How helpful is Polyvagal Theory in Trauma Therapy?

Great Polyvagal Theory visual aid showing what happens in our body when our nervous system goes through different states.

Although Polyvagal Theory is greatly influential in Trauma Therapy, and I also use it myself with clients a lot, I do believe it is very important to educate clients about its limitations too, so they can feel more empowered and resourceful when it comes to making an informed decision.

This is important to me because one pattern I often notice in trauma survivors is the desperate drive for change. That desire to heal is obviously valid and important, but sometimes this approach in itself can then become another survival resource. E.g. People begin consuming endless podcasts, books, reels, theories and other healing content in the hope that more insight will finally create change. While psychoeducation can absolutely help, there needs to be a balance.

The danger is that constant analysing and intellectualising can pull us away from our body and from the actual sensations arising underneath, which means we end up staying in cognition/logic/intellectualisation because it feels safer than feeling.

This won’t be helpful as we need to regulate before we can access insight because a dysregulated nervous system cannot access deep reflective processing safely. That is why the goal is not just to understand yourself cognitively, but to reconnect with sensation, emotion and what safety means to your nervous system/body.

The more we over-intellectualise, the more we can unintentionally distance ourselves from what needs to be felt and processed. This is also why pacing matters. Consuming the material you want, but doing it in small doses is often more effective than overwhelming the system with too much information or activation at once.

Too much too quickly can actually lead to shutdown or overwhelm, so that is why techniques like Peter Levine’s pendulation or Babette Rothchild’s Dual Awareness Technique can be really helpful, as we will be moving gradually between activation and safety rather than forcing ourselves deeper before the nervous system is even ready.

This is also why it is important not to over-consume the latest healing trends or theories (including things like Polyvagal Theory) without understanding their limitations and how they would apply to your own nervous system e.g. what works for someone who is constantly in dorsal state (shutdown) will be different to one who is mainly in an anxious agitated state (sympathetic state).

So going back to the criticism and limitations around Polyvagal Theory, neuroscientists have heavily criticised the model and their argument is that the nervous system is more complex than the what Polyvagal Theory suggests, and its evolutionary explanation has also been disputed. From a clinical research point of view, they argue that it lacks strong scientific evidence.

At the same time, I am also mindful that stress, safety and nervous-system regulation are factors that do affect mental health, so I like to not ignore the strengths of Polyvagal Theory, which actually focuses on these exact areas.

I have seen time and time again how it gives people an accessible way to understand their stress and trauma responses, while also emphasising the importance of safety and connection in trauma recovery and healing. I love how it has helped people become more aware of body-based and nervous system-informed therapy approaches. If you like to deepen your understanding in this area, I can strongly recommend Babette Rothchild’s work, especially this more balanced information through what she calls Babette Rothschild’s Autonomic Nervous System Table.

Going back to Polyvagal Theory, I know that I am not the only therapist who has found it very beneficial in trauma work, and that this resonates with many clinicians, therapists, and clients in practice, even where the evidence is still developing.

I am honoured to say that I am approaching the completion of my Polyvagal Certificate through Stephen Porges’ Polyvagal Institute (PVI), and I really look forward to integrating my learning and skills further when working with trauma, as a way of supporting my clients who want to use somatic approaches in their trauma recovery/healing.

~ Sharmi

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