Understanding Your Nervous System
The Body’s Story of Trauma and Healing
- Speaker:
- Deborah Dana, LCSW
- Duration:
- 1 Hour 04 Minutes
- Language:
- Presented in EN, subtitles in EN and FR, handouts in EN and FR
- Copyright:
-
May 11, 2026
- Product Code:
- POS150770
- Media Type:
- Digital Seminar
Description
Our nervous system is always listening, always responding, always working to keep us safe. When we experience trauma, this system adapts in remarkable ways. Through a Polyvagal lens we learn how trauma interrupts our natural capacity for regulation and resilience and understand how to engage the nervous system in restoring safety and connection.
In this presentation we’ll:
- Look at how our nervous system makes moment to moment assessments about safety and danger and how trauma can retune the process
- See how our wise and wonderful nervous system naturally moves us out of connection into adaptive protection
- Discover the autonomic pathways that lead back to regulation
Credit
Speaker
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 and is an advisor with Unyte/iLS. She receives compensation as a International and Keynote speaker and 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.
Questions?
Visit our FAQ page at https://www.pesicanada.ca/faq or contact us at https://www.pesicanada.ca/contact-us.
Additional CE Info
For a more detailed outline that includes times or durations of time, if needed, please contact cepesi@pesi.com.
Objectives
- Summarize a Polyvagal approach to understanding trauma.
- Identify how trauma moves the nervous system into states of protection.
- Identify and describe pathways to regulation.
Outline
Introduction
- Nervous system as a constant safety monitor
- How trauma reshapes regulation and resilience
- Polyvagal perspective on safety and connection
- Research limitations and potential risks
Safety and Danger Assessment
- Moment-to-moment neuroception
- How trauma retunes the system’s responses
Adaptive Protection
- Shifts from connection to protection
- Autonomic states and their purpose
Pathways to Regulation
- Polyvagal-informed strategies for restoring safety
- Supporting resilience and reconnection
Target Audience
- Counselors
- Social Workers
- Marriage & Family Therapists
- Psychologists
- Psychiatrists
- Psychotherapists
- 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 ...




