Polyvagal Theory (PVT)

In the world of psychotherapy at the moment, nothing is making a bigger impact on our understanding of human behaviour, than PVT. Developed by Dr. Stephen Porges, a neuroscientist, medical doctor, and professor of psychiatry, PVT clinically applies the ways in which our Autonomic Nervous Systems sets the stage for our thoughts, behaviours, and interactions with others. PVT views each of us as a ‘nervous system’, operating in three distinct pathways: safety (ventral vagal), threat (sympathetic), and shut down/collapse (dorsal vagal). These pathways are constantly scanning the environment – a term coined by Porges as Neuroception – for cues to determine which state we should be operating in. Doing this constantly and persistently, and completely outside of our awareness. Applying PVT in therapy allows people to gain the tools, often for the first time, to fully understand the ways in which they, as a nervous system, are assessing the environment, determining safety and threat or danger, and the strategies learned over time to regain regulation.