Our team developed the Polyvagal Masterclass to offer health professionals the opportunity to deeply explore the implications and clinical applications of the Polyvagal Theory. This course was taught as a live seminar, initially, with Zoom-based two hour lectures, and with supplemental video content. The course is team-taught by several of our faculty, as well as Deb Dana, with emphasis on deepening participants understanding of critical facets of applying the theory with clients in vivo.

In the course, Gabriel Kram, Convener of the Restorative Practices model, focuses on helping clinicians develop the capacity to track neural platforms in real-time. Through the lens of tracking, he leads a deep-dive into how we can track physiology moment-to-moment, allowing us to better understand the present moment nervous system needs of clients in various states so that we can more skillfully accompany them.

Deb Dana, LCSW, LICSW explores clinical applications of the Theory, and the three organizing principles that we can apply in conceptualizing how to work polyvagally.

Neurodevelopmental Occupational Therapist Letha Marchetti OTR/L, C-NDT, SEP then leads a course on the regulating role of proprioception to bring us back into self-regulation. The developer of the Daisy Model of Self-Regulation, Letha has 30 years of experience integrating Polyvagal Theory with Occupational Therapy, and somatically-oriented trauma therapies. She has a gift for making complex neurological concepts understandable to everyone. She will train us to talk about the Polyvagal Theory in ways that even a child can understand.

Dr. Jeff Rockwell DC, MA, DOMP, Developer of Polyvagal Touch, has 40 years of experience integrating osteopathy (with an emphasis on manual therapies), dermo-neuro-regulation, and Polyvagal Theory. He explains that the skin is the outer layer of the nervous system, and teaches us how to work with touch in support of regulation. This is touch that can be self-applied, or applied to others.

Moira Theede, author of The Polyvagal Theory Affirms the Importance of Nursing, in the Norton edited volume Clinical Applications of the Polyvagal Theory (eds. Porges and Dana), helps us step into a larger conversation about the role of the Healer, and where healing actually comes from, through a Polyvagal Lens. She helps healers expand their ‘response abilities’ and understand the importance of person-to-person relational skills, cues of safety and caring that contribute to a patient’s recovery.

The course consists of 10 hours of lecture, as well as a number of supplemental videos, including:

• Tracking Physiology with Gabriel Kram
• The Daisy Model of Self-Regulation with Letha Marchetti
• Polyvagal Touch with Dr. Jeff Rockwell
• The Body We are Wearing- a Film about Neuroception and Interoception
• An Illustrated Guide to Polyvagal Physiology