Polyvagal Theory in Action
Have you had a client who could out-think their trauma? Likely you haven’t…because trauma isn’t healed through thought.
Clients come to us looking for ways to feel safe and regulated in their daily lives – but the trauma client is often stuck in a dysregulated state.
Like us, they want to be able to navigate the normal “shifting” we do in our daily life – transitioning from one state to another. Hyper to calm, irritated to relaxed, overwhelmed to feeling in control.
In the words of author and international trainer Deb Dana, LCSW, they are “longing to come into a state of regulation”.
And it’s our job to help them. It’s what we trained for, what we dreamed of doing, and where we get the deep satisfaction from the work we do.
By attending this training, Deb will give you:
- A deep knowledge of Polyvagal Theory – in easy to understand language
- Practical ways to work with the autonomic nervous system that create connection and safety…through techniques she’s honed and will share with you
The Polyvagal approach is not a model of therapy or a protocol to follow. It is an understanding of three organizing principles around which you can create your own approach and technique, blending them with your preferred model.
The goal is that you leave the training inspired to try something new with a client – – and that you have a roadmap to do so effectively.
Each client is unique, each therapist unique, and each approach unique, but using the foundation of our autonomic nervous system and working with states of engagement and dysregulation are universal ingredients for clinical success to happen. Learning Polyvagal Theory and how to apply it in your practice may become one of the most transformational moments in your career.
Who should takes the course
- Counselors
- Social Workers
- Psychologists
- Psychiatrists
- Addiction Counselors
- Psychotherapists
- Therapists
- Marriage & Family Therapists
- Physicians
- Other Helping Professionals
Learning Objectives:
- Determine the principles of Polyvagal Theory and how to communicate them in client friendly language.
- Distinguish three circuits of the autonomic nervous system for use in client psychoeducation.
- Analyze how the autonomic nervous system operates as an internal surveillance system and its impact on clients’ habitual responses to trauma.
- Determine how to help clients engage the regulating capacities of the autonomic nervous system that create an environment of safety.
- Determine how to exercise the Social Engagement System to assist clients in becoming more adept in skills of co-regulation and creating reciprocal relationships.
- Assess for patterns in clients’ autonomic states to better inform treatment planning.
Course Modules / Outline
ESSENTIALS OF POLYVAGAL THEORY
- The evolution of the autonomic nervous system
- How trauma shapes ways the body responds
- Three organizing principles of Polyvagal Theory:
- Neuroception: Detection without perception
- Hierarchy: 3 predictable pathways of response
- Coregulation: The biological imperative
NEUROCEPTION AND THE SHAPING OF AUTONOMIC PATHWAYS
- How the internal surveillance system works
- Identifying cues of safety and danger
- Connecting to our innate autonomic wisdom
- Understanding patterns of protection and connection
NAVIGATE THE AUTONOMIC HIERARCHY
- Exploring three autonomic circuits
- Sympathetic mobilization
- Ventral vagal connection
- Dorsal vagal collapse
- How trauma shapes biology
- Moving between states
- Introduction to autonomic mapping
THE SOCIAL ENGAGEMENT SYSTEM
- The five elements of the Social Engagement System
- What happens when parts of the system are unavailable?
- Using the Social Engagement System to regulate states
- How to “exercise” the Social Engagement System
SHAPING THE AUTONOMIC NERVOUS SYSTEM TOWARD SAFETY
- Identifying portals of intervention
- Using breath as a regulator
- Resourcing new patterns through movement
- Exploring the autonomic response to touch
- Using autonomic imagery
INCORPORATING POLYVAGAL THEORY IN CLINICAL PRACTICE
- Getting comfortable teaching Polyvagal
- Theory to clients
- Tracking the flow of a Polyvagal-guided clinical session
- Polyvagal-guided assessment and treatment planning
- Polyvagal Theory and Phase I trauma treatment
RESPONSIBILITIES OF A POLYVAGAL GUIDED THERAPIST
- The guiding questions
- Ethical considerations
- Research limitations and potential risk
Why Take This Course?
Because your clients deserve more than coping strategies — they deserve real brain-based change.
- Transform trauma loops through neuroplasticity & memory reconsolidation
- Apply brain-informed methods to calm anxiety & depression
- Support recovery by rewiring the reward system in addiction
- Teach neuroscience in ways that build trust & motivation
You’ll walk away with:
Evidence-based, practical interventions
Confidence to integrate neuroscience into daily practice
A roadmap for helping clients shift from dysregulation to safety and connection
Meet the Course Expert:
Deb Dana, LCSW, is a clinician and consultant specializing in using the lens of Polyvagal Theory to understand and resolve the impact of trauma and create ways of working that honor the role of the autonomic nervous system. She developed the Rhythm of Regulation Clinical Training Series and lectures internationally on ways Polyvagal Theory informs clinical work. She is a founding member of the Polyvagal Institute, clinical advisor at Khiron Clinics, and an advisor to Unyte.
Deb is the author of The Polyvagal Theory in Therapy: Engaging the Rhythm of Regulation , Polyvagal Exercises for Safety and Connection: 50 Client Centered Practices , Befriending Your Nervous System, Anchored: How to Befriend Your Nervous System Using Polyvagal Theory (forthcoming from Sounds True), co-editor of Clinical Applications of the Polyvagal Theory: The Emergence of Polyvagal-Informed Therapies, and creator of the Polyvagal Flip Chart.
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