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Most of us are stressed most of the time. A stress disorder is defined by something else: what has happened to your...
Trauma-Informed Psychological Care
Your Path To Healing Begins Here
Trauma-informed therapy and psychological evaluation for children, teens, adults, and families in Townsend, Delaware. A community where you are understood first, and cared for from there.
Our walking pathOne practice, three paths
Choose Your Path
Clinical care, professional education, and writing, each with its own focus and its own door.
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Therapy and Evaluation
For children, teens, adults, and families.
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Training for Clinicians
Continuing education, supervision, and consultation.
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Writing
Essays and books on psychology and being human.
Our Mission
A community of healing, held to the highest standard of care.
We balance treatment shaped to each person with the most current research and training.
That community has grown into training the clinicians who carry the standard forward, and into writing that asks readers to think critically about what they are told about mind, body, spirit, and our connection to nature.
Areas of Focus
Specialized Support for the Whole Person
Trauma & PTSD
Attuned, nervous-system-aware care for trauma and its lasting effects.
Assessment & Diagnosis
ADHD, autism, and diagnostic clarification for children, teens, and adults.
Children, Teens & Adults
Developmentally informed support across the lifespan and for families.
Anxiety, Mood & Life Change
Evidence-based care for anxiety, depression, grief, and transitions.
Meet the Practice
Led by an experienced, licensed clinical psychologist
“My approach to care begins with the understanding that each person is unique. Treatment should be thoughtful, responsive, and grounded in both clinical depth and the needs of the individual.”
Niki Serravalle, PsyD, LPCMH, NCC
Our Team
Our administrative team
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Dr. Niki Serravalle
PsyD, LPCMH, NCC
Owner and Clinical Director
Read bio Dr. Niki Serravalle -
Jada Senter
Practice Manager
Email Jada Jada Senter -
Kim Shiflett
Assessment Team Lead
Email Kim Kim Shiflett
Our clinical team
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Amanda Foxwell
LPCMH, NCC
Therapist
Read bio Amanda Foxwell -
Brianna Patton
LACMH, NCC
Therapist
Read bio Brianna Patton -
Brittany Heitmann
LPCMH, NCC
Therapist
Read bio Brittany Heitmann -
Kirsten Lowe
LACMH, NCC
Therapist
Read bio Kirsten Lowe -
Michael Szczechowski
Doctoral Psychology Assistant
See everyone
In the Community
Community Reflections Magazine
Provider evenings on our property, chamber dinners, a holiday door contest, and a crab feast. One issue a year, about the people we work beside and the places we show up.
Our meditation pathOur philosophy of care
Healing happens in relationship. We pair evidence-based care with warmth, attunement, and a holistic approach to mind, body, and spirit.
Serving the MOT Area and Delaware
Center for Balanced Living provides trauma-informed therapy and psychological evaluation to Middletown, Townsend, Odessa, and the greater MOT area, with clients across New Castle County and Delaware including Wilmington, Newark, and Dover.
From the Blog
Make It Make Sense
Grounded, research-informed writing on therapy, evaluation, and the cultural moment.
Time Blindness Is Real, and It Is Not About Being Late
Why every planner you have bought is still in a drawer ADHD readers, or anyone whose attention is already drifting: the condensed...
Why One Clinician Says ADHD and the Next One Says No
You cannot buy a diagnosis. You can absolutely buy a document. The difference shows up the first time it meets a school...
What the Doctor
Is Reading
Not a book club. I have already read these. Each subject gets a shelf and each week gets one book: what it gets right, what to hold loosely, and whether it belongs on your shelf.
Traumaacross the modalities
Mindsetacceptance and growth
Psychological Testing
Film on Sunday, September 27
Trauma and Recovery
Judith Herman, 1992
Why read it
Herman called stage one safety and stabilization. We have newer language for it now, but the clinical problem she identified has not changed. Stage one is not teaching coping skills so that we can get to the work. It is the work. Most stuck cases are stage one problems being treated as stage two.
Worth knowing
Many clients with complex histories can begin processing sooner than a strict phase model suggests (de Jongh et al., 2016).
Best for
Clinicians early in trauma work, and anyone whose cases keep stalling once processing begins.
Where its central claim sits
Established
Emerging
Theoretical
Clinical wisdom
Film on Sunday, October 4
The Body Keeps the Score
Bessel van der Kolk, 2014
Why read it
It moved trauma beyond the idea that suffering lives only in thoughts and memories, and it made the body impossible to ignore. Still worth reading. Also worth arguing with.
Worth knowing
The body carries patterns rather than stored files, and those patterns look different in every client. The book draws on polyvagal theory, which research is still testing (Grossman, 2023).
Best for
Clinicians who need the body in the case conceptualization. Read it alongside a critique.
Where its central claim sits
Established
Emerging
Theoretical
Clinical wisdom
Film on Sunday, October 11
Healing the Fragmented Selves of Trauma Survivors
Janina Fisher, 2017
Why read it
Internal contradiction is not necessarily resistance. Fisher gives clinicians a way to work with the client who wants treatment and dreads every session, without turning that into pathology or noncompliance. We stop trying to make one part win.
Worth knowing
Parts language is a useful clinical map. Research on the structure beneath it is still developing.
Best for
Clinicians whose clients seem to get in the way of their own treatment.
Where its central claim sits
Established
Emerging
Theoretical
Clinical wisdom
Film on Sunday, October 18
Complex PTSD: From Surviving to Thriving
Pete Walker, 2013
Why read it
Some histories have no single event in the timeline. Walker gave us language for emotional flashbacks without a visual narrative: a client suddenly feels very young, ashamed, trapped or defective, and does not know why.
Worth knowing
Not every difficult childhood is a trauma diagnosis. Complex PTSD is recognized in ICD-11, and the fawn response is a newer idea that research is still catching up to.
Best for
Clinicians working with adults whose history is a developmental environment rather than an event. Readable for many clients as well.
Where its central claim sits
Established
Emerging
Theoretical
Clinical wisdom
Film on Sunday, October 25
Radical Acceptance
Tara Brach, 2003
Why read it
Not a manual and not a modality. A way of meeting what is here without judgment, which is harder than it sounds and more useful in the room than most techniques. Read it, then practice it.
Worth knowing
It is a practice book rather than a treatment protocol, and its ideas share roots with acceptance-based therapies such as ACT and DBT.
Best for
Clinicians building their own capacity to stay present with what they cannot fix.
Where its central claim sits
Established
Emerging
Theoretical
Clinical wisdom
Film on Sunday, November 1
Mindset
Carol S. Dweck, 2006
Why read it
Not a treatment model. A way of thinking: the shift from a fixed to a growth mindset, and what changes when you apply it to business, sports, health care and relationships.
Worth knowing
Growth mindset research shows real but modest effects, strongest for students who are struggling (Sisk et al., 2018; Yeager et al., 2019).
Best for
Supervisors, educators, and clinicians who coach or teach.
Where its central claim sits
Established
Emerging
Theoretical
Clinical wisdom
Every book is sorted by where its central claim sits: established, emerging, theoretical, or clinical wisdom. Clinical wisdom is not a dismissal. It is often right and simply has not been tested yet.
Letters From the Practice
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Questions, Answered
Frequently Asked Questions
Practical answers about scheduling, insurance, evaluations, and finding the right fit.
Call us at (302) 608-3780 or use our contact form. We typically respond within 24-48 hours to find a time that works.
We are in network with Aetna, Highmark Blue Cross Blue Shield of Delaware, Highmark Health Options, and Medicare. We can also review out-of-network benefits and self-pay options with you before anything is scheduled.
Evaluations begin with careful listening and history, followed by standardized assessment and a clear written summary with recommendations and next steps.
Fit matters. Our first conversation is a chance to understand your goals and determine whether our services are right for you, or to offer a referral if another setting would serve you better.
Take the Next Step
Start the Conversation
Whether you are seeking therapy, an evaluation, consultation, or training, we are here to help you take a clear next step.
This is not for emergencies. If you are in crisis, call 988 or 911, or go to your nearest emergency room.