About this Course

Learning Objectives

• Identify how neuroception shapes autonomic regulation, safety, and trauma responses.
• Apply polyvagal-informed tools such as mapping, co-regulation, and embodied practices in clinical work.
• Use somatic and relational interventions to support nervous system flexibility and recovery.
• Differentiate among ventral vagal, sympathetic, and dorsal vagal states, and explain how these function hierarchically and contribute to trauma response.

Learning Levels

• Beginner

Course Instructor(s)

• 

  Stephen W. Porges, PhD

  Stephen W. Porges, PhD, is a Distinguished University Scientist at Indiana University where he is the founding director of the Traumatic Stress Research Consortium. In 1994, he proposed the Polyvagal Theory. This theory links the evolution of the mammalian autonomic nervous system to social behavior, and emphasizes the importance of physiological state in the expression of behavioral problems and psychiatric disorders. The theory has reshaped how trauma therapy is understood worldwide. In conversation with Seth Porges, journalist, filmaker, and co-author of Our Polyvagal World

• 

  Deb Dana, LCSW

  Deb Dana, LCSW, is a pioneering clinician, consultant, author, speaker and internationally recognized expert on the clinical application of Polyvagal Theory. As a founding member of the Polyvagal Institute, a consultant for Khiron Clinics, and an advisor to Unyte, she plays a critical role in advancing the application of polyvagal-informed approaches in clinical settings.

  Deb is widely respected for her ability to translate the complexities of Polyvagal Theory into accessible, client-centered interventions. Through her Rhythm of Regulation® methodology, she has introduced groundbreaking tools, techniques, and practices that continue to shape the field of trauma-informed care—empowering professionals and individuals alike to understand and navigate autonomic regulation in everyday life.

• 

  Arielle Schwartz, PhD

  Arielle Schwartz, PhD, is a licensed clinical psychologist, EMDR therapy consultant, somatic psychotherapist, and certified yoga instructor with a private practice in Boulder, Colorado. She is the author of several books on trauma recovery, including EMDR Therapy and Somatic Psychology (Norton, 2018).

• 

  Jan Winhall, PIFOT

  Jan Winhall, MSW, PIFOT, is a seasoned trauma and addiction psychotherapist. She is the author of Treating Trauma and Addiction with the Felt Sense Polyvagal Model, an adjunct lecturer at the University of Toronto, and an educational partner with the Polyvagal Institute. Jan is codirector of the Borden Street Clinic in Toronto, Canada.

References

• Bailey, R., Dugard, J., Smith, S. F., & Porges, S. W. (2023). Appeasement: Replacing Stockholm syndrome as a definition of a survival strategy. European Journal of Psychotraumatology, 14(1), 2161038. https://doi.org/10.1080/20008066.2022.2161038
• Gendlin, E. T. (1978/1981). Focusing. Bantam.
• Haeyen S. (2024). A theoretical exploration of polyvagal theory in creative arts and psychomotor therapies for emotion regulation in stress and trauma. Frontiers in Psychology, 15, 1382007. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2024.1382007
• Harricharan, S., McKinnon, M. C., & Lanius, R. A. (2021). How processing of sensory information from the internal and external worlds shape the perception and engagement with the world in the aftermath of trauma: Implications for PTSD. Frontiers in Neuroscience, 15, 625490. https://doi.org/10.3389/fnins.2021.625490
• Porges S. W. (2022). Polyvagal Theory: A science of safety. Frontiers in Integrative Neuroscience, 16, 871227. https://doi.org/10.3389/fnint.2022.871227