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Polyvagal Theory in Practice: Integrating Clinical, Medical, and Wellbeing Approaches

In-Person
On Demand
3.5 CE Hours On Demand
Clinical

Presented By

Recorded On

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Location

  • On Demand
    Sessions will be available On-Demand
Description

This workshop is essential for clinical, medical, and wellbeing practitioners, offering a comprehensive exploration of Polyvagal Theory (PVT) and its applications in practice. Addressing the interconnectedness of mental and physical health is critical for reducing relapse rates from acute illnesses, mental health disorders, and promoting sustained recovery. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), integrating care models that address both mental and physical health leads to better overall health outcomes. Research highlights that untreated mental health issues can exacerbate physical health conditions and vice versa, emphasizing the need for a holistic approach to patient care. Wellbeing practitioners are vital in this integrated model by promoting overall wellness, optimizing performance, and maintaining balance in personal and professional lives.

 

PRESENTATIONS: Pain Management: Transforming Chronic Pain with Polyvagal Theory: Explore how chronic pain often stems from the nervous system’s survival states rather than structural damage. Learn to apply Polyvagal Theory to manage psychophysiological disorders and persistent pain, incorporating modern pain science, mindfulness, and Acceptance & Commitment Therapy (ACT) to promote recovery and wellness. Trauma and Addiction Treatment with the Felt Sense Polyvagal Model: Discover the Felt Sense Polyvagal Model™ (FSPM) that shifts the paradigm to a strength-based approach. Delve into how addictive and dissociative behaviors are adaptive responses to regulate the nervous system. Gain practical insights from Jan Winhall’s work on using somatic assessments to enhance therapeutic outcomes. From Pressure to Performance: A Polyvagal Approach to Optimizing Our Human Experience: Examine how the pressures of modern life influence our physiological state and performance. Understand and align with the body’s reflexive responses to enhance creativity, resilience, and problem-solving skills. Wellbeing practitioners will learn strategies to foster an environment of physiological safety that supports high performance and resilience.

Target Audience
  • • Counselor
  • • Marriage & Family Therapist
  • • Social Worker
  • • Substance Use Disorder Professionals
Learning Objectives

At the end of this course, participants will be able to:

  • Understand the Application of Polyvagal Theory in Pain Management: Learn how Polyvagal Theory can treat chronic pain by addressing the nervous system's role in physio-psychological states of survival.

  • Implement Mind-Body Interventions for Pain Recovery: Gain insights into mind-body interventions that promote recovery from persistent pain and psychophysiological disorders using modern pain science, mindfulness, and ACT.

  • Utilize the Felt Sense Polyvagal Model in Trauma and Addiction Treatment: Understand the Felt Sense Polyvagal Model™ (FSPM) and how it integrates Polyvagal Theory to address trauma and addiction as adaptive responses, enhancing current therapeutic modalities.

  • Assess and Enhance Physiological Safety in Clinical Practice: Learn methods to assess clients' capacity to regulate their autonomic nervous system using the Embodied Assessment and Treatment Tool™ (EATT) and apply these insights to improve therapeutic outcomes.

  • Optimize Performance through Polyvagal-Informed Strategies: Explore strategies to optimize human performance by aligning physiological states with intentions and creativity, particularly in high-pressure environments.

References

  • Garland, E. L., Froeliger, B., & Howard, M. O. (2014). Mindfulness training targets neurocognitive mechanisms of addiction at the attention-appraisal-emotion interface. Frontiers in psychiatry, 4, 173. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyt.2013.00173

  • Hong, S. J., Lee, D., Park, J., Namkoong, K., Lee, J., Jang, D. P., Lee, J. E., Jung, Y. C., & Kim, I. Y. (2018). Altered Heart Rate Variability During Gameplay in Internet Gaming Disorder: The Impact of Situations During the Game. Frontiers in psychiatry, 9, 429. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyt.2018.00429

  • Liu, S., Oshri, A., & Duprey, E. B. (2020). Heart Rate Variability Reactivity Moderates the Indirect Link Between Child Maltreatment and Young Adult Alcohol Use Problems Via Depressive Symptoms. The American journal on addictions, 29(2), 141–150. https://doi.org/10.1111/ajad.13004

  • Poli, A., Gemignani, A., Soldani, F., & Miccoli, M. (2021). A Systematic Review of a Polyvagal Perspective on Embodied Contemplative Practices as Promoters of Cardiorespiratory Coupling and Traumatic Stress Recovery for PTSD and OCD: Research Methodologies and State of the Art. International journal of environmental research and public health, 18(22), 11778. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph182211778

  • Porges, S. W. (2022). Polyvagal Theory: A Science of Safety. Frontiers in Integrative Neuroscience, 16, 871227. https://doi.org/10.3389/fnint.2022.871227

  • Porges, S. W. (2021). Cardiac vagal tone: a neurophysiological mechanism that evolved in mammals to dampen threat reactions and promote sociality. World Psychiatry, 20(2), 296.

  • Porges, S. W. (2021). Polyvagal Theory: A biobehavioral journey to sociality. Comprehensive Psychoneuroendocrinology, 100069.

  • Porges SW (2021). Polyvagal Safety: Attachment, Communication and Self-Regulation. New York: WW Norton.

  • Porges SW & Dana D (2018). Clinical Applications of the Polyvagal Theory: The Emergence of Polyvagal-Informed Therapies. New York: WW Norton.

  • Porges SW (2017). The Pocket Guide to the Polyvagal Theory: The Transformative Power of Feeling Safe. New York: WW Norton.

  • Porges SW (2011). The Polyvagal Theory: Neurophysiological Foundations of Emotions, Attachment, Communication, and Self-regulation. New York: WW Norton.

Clinical
Counselor

TPN.health has been approved by NBCC as an Approved Continuing Education Provider, ACEP No. 7267. Programs that do not qualify for NBCC credit are clearly identified. TPN.health is solely responsible for all aspects of the programs.

Trusted Provider Network, LLC is recognized by the New York State Education Department’s State Board for Mental Health Practitioners as an approved provider of continuing education for licensed mental health counselors. #MHC-0220.

TPN.health is approved by the California Association of Marriage and Family Therapists (Provider #1000101) to sponsor continuing education for LPCCs. TPN.health maintains responsibility for this program/course and its content. Course meets the qualifications for 3.5 hours of continuing education credit for LPCCs as required by the California Board of Behavioral Sciences.

Marriage & Family Therapist

Trusted Provider Network, LLC is recognized by the New York State Education Department’s State Board for Mental Health Practitioners as an approved provider of continuing education for licensed marriage and family therapists #MFT-0097.

TPN.health is approved by the California Association of Marriage and Family Therapists (Provider #1000101) to sponsor continuing education for LMFTs. TPN.health maintains responsibility for this program/course and its content. Course meets the qualifications for 3.5 hours of continuing education credit for LMFTs as required by the California Board of Behavioral Sciences.

Social Worker

Trusted Provider Network, LLC is recognized by the New York State Education Department’s State Board for Social Work as an approved provider of continuing education for licensed social workers #SW-0654.

TPN.health, #1766, is approved to offer social work continuing education by the Association of Social Work Boards (ASWB) Approved Continuing Education (ACE) program. Organizations, not individual courses, are approved as ACE providers. State and provincial regulatory boards have the final authority to determine whether an individual course may be accepted for continuing education credit. TPN.health maintains responsibility for this course. ACE provider approval period: 03/31/2022 – 03/31/2025. Social workers completing this course receive 3.5 Clinical continuing education credits. ASWB ACE Credit is not available in NY and NJ.

TPN.health is approved by the California Association of Marriage and Family Therapists (Provider #1000101) to sponsor continuing education for LCSWs. TPN.health maintains responsibility for this program/course and its content. Course meets the qualifications for 3.5 hours of continuing education credit for LCSWs as required by the California Board of Behavioral Sciences.

Substance Use Disorder Professionals

This course has been approved by TPN.health, as a NAADAC Approved Education Provider, for educational credits. NAADAC Provider #198061, TPN.health is responsible for all aspects of the programming.This course has been approved by TPN.health, as a NAADAC Approved Education Provider, for educational credits. NAADAC Provider #198061, TPN.health is responsible for all aspects of the programing. Counselor Skill Group: Counseling Services

CE Policy
This course is fiscally sponsored by Exchange Events. There may be potential biases or conflicts of interest inherent to this relationship, and it must be disclosed to participants. These conflicts of interest have no bearing on the course content and have been resolved.
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Stephen W. Porges, PhD - Host

Stephen W. Porges, PhD is Distinguished University Scientist at Indiana University, where he is the founding director of the Traumatic Stress Research Consortium. He is professor of psychiatry at the University of North Carolina and professor emeritus at the University of Illinois at Chicago and the University of Maryland. He has published more than 350 peer‐reviewed scientific papers. He is the creator of the Polyvagal Theory and a music-based intervention, the Safe and Sound Protocol TM, currently used by more than 200 therapists to reduce hearing sensitivities, improve language processing, and increase spontaneous social engagement. He is the author of The Polyvagal Theory: Neurophysiological foundations of Emotions, Attachment, Communication, and Self-Regulation, The Pocket Guide to the Polyvagal Theory: The Transformative Power of Feeling Safe, and Polyvagal Safety, as well as co-editor of Clinical Applications of the Polyvagal Theory: The Emergence of Polyvagal-Informed Therapies, and Polyvagal Safety.

Mel Pohl, MD, DFASAM

Mel Pohl, MD, DFASAM is a Family Practitioner and the Senior Medical Consultant to the Pain Recovery Program at The Pointe Malibu Recovery Center in Malibu, California. He is certified by the American Board of Addiction Medicine (ABAM), and a Distinguished Fellow of the American Society of Addiction Medicine (ASAM).   Dr. Pohl is a Clinical Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at the U of Nevada School of Medicine. Dr. Pohl is the author of several books including A Day Without Pain and The Pain Antidote – Stop Suffering from Chronic Pain, Avoid Addiction to Painkillers, and Reclaim Your Life from DaCapo Press.  Dr. Pohl is a sought-after public speaker and filmed a special for PBS called “The Pain Antidote” which aired in local markets at the end of August 2015.

Jan Winhall, M.S.W. P.I.F.O.T.

Jan Winhall, M.S.W.  P.I.F.O.T. is an author, teacher and seasoned trauma and addiction psychotherapist. She is an Educational Partner and Course Developer with the Polyvagal Institute where she offers a training program based on her book Treating Trauma and Addiction with the Felt Sense Polyvagal Model, Routledge 2021.  She is an Adjunct Lecturer at the University of Toronto and a Certifying Co-Ordinator with the International Focusing Institute. Jan is Co-Director of the Borden Street Clinic where she supervises graduate students. She enjoys teaching all over the world. Her website is janwinhall.com.

Michael Allison

Michael Allison is a Performance Consultant for organizations, teams, business executives, coaches, athletes, sports psychologists & professional creatives. He has certified hundreds of professional consultants and coaches in various disciplines internationally as Play Zone Pros© through his unique methodology that applies Polyvagal Theory to optimize health, resilience & performance, endorsed by Stephen W. Porges, Ph.D. He is a contributing author for Psychology Today with his own platform, The Pressure Paradox, where he explores the physiological, psychological, and social paradoxes that underlie the challenges of performing in a culture of competition, evaluation, and rapid, unpredictable change. 

Michael serves as a professional consultant for coaches, managers, sports psychologists, teams and athletes within Major League Baseball MLB, The National Basketball Association NBA, the Association of Tennis Professionals ATP, the Women’s Tennis Association WTA, Federation Internationale de Football Association FIFA, International Tennis Federation ITF, American Volleyball Coaches Association AVCA, USA Track & Field USATF, Association of Volleyball Professionals AVP, and the National Collegiate Athletic Association NCAA in a wide variety of sports. 

 

Michael is an educational partner with Polyvagal Institute and provides a variety of educational offerings, learning platforms, and certification programs accredited by the National Board for Health & Wellness Coaches and supported by Stephen W. Porges, Ph.D., developer of Polyvagal Theory. Allison is a leading expert teaching Polyvagal Institute’s flagship course and is the author of a chapter titled “Turning Competition Into Co-regulation” in the forthcoming Norton Professional Series book Somatic-Oriented Therapies – Embodiment, Trauma, Polyvagal Perspectives, co-author with Dr. Porges of a chapter titled “Empathy to Compassion: A Two Step Process” in the forthcoming Norton Professional Series book Polyvagal Perspectives, and contributor of a case study examining performance enhancement through physiological state regulation in a Sounds True publication.

Michael is a public speaker on topics related to Polyvagal Theory, play, team building, resilience, and performance and has been a presenter at various conferences, including sports performance, collegiate athletics, human resources, education, and trauma recovery. He was a featured speaker at Lithuania’s National HR Convention in May 2024, the Polyvagal Institute’s Annual Summits in 2022 & 2023, and The Master Series at Oxford University, UK in August 2023. 

In 1999, Michael co-founded Physical Focus Inc., a wellness center in Santa Barbara, California, and served as CEO for twenty-five years, where he managed a comprehensive team of wellness professionals. During this time, he was a certified Health Coach, Personal Trainer, Senior Personal Trainer, Medical Exercise Specialist, Post-Rehab Specialist, and Oxygen Advantage Breathwork Instructor. He also authored SMARTER Coaching, a certificated behavior change course accredited by the American Council on Exercise to provide continuing education credits for internationally certified fitness professionals.

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