NBO system in their clinical practice. Training is open to all professionals who have the opportunity to work with very young infants and their families in both low-risk and high-risk setting.

 

New for 2025, NBO training is offered in a two-tier manner to better meet the varied needs of participants.

 

Level 1 NBO Training

The Level 1 NBO course provides an in-depth introduction to the NBO, covering foundational theory including neurobehavioral development, the transition to parenthood and early parent-infant relationship development. After Level 1 training, participants can begin to incorporate the principles and items of the NBO into their work with families with newborn and young infants. Many participants also report applying the same principles to their engagement with older infants and children. Participants will also learn how to administer the NBO to make observations of newborn behavior and identify newborn behavioral patterns, interpret these observations from a developmental point-of-view, and communicate this information to parents as a form of support and guidance in a way that is individualized, non-judgmental, non-prescriptive, and culturally sensitive.  Level 1 NBO Training is team taught by two faculty with an emphasis on interactive exchange and hands-on practice.

 

Which Level 1 training is right for you: Standard or High-Risk?

 

  • Standard Level 1 NBO trainings are typically team taught by  faculty from a variety of backgrounds to allow for focus on both an understanding of newborn behavior and on the relationship-building aspects of the NBO.

 

  • Level 1 NBO trainings for high-risk infants share the same basic curriculum, theoretical content, and certification process as standard NBO trainings. The faculty for the NBO training for high-risk infants are both pediatric physical therapists with particular expertise in high risk infants in EI and NICU settings. These trainings are therefore especially suited to professionals working specifically with high-risk infants.

 

 

Level 2 NBO Training – Certification Course

After completing Level 1 NBO Training, participants are encouraged to continue learning by pursuing certification in the NBO. NBO Certification focuses on the practical applications of NBO principles and administration learned in Level 1 Training. This course provides a step-by-step scaffolded experience with a group mentor to support certification in the NBO. Participants are expected to practice the items of the NBO (time required varies based on experience). Documentation of 5 NBOs are submitted over the span of the 6-month course. After completing Level 2 NBO Training, participants will have gained significant experience in administering all items of the NBO, preparing them to use the NBO as a stand-alone relationship-building intervention and/or incorporate it into their professional work with newborn families in an informed manner. Participants will learn the interplay of decision-making based on the infant’s state and tolerance for stimulation and the parent/caregiver’s responses within the encounter.

 

Level 2 NBO Training - Refresher Course:

The one-day NBO Refresher course is designed for those who have completed the Level 1 NBO training and want to refresh or update their knowledge. You may or may not have certified and would like to revisit the NBO elements to help you with certification or your NBO practice.

 

Note: Certification is required to apply the NBO in any research setting.

 

Level 3 Advanced Mentoring for NBO-certified Practitioners:

This course aims to deepen the NBO-certified practitioner's understanding and application of the NBO principles in their clinical practice. These 4 monthly interactive 2-hr sessions require active practice of the NBO before and during the monthly sessions. 

 

Using the NBO with Families in Substance Use Recovery

This 4-hour workshop aims to deepen your understanding of infants who have experienced prenatal substance exposure and postnatal withdrawal (NAS/NOWS) and enhance your relationship-based care skills with their parents living with Substance Use Disorder (SUD).

 

 

Private NBO Training

If you are interested in private in-person or virtual NBO training for your group, please contact: institute@childrens.harvard.edu

 

NBO Open Mentoring

Open mentoring sessions are available at no cost for anyone who has attended a Brazelton Institute NBO or NBAS training.

Whether you have done a few, many or no NBO or NBAS sessions yet, you are welcome to join us! Ask questions, get inspired, and connect with colleagues.

We will be hosting mentoring sessions on Zoom. Please click links below mentoring sessions to register.

 

NBO Open Mentoring in English:

 

FIRST Monday of every month 4pm-5pm EST:

https://bostonchildrens.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJIvdO2rqT8tG9UuS86s4trKFB_rQPaC9dX6

 

SECOND Tuesday of every month 8am-9am EST:

https://bostonchildrens.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJMsf-2gqDMpGNA6YdYAKP8sDYZtBKK6STO4

 

THIRD Wednesday of every month 4pm-5pm EST:

https://bostonchildrens.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJcrc-ypqz4vH9UUWucais9beCnKHNJ2plca 

 

FOURTH Thursday of every month 4pm-5pm EST:

https://bostonchildrens.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJwqcOqrrD0tE9Sv0wvBChIeas2RHd7D333z

 

SECOND Thursday of every month 8am-9am EST:

https://bostonchildrens.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJEpfuGurjspHtORXj71G0XBBhTPumgU3BkY#/registration

 

NBO Open Mentoring in Spanish:

 

THIRD Wednesday of every month 3pm-4pm EST:

https://bostonchildrens.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJYvce2hqjMuHdLF_iDR8PSXAHX0p8ziml4J

 

NBO Open Mentoring in French:

 

SECOND Tuesday of every month 8am-9am EST:

https://bostonchildrens.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJ0tc-muqTIuHNe1NjpXKULa6GnTed20H1v1

 

NBAS Open Mentoring in English:

 

SECOND Wednesday of every month 9am-10am EST:

https://bostonchildrens.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJErfu6uqjkqG9KfDn8wqAVxDCAWgrzQU1de

baby sucks on fist while gazing at caregiver.

Neonatal Behavioral Assessment Scale (NBAS) Training Program
 

 

The Brazelton Institute was founded in 1995 at Boston Children's Hospital, where both the NBAS and NBO originated. The NBAS training program is designed for researchers as well as for practitioners and pediatric professionals in training who would like a thorough foundation in early infant development and behavior. In the United States, NBAS training is offered at the Brazelton Institute, where Professor Yvette Blanchard is the lead trainer.

All NBAS training is being offered online.

 

NBAS training is offered in a three-tier manner:
 

 

  • An Introduction to Neonatal Neurobehavior and the Neonatal Behavioral Assessment Scale (NBAS): In this one-day course, participants are introduced to the history, conceptual framework, and the content of the NBAS, with an overview on neurobehavioral functioning of the young infant and the NBAS as a tool to capture this functioning in the first two months of life. Participants will view a recorded NBAS with a healthy infant, score the NBAS, and discuss their findings to determine the neurobehavioral profile of the infant. This course is ideally suited for clinicians of all disciplines who wish to gain a deeper understanding of neurobehavior. It is also highly recommended for practitioners trained in the NBO who would like to further hone their understanding of neurobehavioral functioning.

 

  • Advanced Training in the Assessment of Neurobehavioral Functioning in Infants: This two-day course starts with the one-day Introduction to the NBAS described above, and it continues with a second day to refine NBAS administration and scoring skills. Neurobehavioral observations will be expanded to better capture the challenges seen in infants with varying degrees of regulation and dysregulation. Advanced concepts of best performance and examiner facilitation will be discussed and demonstrated through the observation and scoring of two recorded NBAS sessions. This course provides advanced understanding of the relationship between the examiner and the infant during the administration of the NBAS. This course is well suited for clinicians who wish to utilize the NBAS for assessment purposes in the clinical setting, as well as for practitioners trained in the NBO who would like advanced understanding of neurobehavioral functioning and examiner facilitation.

 

NBAS Training to Reliability: A third option is offered for those individuals wishing to train on the NBAS to reliability for either clinical or research purposes. Following the two-day workshop, trainees meet with their trainer for up to three two-hour meetings for coaching in administration and scoring skills. Most trainees require practice with about 20 infants to be prepared for certification. Trainees must submit a recording of themselves administering an NBAS, along with a completed scoring form which is reviewed by their trainer.

 

Please contact Yvette Blanchard at yvette.blanchard@childrens.harvard.edu if you are interested in NBAS training to reliability.

 

Tuition (per person)

  • Level One NBO Training: $650 (includes handbook and kit)

 

  • Level Two NBO Training (Certification): $100

 

  • Level Two NBO Training (Refresher): $175

 

  • Level 3 Advanced Mentoring for NBO-certified Practitioners: $275 (Please note: Proof of NBO certification is required for this course)

 

  • NBO Training in Spanish or French (Level One + Level Two): $650 (includes kit, not handbook)

 

  • Workshop on Using the NBO with Families in Substance Use Recovery: $85 (Please note: Prior Level 1 NBO Training participation is required for this workshop)

 

  • Introduction to the NBAS: $295 (Includes manual and kit)

 

  • Advanced Training in the NBAS: $495 (Includes manual and kit)

 

  • NBAS Training to Reliability: $1,600 (includes up to one additional recording submission if reliability is not achieved on the first submission). There is an additional fee of $300 per submission if reliability is not achieved after two attempts.

 

REDUCED tuition is available for *full time students, practitioners in low and middle income (LMIC) countries and tribal participants. In order to qualify for the LMIC registration rate, your country of residence must appear on the official World Bank list. If you think you may qualify, please contact us at institute@childrens.harvard.edu

  

*To be eligible for the student rate you must be a current student enrolled in full-time study. Please be prepared to present evidence of your current enrollment status when you register.