A collection of groundbreaking research by a leading figure in neuroscience. This book compiles, for the first time, Stephen W. Porges’s decades of research. A leading expert in developmental psychophysiology and developmental behavioral neuroscience, Porges is the mind behind the groundbreaking Polyvagal Theory, which has startling implications for the treatment of anxiety, depression, trauma, and autism. Adopted by clinicians around the world, the Polyvagal Theory has provided exciting new insights into the way our autonomic nervous system unconsciously mediates social engagement, trust, and intimacy.
Bridging the gap between research, science, and the therapy room. When The Polyvagal Theory was published in 2011, it took the therapeutic world by storm, bringing Stephen Porges’s insights about the autonomic nervous system to a clinical audience interested in understanding trauma, anxiety, depression and other mental health issues. The book made accessible to clinicians and other professionals a polyvagal perspective that provided new concepts and insights for understanding human behavior. The perspective placed an emphasis on the important link between psychological experiences and physical manifestations in the body. That book was brilliant but also quite challenging to read for some. Since publication of that book, Stephen Porges has been urged to make these ideas more accessible and The Pocket Guide to the Polyvagal Theory is the result. Constructs and concepts embedded in polyvagal theory are explained conversationally in The Pocket Guide and there is an introductory chapter which discusses the science and the scientific culture in which polyvagal theory was originally developed. Publication of this work enables Stephen Porges to expand the meaning and clinical relevance of this groundbreaking theory.
Innovative clinicians share their experiences integrating Polyvagal Theory into their treatment models. Clinicians who have dedicated their work to bringing the benefits of the Polyvagal Theory to a range of clients have come together to present Polyvagal Theory in a creative and personal way. Chapters on a range of topics from compassionate medical care to optimized therapeutic relationships to clinician's experiences as parents extract from the theory the powerful influence and importance of cases and feelings of safety in the clinical setting. Additionally, there are chapters which: elaborate on the principle of safety in clinical practice with children with abuse histories explain the restorative consequences of movement, rhythm, and dance in promoting social connectedness and resilience in trauma survivors explains how Polyvagal Theory can be used to understand the neurophysiological processes in various therapies discuss dissociative processes and treatments designed to experience bodily feelings of safety and trust examine fear of flying and how using positive memories as an active "bottom up" neuroceptive process may effectively down-regulate defense shed light on the poorly understood experience of grief Through the insights of innovative and benevolent clinicians, whose treatment models are Polyvagal informed, this book provides an accessible way for clinicians to embrace this groundbreaking theory in their own work.
The polyvagal theory presented in client-friendly language. This book offers therapists an integrated approach to adding a polyvagal foundation to their work with clients. With clear explanations of the organizing principles of Polyvagal Theory, this complex theory is translated into clinician and client-friendly language. Using a unique autonomic mapping process along with worksheets designed to effectively track autonomic response patterns, this book presents practical ways to work with clients' experiences of connection. Through exercises that have been specifically created to engage the regulating capacities of the ventral vagal system, therapists are given tools to help clients reshape their autonomic nervous systems. Adding a polyvagal perspective to clinical practice draws the autonomic nervous system directly into the work of therapy, helping clients re-pattern their nervous systems, build capacities for regulation, and create autonomic pathways of safety and connection. With chapters that build confidence in understanding Polyvagal Theory, chapters that introduce worksheets for mapping, tracking, and practices for re-patterning, as well as a series of autonomic meditations, this book offers therapists a guide to practicing polyvagal-informed therapy. The Polyvagal Theory in Therapy is essential reading for therapists who work with trauma and those who seek an easy and accessible way of understanding the significance that Polyvagal Theory has to clinical work.
How sustained disruptions to children’s safety have physical, behavioral, and mental health impact that follow them into adulthood. At its heart, polyvagal theory describes how the brain’s unconscious sense of safety or danger impacts our emotions and behaviors. In this powerful book, pediatrician and neonatologist Marilyn R. Sanders and child psychiatrist George S. Thompson offer readers both a meditation on caregiving and a call to action for physicians, educators, and mental health providers. When children don’t have safe relationships, or emotional, medical, or physical traumas punctuate their lives, their ability to love, trust, and thrive is damaged. Children who have multiple relationship disruptions may have physical, behavioral, or mental health concerns that follow them into adulthood. By attending to the lessons of polyvagal theory—that adult caregivers must be aware of children’s unconscious processing of sensory information—the authors show how professionals can play a critical role in establishing a sense of safety even in the face of dangerous, and sometimes incomprehensibly scary, situations.
Outlining a new, optimistic way to understand autism, this concise and accessible book offers practical ideas to help children on the spectrum grow. The Polyvagal Theory suggests autism is a learnt response by the body - a result of the child being in a prolonged state of 'fight or flight' while their nervous system is still developing. This book explains the theory in simple terms and incorporates recent developments in brain plasticity research (the capacity of the brain to change throughout life) to give parents and professionals the tools to strengthen the child's brain-body connection and lessen the social and emotional impact of autism.
Offers therapists a low tech–high impact, interactive way to explain polyvagal theory to clients. When clients are stuck in the cognitive experience of their story, an explanation of polyvagal theory helps to bring their attention to the autonomic experience— to bring the importance of the biology of their experience back into awareness. Yet polyvagal theory can be challenging and intimidating to explain. This flip chart offers therapists an easy, standardized way to support clients in understanding the role of the autonomic nervous system in their lives. Using a flip chart makes psycho-education an interactive experience. Therapists can feel confident in teaching their clients polyvagal theory by following the chart. With a flip chart visible during sessions, the therapist can: remind clients of the ways the autonomic nervous system has been shaped and is active in their daily living experience, display a page corresponding to the present moment, thus anchoring that experience in the theory, keep a page of the hierarchy visible when working with a client's habitual response pattern.
Discover your body’s neural pathways to calmness, safety, and connection. An intense conversation, a spat with a partner, or even an obnoxious tweet—these situations aren’t life-or-death, yet we often react as if they are. That’s because our bodies treat most perceived threats the same way. Yet one approach has proven to be incredibly effective in training our nervous system to stop overreacting and start responding to the world with greater safety and ease: Polyvagal Theory. In Anchored, expert teacher Deb Dana shares a down-to-earth presentation of Polyvagal Theory, then brings the science to life with practical, everyday ways to transform your relationship with your body. Using field-tested techniques, Dana helps you master the skills to become more aware of your nervous system moment to moment—and change the way you respond to the great and small challenges of life. Here, you’ll explore: • Polyvagal Theory—get to know the biology and function of your vagus nerve, the highway of the nervous system • Befriending Your Nervous System—attune to what’s going on in your body by developing your “neuroception” • Using Your Vagal Brake—discover key techniques to consciously regulate the intensity of your emotions • Connection and Protection—learn to recognize and influence your internal cues for safety and danger • Your Social Engagement System—find ways to create nourishing relationships with others and the world around you • Practices and guidance to gently shape your nervous system for greater resilience, intuition, safety, and wonder Through guided imagery, meditation, self-inquiry, and more, Anchored offers a practical user’s manual for moving from a place of fear and panic into a grounded space of balance and confidence. “Once we know how our nervous system works, we can work with it,” teaches Deb Dana. “We can learn to access an embodied, biological resource that is always present, available, and there to guide us toward well-being.”
A practical guide to working with the principles of polyvagal theory beyond the therapy session. Deb Dana is the foremost translator of polyvagal theory into clinical practice. Here, in her third book on this groundbreaking theory, she provides therapists with a grab bag of polyvagal-informed exercises for their clients, to use both within and between sessions. These exercises offer readily understandable explanations of the ways the autonomic nervous system directs daily living. They use the principles of polyvagal theory to guide clients to safely connect to their autonomic responses and navigate daily experiences in new ways. The exercises are designed to be introduced over time in a variety of clinical sessions with accompanying exercises appropriate for use by clients between sessions to enhance the therapeutic change process. Essential reading for any therapist who wants to take their polyvagal knowledge to the next level and is looking for easy ways to deliver polyvagal solutions with their clients.
This illustrated book uses engaging and brightly colored robot characters to introduce a greater understanding of how our bodies react to our environment. The color of the robots teaches the young reader about feelings of safety and connection, fear and anger, and a shut down response. The preface introduces the adult reader to the Polyvagal Theory and explains the science behind the different colors of the robots. Readers of all ages will learn tools to support one another when they are "out of that safe feeling." BODY WISDOM AND THE POLYVAGAL THEORY takes a complex and rigorous scientific text and renders it into a fun, easy and quick read for all audiences. Forward by Dr. Stephen Porges, author of THE POLYVAGAL THEORY.
