Putting Polyvagal Theory into Practice: Nervous-system based Exercises for Anxiety, Depression, Trauma and more
- Speaker:
- Deborah Dana, LCSW
- Duration:
- 6 Hours 21 Minutes
- Language:
- Presented in EN, subtitles in EN and FR, handouts in EN and FR
- Format:
- Audio and Video
- Copyright:
-
Sep 29, 2022
- Product Code:
- POS058115
- Media Type:
- Digital Seminar
Description
At the heart of our client’s symptoms – from anxiety and depression to traumatic stress and more – is a dysregulated nervous system.
Polyvagal theory finally presents a clear roadmap of our nervous system that can guide both therapists and clients to the source of their most troubling symptoms.
And Polyvagal-informed treatments provide interventions that not only empower clients to understand how their nervous system shapes their experiences, but also gives them powerful methods to re-shape those experiences in therapy.
Watch Deb Dana, the world’s foremost translator of Polyvagal theory into clinical practice, in this all-new training based on her best-selling book Polyvagal Exercises for Safety & Connection as she shows you, step-by-step to:
- Track a client’s experience through their autonomic nervous system and uncover the specific places that keep them stuck
- Interrupt and re-shape habitual autonomic patterns that cause their emotional suffering, maladaptive thoughts, and un-helpful or impulsive behaviors
- Learn how to introduce Polyvagal practices in session
- See and experience real demonstrations
With Deb Dana’s practical guidance, it’s now possible to get beneath symptoms and show clients how to safely listen to the “story” of their autonomic nervous system and to re-shape their experience toward safety and connection.
Understanding the human nervous system through a Polyvagal lens has been a game-changer for therapists across modalities. There is no better way to learn it than through experiencing it yourself in this highly practical, intervention-rich training.
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Credit
Program Information
Planning Committee Disclosure - No relevant relationshipsAll 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.
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.
Earn up to 6.25 CE hours. Please see below, for more details, as credit amounts vary by jurisdiction and profession.
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 6.0 credit hours.

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 6.25 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.
This self-study activity qualifies for 6.25 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.

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 6.0 continuing education contact hours in the Counseling Services skill group. Full attendance is required; no partial credit will be awarded for partial attendance.
Handouts
| File type | File name | Number of pages | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Manual - Putting Polyvagal Theory into Practice (9.9 MB) | 63 Pages | Available after Purchase | |
| Manual - Putting Polyvagal Theory into Practice - French (9.9 MB) | 63 Pages | Available after Purchase | |
| Manual - Putting Polyvagal Theory into Practice - Italian (9.9 MB) | 63 Pages | Available after Purchase | |
| Manual - Putting Polyvagal Theory into Practice - German (9.9 MB) | 63 Pages | Available after Purchase | |
| Manual - Putting Polyvagal Theory into Practice - Spanish (9.9 MB) | 63 Pages | Available after Purchase |
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, 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?
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Objectives
- Propose language to successfully introduce nervous system-based interventions with clients.
- Evaluate the five phases of the BASIC approach to polyvagal-informed treatments.
- Apply one exercise from each phase of the BASIC approach.
- Assess timing of moving between phases with clients.
- Construct practices between sessions to successfully shape new autonomic patterns.
- Utilize personal progress trackers to assess client progress.
Outline
How Polyvagal Theory Provides a Foundation for Lasting Therapeutic Change- The BASIC approach to Polyvagalinformed treatment
- Trauma healing from a Polyvagal theory perspective
- Learning to stretch, but not stress, a client’s nervous system
- Co-regulation: An imperative in psychotherapy
- The three-part hierarchy of the autonomic response
- Neuroception: our internal surveillance system
- How early experiences and trauma shape our nervous system
- Exploring Hierarchies
- Identifying landmark moments in our nervous system
- Recognizing ventral vagal “anchors”
- Utilizing the social engagement scale
- Creating a neuroception notebook
- Building attention through naming autonomic states
- Daily tracking practices
- Attending over time
- Savoring practices
- Moving out of dorsal vagal collapse and sympathetic activation
- Neural exercises for creating resilience and psychological flexibility
- The power of utilizing autonomic imagery
- Establishing new autonomic patterns and behaviors in life
- Moving from intention to action
- Learning to engage the vagal brake
- Exercising and strengthening the social engagement system
- Learning to feel safety in connection
- The reciprocity equation
- Creating a personal connection plan
- Tracking the flow of a Polyvagalguided session
- Polyvagal-guided assessment and treatment planning
Target Audience
- Counselors
- Social Workers
- Psychologists
- Case Managers
- Addiction Counselors
- Physicians
- Therapists
- Marriage & Family Therapists
- Nurses
- Other Mental Health Professionals
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