Trauma Skills Summit - From Activation to Regulation: A Polyvagal Guided Approach

From Activation to Regulation: A Polyvagal Guided Approach

Deb Dana, LCSW
Author of The Polyvagal Theory in Therapy

When we feel threatened, our defenses go up and our ability to regulate our nervous system seems to go out the window—as a result, our trauma responses can get stuck in our bodies. Polyvagal theory helps us understand the ways trauma shapes our nervous system—and therefore see the pathways that can lead us back to healing. In this session, you’ll look at the cues that activate a survival state and explore ways to engage the natural resources of the autonomic nervous system in order to return to regulation.

Session Highlights:

  • The autonomic nervous system as the heart of daily living—powerfully shaping our experiences of safety and connection
  • How to recognize autonomic responses to trauma and explore the polyvagal theory as a key component for recovery
  • How to use “ventral vagal anchors” to cultivate feelings of safety and connection
  • The importance of connecting with others in healing





Whatever state that is the most active in your system, that is your story.


Ventral Vegal Anchors - keep a list of the who what where and when
when you slip out of ventral, disconnect, grab an anchor





Deb Dana, LCSW

Deb Dana, LCSW

Deb Dana is a clinician and consultant specializing in working with complex trauma. She is a consultant to the Traumatic Stress Research Consortium in the Kinsey Institute and clinical advisor to Khiron Clinics. She developed the Rhythm of Regulation Training Series translating polyvagal theory into clinical application and lectures internationally on how to bring a polyvagal-informed approach to therapy. Dana is the author of The Polyvagal Theory in Therapy: Engaging the Rhythm of Regulation and Polyvagal Exercises for Safety and Connection: 50 Client-Centered Practices, creator of the Polyvagal Flip Chart, and coeditor, with Stephen Porges, of Clinical Applications of the Polyvagal Theory: The Emergence of Polyvagal-Informed Therapies. Her Sounds True audio program, Befriending Your Nervous System, is due to be released in summer 2020.



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