Polyvagal Theory in Action: Harnessing the Healing Potential of the Autonomic Nervous System

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Deb Dana, LCSW Related seminars and products

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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 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. Employ exercises designed to engage the neural circuits of your client’s Social Engagement System to improve clinical outcomes. 
2. Evaluate and track moments of autonomic disconnection to optimize repair in sessions. 
3. Create an environment of autonomic safety using the “inside, outside, and between” guide. 
4. Use your own Social Engagement System to effectively coregulate with clients.  

Outline

• Employ exercises designed to engage the neural circuits of your client’s Social Engagement System to improve clinical outcomes. 
  • Present the architecture of the Social Engagement System with an overview of the function of cranial nerves V, VII, IX, X, XI describing the impact on relationships and autonomic regulation  
  • Teach specific exercises to activate each cranial nerve and ways to track the response 
  • Identify actions of the Social Engagement System in specific clinical issues and ways to engage the system to shape specific clinical outcomes  
• Identify and track moments of autonomic disconnection and find the right repair in sessions. 
  • Present ways to map clinician autonomic response patterns  
  • Learn what constitutes an autonomic rupture and an effective autonomic repair  
  • Present ways to track levels of attunement and provide guided exercises to practice the repair process 
• Create an environment of autonomic safety using the “inside, outside, and between” guide. 
  • Teach the organizing principle of neuroception 
  • Present ways to track visceral, environmental, and relational cues of safety and danger within the autonomic response system  
  • Practice ways to reduce cues of danger and create cues of safety using the autonomic experience of neuroception 
• Use your own Social Engagement System to effectively coregulate with clients.  
  • Present a live demo to illustrate application of skills in a clinical session 
  • Offer guided dyadic practice   
  • Create personalized ways to use the five elements of the Social Engagement System as co-regulating resources 

Target Audience

• Counsellors
• Social Workers
• Psychologists
• Psychotherapists
• Therapists
• Marriage & Family Therapists
• Addiction Counsellors
• Case Managers
• Physicians
• Nurses
• Other Mental Health Professionals

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