What Therapists Need to Know About the Polyvagal Theory:
The Missing Link Between Love, Social Behaviour, and Health
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Stephen W. Porges, PhD |
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| Date: | Thursday, June 14, and Friday, June 15, 2012 2-day workshop |
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| Time: | 9:00 am to 4:30 pm | ||
| Location: | Koffler House/Multi-Faith Centre, University of Toronto 569 Spadina Avenue, Toronto (Click here for directions.) |
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| Fee: | $335 (+ HST) up to Apr. 12 $355 (+ HST) after Apr. 12 (Please see Fees page for multiple-registration discounts.) |
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The Polyvagal Theory is at the leading edge of psychosomatic medicine and body-mind therapies. It is a vital contribution to scientifically informed clinical practice. Psychologists, analysts, physicians, bodyworkers, and educators are provided with an essential map to help guide them in tracking the psychophysiological states of their clients, discern where they are “stuck”, and help them to heal and move forward in life. Dr. Porges’ great contribution is now compiled in this one astounding comprehensive volume. It is a must-read for clinicians and psychobiological researchers.
— Peter A. Levine, PhD, author of In Unspoken Voice: How the Body Releases Trauma and Restores Goodness
Cited as “a major advance in human knowledge” (Norman Doidge), “a profoundly important contribution to our understanding of how we connect with others” (Daniel Siegel), and “a truly revolutionary perspective on human nature” (Paul Ekman), Stephen Porges’ Polyvagal Theory is already improving the practice of psychotherapy and mind-body medicine.
The Polyvagal Theory provides a neurophysiological understanding of the variations in human experiences associated with emotion, attachment, social communication, and self-regulation.
Dr. Porges will explain how, via evolution, a connection emerged in the brain between the nerves that control the heart and the face. This connection provides the structures for the Social Engagement System, which links our bodily feelings and thought processes with facial expression, vocal intonation, and gesture.
You will learn how individuals react to danger and life threatening situations, and how abuse and trauma may re-tune our nervous systems to respond to friends as if they were enemies. The workshop will describe research on new biologically-based behavioural strategies that trigger neural circuits to improve social behaviour and state regulation.
You will learn —
- The principles and features of the Polyvagal Theory and how to apply it in a clinical setting
- How the Polyvagal Theory can demystify several features related to stress-related illnesses and psychiatric disorders such as PTSD, autism, depression, and anxiety
- What the Social Engagement System is and how the brain-face-heart connection evolved
- How deficits in the regulation of the Social Engagement System relate to the core features of several psychiatric disorders
- How we evaluate risk in the environment and how this response triggers adaptive neural circuits that promote either social interactions or defensive behaviours
- How the Social Engagement System is compromised by stress and trauma and how to reset it
Stephen Porges, PhD, is Professor of Psychiatry and Bioengineering at the University of Illinois at Chicago, where he directs the Brain-Body Center. His research crosses disciplines, and he has published in such diverse disciplines as anesthesiology, critical care medicine, ergonomics, exercise physiology, gerontology, neurology, obstetrics, pediatrics, psychiatry, psychology, space medicine, and substance abuse. In 1994 he proposed the Polyvagal Theory. This theory provides insights into the mechanisms mediating symptoms observed in several behavioural, psychiatric, and physical disorders including autism, depression, ADD, PTSD, and schizophrenia. His research is leading to the development of innovative interventions designed to stabilize behavioural and psychological states and to stimulate spontaneous social behaviour. He is author of The Polyvagal Theory: Neurophysiological Foundations of Emotions, Attachment, Communication, and Self-Regulation. Dr. Porges is former president of both the Federation of Behavioural, Psychological, and Cognitive Sciences, and the Society for Psychophysiological Research.