Beyond Burnout: Somatic, Polyvagal, and Integrative Tools for Chronic Stress and Nervous System Recovery
- Speaker:
- Stacy Ruse, LPC, E-RYT-500
- Duration:
- Full Day
- Language:
- Presented in EN, subtitles in EN and FR
- Product Code:
- LWC151105
- Brochure Code:
- PWZ96990
- Media Type:
- Live Webinar - Also available: Digital Seminar
Description
- Understand the neuroscience behind chronic stress, burnout, and allostatic load
- Differentiate burnout, compassion fatigue, and traumatic stress in clinical presentations
- Read the nervous system in real time by spotting sympathetic activation, shutdown, and functional freeze before they derail a session
- Build a ready-to-use somatic toolkit with skills like grounding, pendulation, titration, and co-regulation for building client capacity
Your clients aren’t lazy, unmotivated, or “just depressed,” even though that’s often the label that gets reached for first.
You’re seeing apathy. Anhedonia. Overwhelm. Clients running on empty, with mood swings that don’t quite fit a depression picture. Your gut tells you something else is going on. And it is: chronic stress, and a nervous system stuck in survival mode.
But how do you help someone move beyond burnout when their daily stressors show no signs of letting up?
Whether you’re a therapist, counselor, or social worker working with clients caught in the relentless pace of modern life, this training gives you somatic, nervous-system-based tools to meet this presentation head-on – tools your clients can use daily to regulate, ground, and start reconnecting with their lives beyond the daily grind.
In this full-day training, you’ll join globally recognized trauma expert Stacy Ruse, LPC, E-RYT-500, to build a working understanding of the neuroscience of chronic stress – and walk away with tools you can use in session right away. You’ll learn…
- How to tell depression, burnout, and chronic stress apart – and why it matters for treatment
- What’s happening in the nervous system when clients feel numb, exhausted, or stuck in overdrive
- Somatic tools like grounding, pendulation, titration, and co-regulation for real-time regulation
- How to reframe “stuck” patterns like over-functioning and collapse as adaptations, not pathology
This training gives you what your clients need most when the demands of life never let up: the tools to help them come back into their bodies, and back into their lives.
Register now!
Credit
Speaker
Stacy Ruse, LPC, E-RYT-500 Related seminars and products
Stacy Ruse, LPC, E-RYT-500 is an Evergreen EMDR consultant and clinician, IFS therapist, and founder of Aglow Counseling. She’s a trauma expert who specializes in using IFS Therapy, EMDR, and Somatic therapies to unravel the intricate threads of trauma and guide clients towards empowerment and resilience. Her approach, while deeply rooted in trauma-informed methodologies, is characterized by a transpersonal twist that transcends the boundaries of traditional therapy. Stacy is certified in EMDR as well as a Nationally Certified Counselor (NCC) and Certified Yoga Instructor.
Speaker Disclosures:
Financial: Stacy Ruse is the owner of Aglow Counseling and has an employment relationship with Mindfully. She receives compensation as a consultant and trainer. She receives a speaking honorarium and recording royalties from Psychotherapy Networker and PESI, Inc. Stacy Ruse is a paid consultant for Evergreen Certifications. She has no relevant financial relationships with ineligible organizations.
Non-financial: Stacy Ruse is a member of EMDRIA, the Colorado Association of Psychotherapists, and the Longmont Area Psychotherapy Network.
Additional Info
Program Information
Access Period for Live WebcastYou will have access for 90 days after the program for review. For live CE credit, you must watch the live webcast in its entirety at its scheduled time and complete the CE quiz and evaluation within one week. Please note that this requirement may vary by credit type. Please see detailed credit information for specific requirements for each credit type.
Webcast Schedule
Please note: There will be a 70-minute lunch and two 15-minute breaks; one in the morning and one in the afternoon. Lunch and break times will be announced by the speaker and at their discretion. A more detailed schedule is available upon request.
Questions?
Visit our FAQ page at https://www.pesicanada.ca/faq or contact us at https://www.pesicanada.ca/contact-us.
Objectives
- Examine the neurobiological impact of chronic stress, burnout, and allostatic load on the autonomic nervous system, endocrine system, immune functioning, sleep, digestion, mood, and trauma-related symptoms.
- Identify common somatic, emotional, cognitive, relational, and behavioral indicators of chronic stress and nervous system dysregulation in clinical practice.
- Differentiate between acute stress, chronic stress, traumatic stress, burnout, compassion fatigue, and allostatic load using a nervous system-informed clinical lens.
- Apply somatic and Polyvagal-informed assessment strategies to recognize patterns of sympathetic activation, dorsal vagal shutdown, freeze, collapse, functional freeze, and limited access to ventral regulation.
- Choose somatic and nervous system-based interventions that support down-regulation, orienting, grounding, interoceptive awareness, breath regulation, pendulation, titration, co-regulation, and embodied resilience.
- Integrate somatic, trauma-informed, and culturally responsive interventions into treatment planning for clients experiencing chronic stress, burnout, complex trauma, dissociation, and systemic stressors.
Outline
Chronic Stress as a Whole-Body Adaptation
- Disclaimers, discussion of limitations and risks
- Acute vs. chronic stress, allostasis, and allostatic load
- The HPA axis, cortisol, and inflammation
- Sleep, pain, immune, and gut-brain effects of prolonged stress
- How the body adapts to survive prolonged demand
The Nervous System Under Long-Term Stress
- A Polyvagal lens on chronic stress and burnout
- Sympathetic mobilization, dorsal shutdown, and functional freeze
- Burnout as an autonomic pattern, not just exhaustion
- Ventral vagal capacity and its role in recovery
How Chronic Stress Shows Up in the Body
- Somatic assessment: posture, breath, tension, and fatigue
- Body signals as trailheads for underlying protective patterns
- Reading dissociation, numbness, and body disconnection
- Connect somatic symptoms to specific protective functions
Parts, Protectors, and the Chronic Stress System
- Common protective patterns: the over-functioner, the pusher, the numbing part, and others
- Reframe “stuck” patterns as adaptations, not pathology
- Work with parts that can’t rest, slow down, or receive support
- Approach chronic stress patterns with compassion rather than pathologizing
Trauma, Dissociation, Attachment, and Systemic Stress
- The overlap between burnout, trauma, and complex PTSD
- Identity-based stress, systemic oppression, and unequal allostatic load
- Ancestral and legacy burdens in the body
- Workplace, caregiving, and financial stress as chronic threat conditions
Somatic Interventions for Regulation and Recovery
- Orienting, grounding, and extended exhale breathwork
- Pendulation, titration, and resourcing
- Co-regulation, interoceptive awareness, and movement for discharge
- Discussion of limitations and risks
- Build capacity, choice, and flexibility rather than forcing calm
Clinical Integration and Case Conceptualization
- Apply the model to compassion fatigue, chronic pain, and caregiver burnout
- Working with clients for whom rest feels unsafe
- Research, contraindications, and limitations
- Integrate somatic approaches into existing treatment frameworks
Target Audience
- Counselors
- Social Workers
- Marriage & Family Therapists
- Psychologists
- Physicians
- Case Managers
- Addiction Counselors
- Nurses
- Other Mental Health and Wellness Professionals
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