Polyvagal Wellness Program
Kimberly Keiser & Associates is committed to providing evidence-based application of theoretical models and therapeutic interventions. The regulation of the nervous system is fundamental to mental health and the ability to regulate emotions and connect to others. For this reason, our team of providers is working towards the integration of Polyvagal theory through Polyvagal informed interventions for clients as well as a Polyvagal informed company culture.
Polyvagal theory describes a neuropsychological model developed by Stephen Porges to explain the role of the vagus nerve in autonomic nervous system function as it applies to emotional responses, fear, and social engagement.
Rooted in the field of psychophysiology, Polyvagal theory was formulated through neuroscientific research conducted on brain structures, which provides knowledge on direct links between neurophysiological processes, psychological processes, and behavior through direct measurement.
Stay tuned for our most recent program content.
What is Polyvagal Theory?
Polyvagal refers to the two branches of the vagus nerve — the branch that sends signals quickly and the branch that sends signals more slowly from the brain to the body and the body’s organs to the brain.
Polyvagal theory expands upon previous assumptions that the autonomic nervous system has only two branches — the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems. In popular culture, this is where the term “fight or flight” originates. The polyvagal theory introduces a third branch, the myelinated vagus nerve. Adding to popular culture terms, we’d call this the “fight or connect or freeze”.
The myelinated vagus nerve, or ventral vagal complex, is connected to the heart, lungs, face, voice, and ears, and is intricately tied to responses associated with socialization. In states of safety, the myelinated vagus nerve allows social engagement through vocalizations and facial expressions. When the vagus nerve is leading the system, systems are not in a state of mobilization associated with flight or fight, which is dominated by the sympathetic adrenal system, or immobilization associated with freeze, which is dominated by the unmyelinated parasympathetic nervous system, or dorsal vagal complex.
Social Engagement and Connection
The core feature of Polyvagal theory is that brain structures operating to maintain physiological stability and the social engagement system were developed through evolution.
The three branches of the autonomic nervous system as assumed by Polyvagal theory serve different behavioral functions and evolved over time through different species. The sympathetic-adrenal system has the goal of mobilizing for fight or flight, and the most primitive of the three that functions to mobilize, the dorsal vagal complex, is found among most vertebrates while the ventral vagal complex serves to support social communication.
Porges argues that through evolution the myelinated vagus grew to include muscles in the face and head — hence the connection between social engagement, emotional expression, vocalizations, and facial expression — and corresponding physiological states. In this way, social engagement is an adaptive evolutionary strategy much in the same way as fight, flight, or freeze.
Applicability of Polyvagal Theory
Polyvagal theory extends far beyond the discipline of human psychology and has implications to inform many other disciplines, including anatomy, physiology, biology, chemistry, computer science, dentistry, economics*, education, language, law**, pharmacology, sociology, and zoology***.
Within the field of human psychology, polyvagal theory can be utilized in its current form and expanded upon through further research to understand many phenomena, including, attachment+, somatically driven gastrointestinal disorders, addictions, personality disorders, mood disorders, posttraumatic stress disorder, love, and sexual functioning.
The promise of Polyvagal Theory encompasses not only an evolutionary and neurophysiological understanding of the autonomic nervous system, emotional expression, behavior, and social engagement but a clear explanation of the mechanisms by which pathology occurs through traumatic stress. The Polyvagal Theory stands alone in its ability to provide a direct measurement of psychopathological processes.
The applicability of Polyvagal theory to sexual functioning and attachment supports the clinical specialties at Kimberly Keiser and Associates and the patients that we serve. Additionally, it strengthens the relationships among providers and the environment in which we work to support clients. We have developed a Polyvagal Wellness Program that will include exercises and self-care practices to strengthen safety and connection that our providers integrate into their workday that clients can also do as they are posted ongoing on our website.
Additional Resources:
*Dunn, B. D., Evans, D., Makarova, D., White, J., & Clark, L. (2012). Gut feelings and the reaction to perceived inequity: The interplay between bodily responses, regulation, and perception shapes the rejection of unfair offers on the ultimatum game. Cognitive, Affective and Behavioral Neuroscience, 12(3), 419-29.
**Ranjbar, N., Gleason, M, & Alexander, K. (2020). Medical–Legal partnerships addressing family separation at the border: Trauma and resilience. American Journal of Family Law, 34(1), 18-31.
***Thompson, R. R., & Walton, J. C. (2009). Vasotocin immunoreactivity in goldfish brains: Characterizing primitive circuits associated with social regulation. Brain, Behavior and Evolution, 73(3), 153-64.
+Flores, P. J., & Porges, S. W. (2017). Group psychotherapy as a neural exercise: Bridging polyvagal theory and attachment theory. International Journal of Group Psychotherapy, 67(2), 202-222.
