The polyvagal theory in therapy : engaging the rhythm of regulation

The autonomic nervous system responds to the challenges of daily life by telling us not what we are or who we are but how we are. The autonomic nervous system manages risk and creates patterns of connection by changing our physiological state. These shifts are slight for many people, and, in the moments when large state changes happen, their system is resilient enough to help them return to a regulated state. Trauma interrupts the process of building the autonomic circuitry of safe connection and sidetracks the development of regulation and resilience. Clients with trauma histories often experience more intense, extreme autonomic responses, which affects their ability to regulate and feel safe in relationships. Polyvagal Theory helps therapists understand that the behaviors of their clients are autonomic actions in service of survival—adaptive responses ingrained in a survival story that is entered into automatically. 

Trauma compromises our ability to engage with others by replacing patterns of connection with patterns of protection. If unresolved, these early adaptive survival responses become habitual autonomic patterns. Therapy through a polyvagal lens, supports clients in repatterning the ways their autonomic nervous systems operate when the drive to survive competes with the longing to connect with others. 

This book is designed to help you bring Polyvagal Theory into your therapy practice.