Clinical Interventions: Polyvagal Informed Therapy

This presentation will focus on how Polyvagal Theory provides a plausible model to explain how and why intonation of voice and vocal music can support mental and physical health and enhance function during compromised states associated with illness, chronic stress, and trauma. The workshop will elaborate on the principles incorporated in the Safe and Sound Protocol™ and the lessons learned through preliminary clinical trials, current research, and feedback from clinicians applying the protocol to various clinical disorders, including individuals with severe trauma histories. The Safe and Sound Protocol™ is a listening intervention based on the Polyvagal Theory, designed to promote social engagement behaviors in individuals with problems in state regulation, social interaction, and communication. The Safe and Sound Protocol™ is targeted at improving auditory processing and reducing hypersensitivity to sounds by “exercising” the neural regulation of the middle ear muscles and improving the regulation of autonomic state via the Social Engagement System.

Scientific evidence reveals how to help your clients feel safe enough to get to the REAL issues so they can finally heal from trauma, depression, addiction and other mental health challenges.Trauma and stress rewire your clients’ nervous system - keeping the autonomic nervous system (ANS) in a constant physiological state that supports fear and defense. This can make them easily agitated, always scanning the environment for signs of danger, or numb and completely shut off from the world. When the nervous system is in self-protection mode, clients are physically incapable of feeling safe, connecting with others or healing mental and physical wounds, which compounds their suffering. You can help them find their way back to safety by leveraging the revolutionary tools and insight from the Polyvagal Theory.

When life—and therapy—brings scary moments, it’s the body’s autonomic nervous system that takes action. Polyvagal Theory has revolutionized our understanding of both how this system works and how to create safety and connection. In this video workshop with social worker Deb Dana, viewers learn how to harness the healing potential of the autonomic nervous system to help clients navigate the storms of fight, flight, and collapse. The program discusses the autonomic nervous system, the physiology of the social engagement system, and the effect of physiological state on psychological state.

Enhance your ability to create safety and work with traumatized clients by learning about:How the Social Engagement System Compliments the Sympathetic and Parasympathetic Nervous SystemsSocial Cueing: Responding to Flat Affect, Voice, and Muscle ToneThe Therapeutic Power of Facial Expression, Eye Contact, Voice Modulation, and ListeningPolyvagal Theory and Trauma TreatmentPolyvagal Theory and the Power of Human Listening.