About Dr. Itzel Orduña

I bring a unique combination of scientific training and practical experience to understanding child development. With a PhD in Neuroscience and specialized research background in experience-dependent plasticity, plus years of clinical practice as a licensed psychologist, I’ve dedicated my career to bridging the gap between what we know about how children’s brains develop and how we actually support them in daily life.

While my educational and professional experiences provided a strong foundation for understanding and supporting development, my deepest insights came from my own journey as a mother as I discovered the profound gap between understanding child development in theory and being able to implement that understanding in daily life. Despite my extensive training, I found myself facing struggles not unlike those of many of the families I served – knowing what children needed but encountering invisible barriers that made this knowledge difficult to implement.

This experience revealed something crucial: the most important developmental processes don’t happen in isolation. They emerge from invisible networks of connection, safety, and support. When these networks are disrupted – whether by stress, mismatched expectations, or systems that work against natural development – even the most knowledgeable parents and professionals struggle. Knowledge is not enough.

Brainforest Resonance™ emerged from my wish to provide upstream solutions to problems often arising from failures to incorporate developmental knowledge into how we support children, as well as from my growing understanding that we need alternatives- not just better ways to work within existing systems but fundamentally different approaches that honor how children actually develop. My goal is to help families and professionals understand the invisible networks underlying development so they can create the conditions children need to truly thrive, regardless of what traditional systems offer.

I’m currently developing the first module of my Brainforest Resonance course series, focused on helping parents become “Capacity Detectives”. This work represents my commitment to making developmental science accessible to families and professionals who need practical alternatives to traditional approaches.