Polyvagal Theory:

With polyvagal theory, you'll learn about three main states your body can be in: one where you feel safe and connected with others (the social engagement state), another where you feel ready to fight or run away (the fight-or-flight state), and a third where you might feel frozen or shut down (the freeze state).

As we dive into this theory, you'll start to notice your body's physical responses during our sessions. We'll work together to track things like your heart rate, muscle tension, and other sensations. Recognizing these reactions will help you become more aware of your nervous system's state.

We'll explore techniques to regulate your arousal levels, so you can shift between different states more easily. This means we'll practice grounding exercises, mindfulness, and deep breathing to help you feel more balanced and safe.

Building a trusting and safe therapeutic relationship is crucial. We'll prioritize creating a comfortable space where you can feel open and supported, especially if you've experienced trauma or dysregulation in the past.

Understanding how social interactions affect your nervous system will help you build healthier relationships. We'll work together to identify your triggers and resources, so you can handle challenging situations with more ease.

Additionally, we might incorporate body-oriented approaches like yoga, dance, or somatic experiencing. These practices can help you release physical tension and process any unresolved emotions or trauma.

Polyvagal theory is especially valuable when working through trauma. By understanding your body's responses, we'll tailor our approach to support your healing journey better.

Somatic Therapy:

With somatic therapy we use the body both as a place of inquiry, and as a place of resource. In session, we often check in with the body as we are talking. Sometimes we spend a lot of the session exploring sensation in the body, being with sensation, and noticing if it shifts into another sensation, (or feeling, or memory, or belief). We begin to recognize how every feeling, belief, or memory has a corresponding experience and sensation held in the body. When we pay a curious attention to these sensations, we can sometimes spontaneously have memories or feelings pop up that are ready to be looked at and healed.

The premise of somatic therapy is that our mind and body are deeply and intrinsically connected. And that sometimes our body is able to process emotions and memories more quickly and thoroughly than we can using talk therapy alone.

Many of us are trained from a young age to ignore the messages coming from our bodies. It can be remarkable to discover that with just a little encouragement and attention, our bodies actually carry a great deal of wisdom. Like a drooping and thirsty flower, it takes only a little bit of water, in the form of our compassionate attention, and our body brightens right up, eager to share it’s experience.