We help you increase the capacity to stay grounded
Our Philosophy
Grounded people create grounded systems.
When individuals stay resilient, teams flourish, and the impact spreads.
The problem many purpose-driven works face.
Designers, researchers, and professionals in high-demand roles often engage with sensitive topics or vulnerable populations. The emotional weight of uncovering systemic pain points, combined with tight deadlines and high workloads, can lead to fatigue, stress, and burnout. Without guidance, it’s easy to feel unsure, overwhelmed, or disconnected.
When this goes unaddressed,
❌ Individuals struggle to stay energized, focused, and motivated.
❌ Teams face lower collaboration and engagement.
❌ Research participants get distressed, feel unsafe, and withhold honest opinions.
❌ Research quality lowers, participants’ well-being may be harmed.
❌ Organizations experience decreased productivity, higher turnover, and compromised outcomes.
You don’t need to burn yourself out to help others.
Cocoro Colab offers evidence-based workshops and learning programs that integrate trauma-informed principles, nervous system regulation, and psychological safety into design and research practice.
Hitomi’s sessions combine insights from psychology, psychotherapy, neuroscience, and design research to help you:
✅ Recognize and manage stress and emotional responses
✅ Build resilience and self-awareness
✅ Respond to difficult situations ethically and effectively
✅ Have a safe place to learn, practice, and connect with like-minded folks
✅ Strengthen team collaboration and organizational outcomes
We serve individual professionals, design teams, and civic organizations around the world — online and in person.
Our approach
When practitioners are grounded, they can hold complexity, listen deeply, and design responsibly.
Our approach integrates:
Clinical grounding: led by a licensed psychotherapist.
Design research experience: over a decade in service design, participatory design, and civic design.
Trauma-informed frameworks: rooted in evidence-based research, emotional safety, awareness, and empathy.
Community learning: workshops and a community space that prioritize reflection and connection.
We don’t teach quick fixes. We help you build sustainable capacity — for yourself, your team, and the systems you’re shaping.
Founder
Hitomi Yokota, RP, MA
Service Design Lead, Psychotherapist, and Educator (she/her)
With over 11 years of experience at the intersection of psychotherapy and service design, I bridge emotional intelligence and ethical research practice.
After a decade leading service designs across public and private sectors, improving our community members’ experiences, I became a licensed Psychotherapist to deepen my ability to support individuals, teams, and organizations.
My clinical work focuses on relational and complex trauma; my design experience spans public sector innovation, civic design, and social impact research.
I founded Cocoro Colab because no design programs and training taught us how to engage with people in vulnerable situations with sensitivity and care.
Cocoro Colab creates a space where changemakers can learn to work with empathy, regulation, and integrity.
Areas of expertise
Complex trauma healing
I specialize in trauma care for people experiencing challenges developed in relational contexts.
Trauma-informed Design
I help designers, civic leaders, and organizations integrate trauma-informed design into their processes through education and consulting.
Mind-body connection
“Body keeps the score”, as van der Kolk wrote. I bring body-oriented approaches to promote top-down (cognitive) and bottom-up (somatic/body) healing.
Working with underserved populations
In both design and therapy, I worked extensively with underserved populations, including BIPOC, immigrants, LGBTQ+ members, and people with disabilities.
Training and background
In addition to over 11 years of experience in design innovation, I bring specialized training in trauma and somatic/body-based healing.
Education
Master of Clinical Mental Health Counselling.
Master of Interdisciplinary Design Strategy.
Certificate in UX Design.
Bachelor of Sociology—double major in English Communication and Culture.
Specialized training
EMDR BASIC training (EMDR International Association).
Treating Complex Trauma with Internal Family System (IFS) Therapy.
Certification in Somatic Embodiment and Regulation Strategies — Level 1, 2, 3.
Trauma Sensitive Yoga Foundation (Trauma Center).
Gottman Method Couples Therapy – Level 1.
Dialectical Behavioural Therapy Certification Training.
Credentials and associations
Registered Psychotherapist, College of Registered Psychotherapists of Ontario.
Canadian Counselling and Psychotherapy Association.
Inclusive Therapists.
Healing in Colour.