Workshop Description
In order for therapy to work, clients need to trust and feel safe with their therapist.
Unfortunately, many of our clients have nervous systems that have been programmed – via traumatic events – to be in a constant physiological state of fear and defense, always scanning for threat. This interferes with the therapeutic relationship and the outcome of therapy itself unless we are able to address it first. Otherwise, helpers may give off subtle non-verbal cues that lead to a feeling of threat in the nervous system of their clients, without even knowing it.
Polyvagal Theory, developed by Dr. Stephen Porges, provides helpers with tools and insights they can use to help clients experience safety at a neurophysiological level. It explains how social behaviour turns off defences and promotes opportunities to feel safe. It provides an innovative model to understand bodily responses to trauma and stress and the importance of the client’s physiological state in mediating the effectiveness of clinical treatments. It also gives helping professionals a guide to becoming a regulated and co-regulating resource for clients by leveraging neurobiology and psychophysiological cues of safety. This, in turn, provides the conditions for therapy to be effective so you can truly help your clients overcome the impact of trauma, anxiety, addiction, depression and other mental health conditions.
In this 3-hour workshop, you will be introduced to the principles and practical applications of Polyvagal Theory by the most qualified experts on the topic: Dr. Stephen Porges and Deb Dana.
You will learn:
- The fundamental principles of Polyvagal Theory
- How the autonomic nervous system responds to cues of safety and risk
- Simple, concrete ways to incorporate Polyvagal Theory into your existing practice including:
- How to create a map of the autonomic hierarchy
- How to work with neuroceptive cues of safety and danger
- How to engage the pathways of the Social Engagement System to create an environment of safety and foster co-regulation
Who should attend?
Any helping professional who provides some form of counselling including (but not limited to), therapists, social workers, psychologists, and other mental health and/or health-care professionals.
You will receive:
- Login details and instructions emailed in advance of the workshop
- Downloadable handouts
- Certificate of attendance
- Access to a recording of the workshop for a limited period of time after the workshop - so if you can’t join live, or need to miss part of the live workshop and want to view it afterwards, we’ve got you covered!
About the Presenters
Stephen W. Porges, Ph.D. is a Distinguished University Scientist at Indiana University where he is the founding director of the Traumatic Stress Research Consortium in the Kinsey Institute. He is Professor of Psychiatry at the University of North Carolina, and Professor Emeritus at both the University of Illinois at Chicago and the University of Maryland.
Stephen is the originator of the Polyvagal Theory, a theory that emphasizes the importance of physiological state in the expression of behavioral, mental, and health problems related to traumatic experiences. The theory is leading to innovative treatments based on insights into the mechanisms mediating symptoms observed in several behavioral, psychiatric, and physical disorders.
Stephen is the author and co-author of several books related to Polyvagal Theory. He co-edited, with Deb Dana, Clinical Applications of the Polyvagal Theory: The Emergence of Polyvagal-Informed Therapies. He has also published more than 400 peer-reviewed papers across several disciplines.
Deb Dana, LCSW is a clinician, consultant, author and speaker specializing in working with complex trauma. Her work is focused on using the lens of Polyvagal Theory to understand and resolve the impact of trauma.
Deb has a busy career training therapists around the world in how to bring a Polyvagal approach into their clinical practice, and also works with agencies and larger systems to explore how to incorporate a Polyvagal perspective. She is widely credited with adapting Polyvagal Theory to trauma treatment. She is founding member of The Polyvagal Institute, a consultant to 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, creator of the Polyvagal Flip Chart, and co-edited, with Stephen Porges, Clinical Applications of the Polyvagal Theory: The Emergence of Polyvagal-Informed Therapies
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