Cara Smith received her BA in Psychology from Graceland University (2003) and her MA from University of Missouri – Columbia in Human Development and Family Studies – Child Life (2005). Cara worked as a Certified Child Life Specialist at Children’s Mercy Hospital in Kansas City, MO for 8 years before moving in to an academic role as a child life clinical instructor at Missouri State University for 9 years. During her time in academia, Cara continued her clinical work as a CCLS with the Wellness and Resiliency program of the Kansas City Police Athletic League and through volunteer and professional work with Child Life Disaster Relief. Cara has worked around the globe to advocate for the psychosocial needs of children facing challenging experiences. She is currently employed as a full time CCLS in a hospital in Doha, Qatar. Cara integrates her trainings in mindfulness, resiliency building, self-regulation, interpersonal neurobiology, Trust Based Relational Interventions (TBRI), and yoga (RTY-200) into her clinical practice and teachings. She is passionate about the healing powers of connection and play in building resiliency.