JANUARY, 2019: KUDOS FOR POLYVAGAL BOOK!I attended a day-long presentation and have read the book on Polyvagal Theory in Therapy by Deb Dana. She presents the Polyvagal theory with clarity and offered worksheets to use with clients. Using the Polyvagal framework for understanding clients' experiences outside as well as inside therapy has been invaluable for my clients as well as for our work in some of the following ways:-- Making sense of their own struggles in ways that they have found illuminating and helpful;-- Tracking our respective and joint dynamics and shifting states of being;-- Facilitating curiosity and interest in our therapeutic work;-- Experiencing glimmers of hope for recovery, healing or growth;-- Decreasing shame of their actions and reactions; and, last but not least,-- Developing compassion for themselves, and trust in their organic capacity for movement and change.My clients have responded to this incorporation of Stephen Porges' Polyvagal theory and Deb Dana's clinical applications of it with surprise and deep appreciation. The work lands and they have asked for me to continue using her work. So, I highly recommend this book, and, when you can, attend one of her trainings (Disclosure: I only know Deb Dana from her book and the presentations I attended)._____________MAY, 2019: ADDENDUM TO MY REVIEW 5 MONTHS AGO:I've been able to use Deb Dana's polyvagal handouts as an effective way to track changes across time for many of my clients. I use her polyvagal profile form to assess each of my client's general state of well-being. That is, using percentages, I asked my clients how many percent of their waking life they are in a state-of-being that feels: (1) SAFE &/OR CONNECTED (it means they are in the ventral vagal state); UNSAFE, necessitating hyper-vigilance to mobilize a needed fight-or-flight survival response (sympathetic nervous system state); and UNDULY THREATENED, TRAPPED OR STUCK, necessitating a collapse or immobilized survival response (dorsal vagal state).After some months of incorporating polyvagal work into my therapy practice, I ask them to again report their sense of how much time, for the past few months, they have been in each state. Then we compare their previous report to the current one. Many of my clients and I are delighted to discover significant positive improvement in their general sense of wellbeing. Their reports basically show a big shift in polyvagal states:PRE-POLYVAGAL WORK:- 70-90% of the time easily triggered into and staying in sympathetic and dorsal states; and,- 30-10% in ventral vagalPOST-POLYVAGAL & OTHER MIND-BODY WORK:- 10-40% in the triggered states of sympathetic and dorsal; and- 90-60% in ventral vagal state of feeling safe and connectedThese reported changes showed up in the following ways:- More sustained (weeks to months) embodied sense of wellbeing- General ability to recognize triggers earlier- More effectiveness in dealing with them because they are smaller and more manageable- Getting highjacked less frequently- Noticeable benefits in their personal lives, including being able to set boundaries more consistently, where previously they could not, else they felt guilty; being able to take time out before reacting to relational triggers, thereby, less escalating and more effective in resolving conflicts with partners; feeling more confident and hopeful in their ability to effect changes in their lives; etc.Needless to say, I am very gratified and grateful that I am able to learn about polyvagal work from Deb Dana as well as with my clients!5 STARS!