A Workshop with Deb Dana

In this time of deep disruption, we are confronted with experiences that challenge our ability to feel safe and find ways to connect. The demands of daily life can easily overwhelm us and pull us out of balance into a persistent state of worry. Finding a way to move from anxiety to ease is dependent on the nervous system. Polyvagal Theory, developed by renowned scientist Stephen Porges, offers a guide to the workings of the human autonomic nervous system and a way to partner with our nervous system to navigate this unfamiliar territory. 

Through the lens of Polyvagal Theory, we recognize the role of the nervous system in shaping the way we live, love, and work. Our nervous systems are at the heart of our suffering and provide the pathways back to regulation.  

Join clinician and Polyvagal Theory expert Deb Dana for a rich, engaging workshop exploring the art of befriending your nervous system. Deb teaches you how to create a map of your nervous system and provides skills you can practice that strengthen your ability to anchor yourself and others in safety and regulation. Using the principles of Polyvagal Theory, Deb helps you answer the essential question, “What does the nervous system need in this moment to find safety in connection?” 

In this interactive workshop, participants learn the predictable ways the autonomic nervous system works and explore practices to gently shape your system in new ways. Enjoy the sense of ease that comes from living with a nervous system that responds with flexibility to the ordinary—and sometimes extraordinary—challenges you meet each day. Through didactic teaching and experiential practices, participants learn how to use the body’s regulating circuits to regain a sense of safety and skills to engage the nervous system’s natural pathways to regulation. Practice ways to mindfully travel the autonomic pathways of protection and connection, navigate states of survival, and find the way back to regulation.   

From an anchor in the safety of a regulated nervous system, pathways of connection come alive, and we can travel those pathways in service of healing. With Polyvagal Theory as a guide, we can promote individual, family, community, and global well-being.   

The teachings offered in this workshop are appropriate for healthcare professionals as well as the general public. Healthcare professionals will be able to incorporate the tools and practices offered in this program in ways beneficial to clients or patients. Members of the general public will be able to use the tools and practices to promote well-being in their daily lives.

 
Deb Dana, LCSW, is a clinician, consultant, and author specializing in complex trauma. Her work is focused on using the lens of Polyvagal Theory to understand and resolve the impact of trauma and creating ways of working that honor the role of the autonomic nervous system. She is a founding member of the Polyvagal Institute, consultant to Khiron Clinics, and advisor to Unyte. Deb is the developer of the signature Rhythm of Regulation Clinical Training Series and is well known for translating Polyvagal Theory into a language and application that is both understandable and accessible for clinicians and curious people alike.  

Deb’s clinical work published with W.W. Norton includes The Polyvagal Theory in Therapy: Engaging the Rhythm of Regulation, Polyvagal Exercises for Safety and Connection: 50 Client Centered Practices, the Polyvagal Flip Chart, and the Polyvagal Card Deck. She partners with Sounds True to bring her polyvagal perspective to a general audience through the audio program Befriending Your Nervous System: Looking Through the Lens of Polyvagal Theory and her print book Anchored: How to Befriend Your Nervous System Using Polyvagal Theory. Learn more about Deb and how to contact her at her website. 

Learning Objectives: By the end of this course, participants will be able to: 

• Describe how the autonomic nervous system shapes behaviors and beliefs 
• Create an autonomic map  
• Identify practices that bring a return to autonomic regulation   
• Describe the distinct stories that emerge from autonomic states  
• Describe ways the nervous system responds to cues of safety and danger 
• Utilize skills to engage the nervous system’s natural pathways to regulation 
• Discuss the responsibility of being a Polyvagal informed human  

Information on Continuing Education Credit for Health Professionals 

• CEs for psychologists are provided by the Spiritual Competency Academy (SCA) which is co-sponsoring this program. The Spiritual Competency Academy is approved by the American Psychological Association to sponsor continuing education for psychologists. Spiritual Competency Academy maintains responsibility for this program and its content.
• The California Board of Behavioral Sciences accepts CEs for LCSW, LPCC, LEP, and LMFT license renewal for programs offered by approved sponsors of Continuing Education by the American Psychological Association.
• LCSW, LPCC, LEP, and LMFTs, and other mental health professionals from states other than California need to check with their state licensing board as to whether or not they accept programs offered by approved sponsors of Continuing Education by the American Psychological Association.
• SCA is approved by the California Board of Registered Nursing (BRN Provider CEP16887) for licensed nurses in California. RNs must retain their certificate of attendance for 4 years after the course concludes.
• For questions about completing the CE evaluation materials for this course, as well as receiving your Certificate of Attendance, contact CIIS Public Programs at publicprograms@ciis.edu. For other questions about CEs, visit www.spiritualcompetency.com or contact Spiritual Competency Academy at info@spiritualcompetencyacademy.com.
• CEs are only available for participants who attend the live workshop in-person or on Zoom. CEs cannot be issued to participants who view a recording of a workshop.