Blog

Deb Dana on befriending our own nervous systems, what to do if we arrive for a session feeling dysregulated – and the real reason she believes some clients suddenly leave therapy.

Advances in neuroscience mean most general therapists understand the importance of working with the body, especially at the intersection of addiction and trauma. But how many of us lack confidence when inviting clients to safely connect with their embodied experience? Ahead of a PESI UK training in Autumn 2023, Jan Winhall introduces her Felt Sense Polyvagal Model – a foundational framework based on ‘Six Fs’ that integrates insights from Gendlin and Porges, and uses playful imagery to help clients track their own autonomic nervous systems.

How can we determine readiness for trauma processing? What skills and capacities need fostering in our traumatised clients before we take the next step? Rebecca Kase, leading EMDR consultant and author of a forthcoming book integrating Polyvagal Theory and EMDR, introduces the Preparation Hierarchy – a simple, neuro-informed framework that can help all therapists to pace, and prepare clients for, deep trauma work.

How can talk therapists integrate body-based solutions to boost the safety and effectiveness of our trauma work? Ahead of a free, live and online workshop for PESI UK this Thursday and Friday, Dr Arielle Schwartz introduces the somatic interventions that can help us move trauma clients from surviving to thriving, including addressing preverbal trauma and avoiding our own vicarious traumatisation and burnout.