How Polyvagal Theory in Therapy Helps Clients Regulate Their Nervous System

Making Your Nervous System Work for You Instead of Against You

Polyvagal Theory aids clients in allowing their nervous system to work for them versus against them, particularly in modern environments where physical threats are not the same as our organic design was intended to scan. For example, the human nervous system was designed to perceive slight movement in tall grass to indicate the threat of an animal lurking and create a fight or flight trigger where we then further discern the appropriate response. Should the animal reveal itself and be too close for flight (escape) or too strong for fight, we automatically engage a freeze response, sending pain numbing endorphins and disengaging mentally to absorb the oncoming threat. In modern day, however, our central nervous system is often unsure of what to do with scanning the environment and can misinterpret threat, engaging the parasympathetic and sympathetic nervous systems without necessary threat to our physical livlihood.

Polyvagal Theory in Therapy and Nervous System Regulation

Where does that land us when we seek mental health counseling? Approach based in healing our central nervous system to engage the mobilization via increased motivation and rest and digest via regulation can create an experience of increased alignment in holistic alignment. Here we are discussing the operations of the Sympathetic Nervous System (SNS), responsible for mobilization, and Parasympathetic Nervous System (PNS), responsible for rest and digest.

The Vagus Nerve and Emotional Regulation

When we weave Polyvagal Theory into session we are able to focus on the vagus nerve, which connects the brainstem to organs, influencing heart rate, breathing, and digestion, and is crucial for emotional regulation. Polyvagal theory also explains how the nervous system responds to our external environment, activating defensiveness or social engagement where appropriate (Porges, 2011). Engaging clients in interventions, such as body scan, starfish pose, breathwork, and tapping can engage the nervous system to work with us, calming the threat response and engaging the healing response and furthering therapeutic outcome. 

Bridging toward weaving Applied Positive Psychology into Polyvagal Theory can take the regulated nervous system activation and enhance growth from learned helplessness and hopelessness toward resilience and growth mindset. Applied Positive Psychology, developed by Dr. Martin Seligman of University of Pennsylvania, is specifically designed to enhance the positive aspects of living, not to say life will not be challenging, but to create confidence and awareness of our abilities to effectively experience challenge and even see opportunity in the growth ahead.

What This Means for Counseling and Client Healing

What does all of this mean for therapy and how does it work? It means we are capable of creating a calm, nourishing environment in our body to endure hardships with decreased negative impact. Exercises in and out of session designed to engage the rest and digest and adequately mobilize toward motivation can create an empowering, strengths-driven approach to each moment and elicit a healing response. 

Polyvagal Theory in Therapy References

Porges, S. W. (2001). The polyvagal theory: Phylogenetic substrates of a social nervous system. International Journal of Psychophysiology, 42(2), 123–146. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0167-8760(01) 00162-3