Breaking the Stasis in the Polyvagal Controversy

Polyvagal Theory has profoundly influenced clinical practice by providing a physiological framework for understanding safety, threat, and social engagement. Recent publications by Grossman et al. (January 2026: WHY THE POLYVAGAL THEORY IS UNTENABLE: An International Expert Evaluation of the Polyvagal Theory) have challenged the theory's neurophysiological and evolutionary foundations, leaving many clinicians uncertain whether its central ideas remain valid or have now been discredited. Porges’ response to the critique (January 2026, WHEN A CRITIQUE BECOMES UNTENABLE: A SCHOLARLY RESPONSE TO GROSSMAN ET AL.’S EVALUATION OF POLYVAGAL THEORY) reasserted the same evaluative posture — engaging the critique's epistemic standards rather than its individual claims — that has characterized his responses since 2007. This exchange has produced neither productive field-advancing creative friction nor refined testable theses on either side, but further entrenched a pattern that amplifies a generally unsettled stasis in both the research and clinical domains.

In this training we will review the major tenets of Grossman's critique, a number of with which we agree, as well as enumerate places where we think PVT still holds water. Furthermore, we will explain, in alignment with our forthcoming paper Breaking the Stasis in the Polyvagal Controversy, why we believe that the debate is UNRESOLVABLE as currently constructed, and how it could be reformulated to answer the question through an experimentally testable hypothesis (which we have already tested).

ABOUT YOUR INSTRUCTOR:
Natureza Gabriel is the Founder of Hearth Science and the Developer of Autonomics. He is the Principal architect of the Craft of Being Archive. He has delivered over 2,500 trainings internationally.