Clinical Applications of the Polyvagal Theory: The Emergence of Polyvagal-Informed Therapies

by Stephen W. Porges PhD, Deb Dana

Overview

Innovative clinicians share their experiences integrating Polyvagal Theory into their treatment models.

Clinicians who have dedicated their work to bringing the benefits of the Polyvagal Theory to a range of clients have come together to present Polyvagal Theory in a creative and personal way.

Chapters on a range of topics from compassionate medical care to optimized therapeutic relationships to clinician's experiences as parents extract from the theory the powerful influence and importance of cases and feelings of safety in the clinical setting.

Additionally, there are chapters which:

• elaborate on the principle of safety in clinical practice with children with abuse histories
• explain the restorative consequences of movement, rhythm, and dance in promoting social connectedness and resilience in trauma survivors
• explains how Polyvagal Theory can be used to understand the neurophysiological processes in various therapies
• discuss dissociative processes and treatments designed to experience bodily feelings of safety and trust
• examine fear of flying and how using positive memories as an active "bottom up" neuroceptive process may effectively down-regulate defense
• shed light on the poorly understood experience of grief

Through the insights of innovative and benevolent clinicians, whose treatment models are Polyvagal informed, this book provides an accessible way for clinicians to embrace this groundbreaking theory in their own work.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781324000501
Publisher:	Norton, W. W. & Company, Inc.
Publication date:	06/12/2018
Series:	Norton Series on Interpersonal Neurobiology
Pages:	464
Sales rank:	232,139
Product dimensions:	5.80(w) x 9.20(h) x 1.80(d)

About the Author

Stephen W. Porges, PhD, originator of Polyvagal Theory, is a Distinguished University Scientist and founding director of the Kinsey Institute Traumatic Stress Research Consortium at Indiana University, and a professor of psychiatry at the University of North Carolina. He lives in Atlantic Beach, Florida.

Deb Dana, LCSW, is a clinician, consultant, and speaker specializing in complex trauma. She is the leading translator of Dr. Stephen Porges' Polyvagal Theory for both clinical and general audiences, and the best-selling author of Polyvagal Practices, Polyvagal Card Deck, The Polyvagal Flip Chart, Polyvagal Exercises for Safety and Connection, The Polyvagal Theory in Therapy, and co-editor with Dr. Stephen Porges of Clinical Applications of The Polyvagal Theory. She trains therapists around the world in how to bring a Polyvagal approach into their clinical practice, and also works with agencies and larger systems to explore how to incorporate a Polyvagal perspective.

She is founding member of The Polyvagal Institute, a consultant to Khiron Clinics, and an advisor to Unyte. Visit her website at http://rhythmofregulation.com/.

Table of Contents

Contributors xi

Preface: Why Polyvagal Theory Was Welcomed Therapists Stephen W. Porges xix

Part I The Introduction of Polyvagal Theory into the World of Trauma Therapists

1 Polyvagal Theory and Trauma Peter A. Levine 3

2 Safety and Reciprocity: Polyvagal Theory as a Framework for Understanding and Treating Developmental Trauma Bessel van der Kolk 27

3 Polyvagal Theory and Sensorimotor Psychotherapy Pat Ogden 34

4 Polyvagal Theory: A Primer Stephen W. Porges 50

Part II Safety as the Core of Therapy

5 "Safety is the Treatment" Bonnie Badenoch 73

6 Realizing "Deep" Safety for Children Who Have Experienced Abuse: Application of Polyvagal Theory in Therapeutic Work With Traumatized Children and Young People Joe Tucci Angela Weller Janise Mitchell 89

7 Therapeutic Presence and Polyvagal Theory: Principles and Practices for Cultivating Effective Therapeutic Relationships Shari M. Geller 106

8 Brain-Empowered Collaborators: Polyvagal Perspectives on the Doctor-Patient Relationship George Thompson 127

9 Polyvagal Theory Affirms the Importance of Nursing Moira Theede 149

10 Presence, Prosody, and Touch: Engaging the Mammalian Autonomic Nervous System Alan Theede 168

Part III Therapeutic Approaches and Clinical Applications

11 The Polyvagal PlayLab: Helping Therapists Bring Polyvagal Theory to Their Clients Deb Dana Deb Grant 185

12 Roots, Rhythm, Reciprocity: Polyvagal-Informed Dance Movement Therapy for Survivors of Trauma Amber Gray 207

13 The Polyvagal Foundation of Theraplay Treatment: Combining Social Engagement, Play, and Nurture to Create Safety, Regulation, and Resilience Sandra Lindaman Jukka Mäkelä 227

14 When Pediatric Medical Trauma Presents as Asperger's Syndrome: Polyvagal Explanations and Polyvagal Therapeutic Play Stuart Daniel Angle Masters Kieran Donovan 248

15 Energy Psychology, Polyvagal Theory, and the Treatment of Trauma Robert Schwarz 270

16 Trauma Severity: Parallels Between SPIM 30 and Polyvagal Theory Ralf Vogt 285

17 Treatment of Flight Phobia: A Polyvagal Perspective Tom Bunn 303

18 Grief Through the Lens of Polyvagal Theory: Humanizing Our Clinical Response to Loss Candyce Ossefort-Russell 317

19 Polyvagal Theory, Poetry, and PTSD: Portrait of the Poet as Trauma Therapist Gary Wbited 339

Part IV Applications in Medicine

20 Strengthening the Safety Circuit: Applying Polyvagal Theory in the Newborn Intensive Care Unit Marilyn Sanders 359

21 A Story of Stroke Recovery Told Through a Polyvagal Perspective Deb Dana 378

22 Born With a Heart Condition: The Clinical Implications of Polyvagal Theory Liza Morton 397

Index 419

Editorial Reviews

"[E]ssential knowledge for everyone who works as a therapist. . . . The contributors to this book offer a wide range of the applications for polyvagal theory. . . . I highly recommend this book for professionals. . . . [F]or anyone who is interested in the underlying physiology on how we come to view the world and how as we do."

Psych Central

"Stephen Porges has not only made one of the most profound and illuminating contributions to our understanding of the nervous system in the last 50 years, but he has made one of the most useful ones, cracking the facial code, deepening Darwin’s work—an extraordinary feat—while teaching us to understand a patient’s nervous system’s state, sometimes when even they themselves cannot. And now, in this wonderful, illuminating book, co-edited with Deb Dana and filled with contributions from some of the leading lights from across the healing professions, we see how useful a variety of clinicians find Porges’ breakthroughs. This book teaches so many practical applications and shows how creative clinicians can use this work to settle even the most distressed human beings and help them transition into the state in which they are most likely to heal."

Norman Doidge

"The autonomic nervous system, oft neglected and until recently dismissed as primitive, takes center stage as the focus of exploration in this significant work. The most important names in our understanding of interpersonal trauma are represented here as they explain Porges’ Polyvagal Theory and its influence on understanding behavior and psychological processes. Safety, reciprocity, and synchronicity underpin the biology of social engagement to create the substrate for healing trauma. All this is elegantly explained in this book."

Drew Pinsky MD

"This collection of papers is an extraordinarily interesting exploration of the theory in practice. The plethora of contributions present case studies that are as touching as they are insightful."

Sussex Counselling and Psychotherapy News