What is Polyvagal Theory?

Your nervous system is the foundation upon which all lived experiences sit. It’s what ensures your survival when faced with danger and it helps you thrive when life feels safe. Polyvagal Theory provides a framework for understanding the inner workings of your nervous system, how yours was shaped (based on your individual life experiences) and MOST importantly, how you can work with it to heal.

In my work as a therapist, I help you identify those relationships, interactions and events that have influenced how your nervous system responds to both threat and safety. It’s recognizing how a parent’s disapproving tone may have made you feel small and realizing this is why you’re hesitant to speak up. It’s understanding that sometimes the helplessness of being unheard might make you yell to get a point across. And it’s noticing that saying no had negative consequences so you might not know how to set boundaries today.

The work also includes discernment: separating the old stuff from what’s happening in the present and asking yourself, “In this moment, with this person, is this adaptive survival response actually necessary?” The answer is often no. And I provide tools so you know what to do instead. You’ll learn to engage in new behaviors and break old patterns. Your relationships will improve as will your ability to trust yourself and your experience.

The reason I incorporate Polyvagal Theory so heavily in my work is because I’ve seen the benefit. I see how understanding your reactions, emotional responses, and behaviors through the lens of the nervous system reduces shame and offers new found flexibility. I see how it helps all of us take things a lot less personally and be much more compassionate (both to ourselves and others).

For more information & resources on Polyvagal Theory, check out Deb Dana’s work and/or the Polyvagal Institute.