Polyvagal Theory and the Neuroscience of Connection: How a Polyvagal Perspective Can Enhance the Treatment of Trauma and Anxiety

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Speaker

Sherrie All, PhD Related seminars and products

Chicago Center for Cognitive Wellness

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Sherrie All, PhD, is a licensed clinical neuropsychologist who has specialized in treating people with dementia, Parkinson’s disease, TBI, MS, and other neurological disorders for over a decade. Dr. All is the founder and director of the Chicago Center for Cognitive Wellness, a private neuropsychology practice specializing in cognitive rehabilitation and brain health. The evidence-based cognitive rehabilitation interventions she uses have helped hundreds of adults experiencing cognitive declines improve their thinking skills, expand their functional independence, and enhance their brain health. Dr. All has worked as a consultant to the Mather LifeWays Institute on Aging, helping to develop and evaluate a holistic brain fitness program, and her work with individuals on ways to lower their personal risk for dementia has earned the attention of media outlets including The New Yorker and Crain’s Chicago Business. Dr. All earned her PhD in clinical psychology from Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science, is a member of the American Psychological Association and author of The Neuroscience of Memory: Seven Skills to Optimize Your Brain Power, Improve Memory and Stay Sharp at Any Age.

Speaker Disclosures:
Financial: Sherrie All is the owner of Chicago Center for Cognitive Wellness. She receives royalties as a published author. Sherrie All receives a speaking honorarium and recording royalties from PESI, Inc. She has no relevant financial relationships with ineligible organizations.
Non-Financial: Sherrie All is a member of the American Psychological Association. the Illinois Psychological Association, and the International Neuropsychological Society.

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Objectives

1. Investigate the clinical implications of the Polyvagal Theory’s explanation of how the nervous system reacts to social factors.
2. Analyze the concept of neuroception and how it can impact autonomic states in clients.
3. Assess how psychoeducation with clients about the nervous system can help generate buy-in for interventions designed to impact the nervous system’s reactions to stress, trauma and anxiety.
4. Analyze the treatment implications of hyperarousal and hypoarousal on a client’s window of tolerance.
5. Analyze therapeutic presence through the lens of Polyvagal Theory to help explain the mechanisms of change that presence evokes.
6. Evaluate the current state of research on the application of a Polyvagal perspective to mental health treatment.

Outline

• Understanding the autonomic nervous system
• The vagus nerve and how your nervous system reacts to social factors
• The complexities of fight/flight/freeze response
• Neuroception and co-regulation
• Rest and digest – the state of social engagement

• Learn how neurologically-based conditions are treatable
• Foundations for using “neurorehabilitation”
• Train the nervous system for better coping
• Review the science, research and limitations behind neuroplasticity

• Why is this relevant to your clinical practice?
• Help clients cope using Dan Siegel’s
• Window of Tolerance
• Recognize autonomic states of clients
• Hyper-arousal and hypo-arousal
• How overlooking hypo-arousal in clients impacts treatment
• Therapeutic presence

• Create a space of co-regulation - body, face, tone, and breath
• Visual interventions: Scanning for safety
• Auditory interventions: Safe & Sound protocol
• Tactile interventions

• Movement to put stress to the use nature intended
• Imagined movement: Running Faster than the Tiger
• Diaphragmatic breathing and the vagus nerve
• Non-threatening breath exercises to control hyperventilation
• Muscle tension and the vagus nerve
• Research, treatment risks and limitations

Target Audience

• Counselors
• Social Workers
• Psychologists
• Case Managers
• Addiction Counselors
• Marriage and Family Therapists
• Nurses
• Other Mental Health Professionals