The Polyvagal Theory in Therapy: Engaging the Rhythm of Regulation (Norton Series on Interpersonal Neurobiology) Illustrated Edition

JANUARY, 2019: KUDOS FOR POLYVAGAL BOOK!I attended a day-long presentation and have read the book on Polyvagal Theory in Therapy by Deb Dana. She presents the Polyvagal theory with clarity and offered worksheets to use with clients. Using the Polyvagal framework for understanding clients' experiences outside as well as inside therapy has been invaluable for my clients as well as for our work in some of the following ways:-- Making sense of their own struggles in ways that they have found illuminating and helpful;-- Tracking our respective and joint dynamics and shifting states of being;-- Facilitating curiosity and interest in our therapeutic work;-- Experiencing glimmers of hope for recovery, healing or growth;-- Decreasing shame of their actions and reactions; and, last but not least,-- Developing compassion for themselves, and trust in their organic capacity for movement and change.My clients have responded to this incorporation of Stephen Porges' Polyvagal theory and Deb Dana's clinical applications of it with surprise and deep appreciation. The work lands and they have asked for me to continue using her work. So, I highly recommend this book, and, when you can, attend one of her trainings (Disclosure: I only know Deb Dana from her book and the presentations I attended)._____________MAY, 2019: ADDENDUM TO MY REVIEW 5 MONTHS AGO:I've been able to use Deb Dana's polyvagal handouts as an effective way to track changes across time for many of my clients. I use her polyvagal profile form to assess each of my client's general state of well-being. That is, using percentages, I asked my clients how many percent of their waking life they are in a state-of-being that feels: (1) SAFE &/OR CONNECTED (it means they are in the ventral vagal state); UNSAFE, necessitating hyper-vigilance to mobilize a needed fight-or-flight survival response (sympathetic nervous system state); and UNDULY THREATENED, TRAPPED OR STUCK, necessitating a collapse or immobilized survival response (dorsal vagal state).After some months of incorporating polyvagal work into my therapy practice, I ask them to again report their sense of how much time, for the past few months, they have been in each state. Then we compare their previous report to the current one. Many of my clients and I are delighted to discover significant positive improvement in their general sense of wellbeing. Their reports basically show a big shift in polyvagal states:PRE-POLYVAGAL WORK:- 70-90% of the time easily triggered into and staying in sympathetic and dorsal states; and,- 30-10% in ventral vagalPOST-POLYVAGAL & OTHER MIND-BODY WORK:- 10-40% in the triggered states of sympathetic and dorsal; and- 90-60% in ventral vagal state of feeling safe and connectedThese reported changes showed up in the following ways:- More sustained (weeks to months) embodied sense of wellbeing- General ability to recognize triggers earlier- More effectiveness in dealing with them because they are smaller and more manageable- Getting highjacked less frequently- Noticeable benefits in their personal lives, including being able to set boundaries more consistently, where previously they could not, else they felt guilty; being able to take time out before reacting to relational triggers, thereby, less escalating and more effective in resolving conflicts with partners; feeling more confident and hopeful in their ability to effect changes in their lives; etc.Needless to say, I am very gratified and grateful that I am able to learn about polyvagal work from Deb Dana as well as with my clients!5 STARS!

An excellent resource for using polyvagal theory with clients. Explains concepts clearly and offers resources for use in sessions.

I bought this book for my Treating Complex Trauma class. This has been my favorite book to read for this class as it’s easy to read and understand and isn’t overwhelming to the reader. Very informative and helpful, I can see easily walk away with a lot of information because it’s presented in a way that’s interesting and memorable. Definitely recommend!

Easy to understand the basis nerve and how it works in the body.

...Dana's typically LCSW notion that CO-regulation of autonomic affect is the be-all and end-all bothers me =plenty=. I admit to being grounded in and loyal to Linehan's Dialectical Behavior Therapy for good reason: It was the first major fix for early life trauma built in large part on insistent and repeated skills training as opposed to dependence upon interaction with a clinician for affect recognition, acknowledgement, acceptance, ownership, appreciation and processing. Pardon me if I missed any assertion of similar necessity in Dana's volume, but I don't think I did.In my therapeutic world, the clinician is someone the patient will only see a few times before the insurance carrier says, "No mas, amigo." (One on one therapy is almost strictly a private pay product anymore.) Thus, Vygotskyan, 12-Step-type, monkey-see-monkey-do (because others did it) group dynamics are key to moving the patient out of his or her self-"protective" defenses and into sufficient trust to allow a therapist to Teach The Patient HOW to Process Affects when he or she runs into them and NOT make the patient dependent upon the therapist for such."Give a man a fish and he eats today. Show a man =how= to fish, and he eats forever." Or at least when he takes responsibility for his own self-care.Other than that, the information here will be "revolutionary" for those who didn't grow up on Hans Selye, Herbert Benson, Joseph Wolpe, Bruce McEwen, Sonya Lupien, Robert Sapolsky, Stephen Porges, et al, and/or missed the lectures on the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis; cortisol, CRF, ACTH & adrenaline; the autonomic nervous system and the general adaptation syndrome. Porges deserves enormous credit for staying the course amid decades of yawning and pharmaceutical ignorance; Dana deserves as much for re-simplifying it all sufficiently that MFTs and maybe even LCSWs can understand and apply it.

I absolutely love this book. It could not be more practical. It really helps explain concepts in a very simple way. I have both the audio and Kindle versions. I am now on my second read and plan to read a third time. I love the exercises, they really help embody how the nervous system and people I work with also enjoy them. This book, when one understands it, really helps regulate one's nervous system.

Learned the theory quickly and applying it in practice with many example interventions.

I found Deb Dana's book to be both informative and practical. Ms. Dana was able to explain what happens with our nervous system when anxious or depressed, and how to focus on regulation. Although I am a psychotherapist, I found this to be useful both for my profession and my own life.