Polyvagal Essentials for Every Therapist: Foundation skills in Applying Polyvagal Theory in Practice

CPD

Handouts

Speaker

Deborah Dana, LCSW, LICSW Related seminars and products

---

Deb Dana, LCSW, LICSW, 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 (Norton, 2018), Polyvagal Exercises for Safety and Connection: 50 Client-Centered Practices (Norton, 2020), Befriending Your Nervous System (Sounds True, 2020), 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 (Norton, 2018), and creator of the Polyvagal Flip Chart (Norton, 2020).

To learn more, visit rhythmofregulation.com or www.polyvagalinstitute.org.

 

Speaker Disclosures:
Financial: Deborah Dana maintains a private practice, is an advisor with Unyte/iLS and is a consultant with the Veterans Association and Khiron Clinics. She receives a consulting fee and speaker honorarium from Sounds True. Deborah Dana receives a speaking honorarium from Life Architect and Embody Lab and receives royalties as a published author. She receives a speaking honorarium and recording royalties from Psychotherapy Networker and PESI, Inc. All relevant financial relationships with ineligible organizations have been mitigated.
Non-financial: Deborah Dana has no relevant non-financial relationships.

Objectives

1. Describe the organising principles of Polyvagal Theory
2. Explain and understand the process of neuroception
3. Describe autonomic hierarchy
4. Determine how to help clients engage the regulating capacities of the autonomic nervous system to create an environment of safety
5. Assess how to use the pathways of the Social Engagement System to assist clients in becoming more adept in skills of co-regulation and creating reciprocal relationships
6. Employ the right degree of neural challenge and select appropriate autonomic exercises to use with clients to shape the autonomic nervous system toward safety and connection.

Target Audience

• Psychotherapists
• Counsellors
• Social Workers
• Psychologists
• Psychiatrists
• Nurses and Doctors
• Other Professionals Who Work within the Mental Health Fields

Outline

ESSENTIALS OF POLYVAGAL THEORY  

• The evolution of the autonomic nervous system  
• How trauma shapes ways the body responds 
• Three organising 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 mobilisation 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  

EXPERIENTIAL EXERCISES AND PRACTICE  

Reviews