Skip to main content
Not Found
Digital Seminar

Polyvagal Theory in Action: Creating Safety & Connection with Trauma Clients


Speaker:
Deborah Dana, LCSW
Duration:
12 Hours 15 Minutes
Language:
Presented in EN, subtitles in EN and FR, handouts in EN and FR
Format:
Audio and Video
Copyright:
Feb 19, 2025
Product Code:
POS054770
Media Type:
Digital Seminar - Also available: Live Webcast


Description

Have you had a client who could out-think their trauma? Likely you haven’t … because trauma isn’t healed through thought.

Clients come to us looking for ways to feel safe and regulated in their daily lives – but the trauma client is often stuck in a dysregulated state.

Like us, they want to be able to navigate the normal “shifting” we do in our daily life - transitioning from one state to another. Hyper to calm, irritated to relaxed, overwhelmed to feeling in control.

In the words of author of The Polyvagal Theory in Therapy (Norton) and international trainer Deb Dana, LCSW, they are ”longing” to come into a state of regulation”.

And it’s our job to help them. It’s what we trained for, what we dreamed of doing, and where we get the deep satisfaction from the work we do.

By participating in this two-day applied training, Deb will give you:

  • A deep knowledge of Polyvagal Theory – in easy to understand language
  • Practical ways to work with the autonomic nervous system that create connection and safety … through techniques she’s honed and will share with you

The Polyvagal approach is not a model of therapy or a protocol to follow. It is an understanding of three organising principles around which you can create your own approach and technique, blending them with your preferred model.

The goal is that you leave the training inspired to try something new with a client – and that you have a roadmap to do so effectively.

Each client is unique, each therapist unique, and each approach unique, but using the foundation of our autonomic nervous system and working with states of engagement and dysregulation are universal ingredients for clinical success to happen. Learning Polyvagal Theory and how to apply it in your practice may become one of the most transformational moments in your career.

Increasingly, Polyvagal Theory is being discussed at conferences here and abroad, written about in articles, and taught in arenas of higher learning. Register for this training and revolutionise your practice. It is time to stop being mystified by the name “Polyvagal Theory” and realise the immediate benefits of knowing and incorporating its principles in your clinical work.

Credit

Program Information

Planning Committee Disclosure - No relevant relationships

All members of the PESI, Inc. planning committee have provided disclosures of financial relationships with ineligible organizations and any relevant non-financial relationships prior to planning content for this activity. None of the committee members had relevant financial relationships with ineligible companies or other potentially biasing relationships to disclose to learners.  For speaker disclosures, please see the faculty biography.



Canada Credit - *

NOTE: Tuition includes one free CE Certificate (participant will be able to print the certificate of completion after passing the online post-test (80% passing score) and completing the evaluation). Instructional methods will include PowerPoint, didactic lecture, and others.

Continuing Education Information:  Listed below are the continuing education credit(s) currently available for this non-interactive self-study package. Program content is reviewed periodically per accrediting board rules for currency and appropriateness for credit. Credit approvals are subject to change. Please note, your licensing board dictates whether self-study is an acceptable form of continuing education, as well as which credit types are acceptable for continuing education hours. Please refer to your licensing board's rules and regulations. If your profession is not listed, please contact your licensing board to determine your continuing education requirements and check for reciprocal approval. 
For other credit inquiries not specified below, please contact info@pesi.com or 800-844-8260 before purchase.

Materials that are included in this course may include interventions and modalities that are beyond the authorized practice of your profession.  As a licensed professional, you are responsible for reviewing the scope of practice, including activities that are defined in law as beyond the boundaries of practice in accordance with and in compliance with your profession's standards.  

For Planning Committee disclosures, please see the statement above.  For speaker disclosures, please see the faculty biography.

 


Canada Credit - ---

Earn up to 12.25 CE hours. Please see below, for more details, as credit amounts vary by jurisdiction and profession. 


Canada Credit - Canadian Counsellors and Psychotherapists

PESI, Inc. is approved by the Canadian Counselling and Psychotherapy Association to offer continuing education for counsellors and psychotherapists. PESI, Inc. maintains responsibility for the program. This self-study activity is approved for 12.0 credit hours.


Canada Credit - Canadian Psychologists

PESI, Inc. is approved by the Canadian Psychological Association to offer continuing education for psychologists. PESI, Inc. maintains responsibility for the program. This program is approved for 12.0 self-study continuing education hours. Full credit statement at: www.pesi.com/cpa-statement


Canada Credit - Social Workers - National ASWB ACE

PESI, Inc., #1062, is approved as an ACE provider to offer social work continuing education by the Association of Social Work Boards (ASWB) Approved Continuing Education (ACE) program. Regulatory boards are the final authority on courses accepted for continuing education credit. ACE provider approval period: January 27, 2026 - January 27, 2029. Social workers completing this course receive 12.25 Clinical continuing education credits.

Course Level: Intermediate Format: Recorded asynchronous distance. Full attendance is required; no partial credits will be offered for partial attendance.

 

Canadian Social Workers: Canadian provinces may accept activities offered by providers approved by the ASWB ACE program for ongoing professional development.


Canada Credit - Other Professions

This self-study activity qualifies for 12.25 continuing education clock hours as required by many national and local licensing boards and professional organizations. Save your activity advertisement and certificate of completion, and contact your own board or organization for specific requirements.


US National Boards - Addiction Counselors - NAADAC

This self-study course has been approved by PESI, Inc., as a NAADAC Approved Education Provider, for educational credits. NAADAC Provider #77553. PESI, Inc. is responsible for all aspects of their programming.

This self-study course offers 12.0 continuing education contact hours in the Counseling Services skill group. Full attendance is required; no partial credit will be awarded for partial attendance.



Handouts

Speaker

Deborah Dana, LCSW's Profile

Deborah Dana, LCSW Related seminars and products


Deb Dana, LCSW, is a clinician and consultant specializing in using the lens of Polyvagal Theory to understand and resolve the impact of trauma and create ways of working that honor the role of the autonomic nervous system. She developed the Rhythm of Regulation Clinical Training Series and lectures internationally on ways Polyvagal Theory informs clinical work. She is a founding member of the Polyvagal Institute, clinical advisor at Khiron Clinics, and an advisor to Unyte.

Deb is the author of The Polyvagal Theory in Therapy: Engaging the Rhythm of Regulation (Norton, 2018), Polyvagal Exercises for Safety and Connection: 50 Client Centered Practices (Norton, 2020), Befriending Your Nervous System (Sounds True, 2020), Anchored: How to Befriend Your Nervous System Using Polyvagal Theory (forthcoming from Sounds True), co-editor of Clinical Applications of the Polyvagal Theory: The Emergence of Polyvagal-Informed Therapies (Norton, 2018), and creator of the Polyvagal Flip Chart (Norton, 2020).

To learn more, visit rhythmofregulation.com or polyvagalinstitute.org.

 

 

Speaker Disclosures:
Financial: Deborah Dana maintains a private practice, is an advisor with Unyte/iLS and is a consultant with the Veterans Association and Khiron Clinics. She receives a consulting fee and speaker honorarium from Sounds True. Deborah Dana receives a speaking honorarium from Life Architect and Embody Lab and receives royalties as a published author. She receives a speaking honorarium and recording royalties from Psychotherapy Networker and PESI, Inc. All relevant financial relationships with ineligible organizations have been mitigated.
Non-financial: Deborah Dana has no relevant non-financial relationships.

 

 


Additional Info

Program Information

Access for Self-Study (Non-Interactive)

Access never expires for this product.

For a more detailed outline that includes times or durations of time, if needed, please contact cepesi@pesi.com.


Questions?

Visit our FAQ page at https://www.pesicanada.ca/faq or contact us at https://www.pesicanada.ca/contact-us.


Objectives

  1. Determine the principles of Polyvagal Theory and how to communicate them in client friendly language.
  2. Distinguish three circuits of the autonomic nervous system for use in client psychoeducation.
  3. Analyse how the autonomic nervous system operates as an internal surveillance system and its impact on clients’ habitual responses to trauma.
  4. Determine how to help clients engage the regulating capacities of the autonomic nervous system that create an environment of safety.
  5. Determine how tfeso exercise the Social Engagement System to assist clients in becoming more adept in skills of co-regulation and creating reciprocal relationships.
  6. Assess for patterns in clients’ autonomic states to better inform treatment planning.
  7. Support the trauma-informed therapist’s role as co-regulator and its impact on clinical outcomes.
  8. Distinguish portals of intervention in the autonomic nervous system to more effectively establish safety and treat trauma.
  9. Employ the right degree of neural challenge and exercises to employ with clients to help shape the autonomic nervous system toward safety and connection.
  10. Evaluate how to work with the cycle or reciprocity-rupture-repair in helping clients achieve the biological need for connection.
  11. Design a Polyvagal-guided clinical practice based on appropriate assessment and treatment planning.
  12. Categorise ethical issues, research limitations, and potential risks to be considered by a Polyvagal-guided therapist.

Outline

Essentials of Polyvagal Theory
  • The evolution of the autonomic nervous system
  • How trauma shapes ways the body responds
  • Three organising principles of Polyvagal Theory:
    • Neuroception: Detection without perception
    • Hierarchy: 3 predictable pathways of response
    • Coregulation: The biological imperative
Neuroception and the Shaping of Autonomic Pathways
  • How the internal surveillance system works
  • Identifying cues of safety and danger
  • Connecting to our innate automatic wisdom
  • Understanding patterns of protection and connection
  • Moving from neuroception to awareness
  • Using the Safety/Danger Equation to resource patterns of
Navigate the Autonomic Hierarchy
  • Exploring three autonomic circuits
    • Sympathetic mobilisation
    • Ventral vagal connection
    • Dorsal vagal collapse
  • How trauma shapes biology
  • Moving between states
  • Introduction to autonomic mapping
  • Creating skill with the Notice and Name practice
The Social Engagement System
  • The five elements of the Social Engagement System
  • What happens when parts of the system are unavailable?
  • Using the Social Engagement System to regulate states
  • How to "exercise" the Social Engagement system
Tracking Autonomic States
  • Seeing patterns over time
  • Use micro-moments to resource change
  • Explore the blended states of play and stillness
  • Create autonomic anchors
  • Using continuums to track changes within a state
Meeting the Biological Need for Connection
  • Creating safety in co-regulation
  • Ways to use your autonomic state as a co-regulating resource
  • Noticing moments of misattunement and making a repair
Shaping the Autonomic Nervous System Toward Safety
  • Identify portals of intervention
  • Using breath as a regulator
  • Resourcing new patterns through movement
  • Exploring the autonomic response to touch
  • Using autonomic imagery
  • Exploring the stretch to stress continuum
  • Building safety with breath, movement, and imagery
  • Writing new autonomic stories
Incorporating Polyvagal Theory in Clinical Practice
  • Getting comfortable teaching Polyvagal Theory to clients
  • Tracking the flow of a Polyvagal-guided clinical session
  • Polyvagal-guided assessment and treatment planning
  • Polyvagal Theory and Phase I trauma treatment
Responsibilities of a Polyvagal-Guided Therapist
  • The guiding questions
  • Ethical considerations
  • Research limitations and potential risk

Target Audience

  • Counsellors
  • Social Workers
  • Case Managers
  • Addiction Counsellors
  • Art Therapists
  • Marriage and Family Therapists
  • Nurses
  • Physicians
  • Other Mental Health Professionals

Reviews

Satisfaction Guarantee
Your satisfaction is our goal and our guarantee. Concerns should be addressed to info@pesicanada.com.

Please wait ...

Back to Top