Polyvagal Therapy

Polyvagal Therapy is a neuroscience-informed approach that maps how our autonomic nervous system shapes feelings of safety, resilience, and social connection. At Therapy Center Houston, we recognize that healing begins with the body—and that understanding your nervous system’s language can unlock profound emotional and physical well-being.

Core Principles of Polyvagal Therapy

• Hierarchy of the Autonomic Nervous System:
  The autonomic nervous system operates in three evolutionary states:

• Ventral Vagal (Social Engagement): Safety, connection, and calm

• Sympathetic (Fight/Flight): Mobilization for threat response

• Dorsal Vagal (Shutdown): Immobilization for survival
  Therapy focuses on helping clients access the ventral vagal state to regulate stress and engage authentically with others.

• Neuroception:
  Our nervous system constantly scans environments and relationships for safety or danger—a subconscious process called neuroception. Polyvagal Therapy teaches clients to recognize these physiological cues and shift their state intentionally.

• Co-Regulation:
  Humans heal through safe relational connections. Therapists use attuned presence, vocal prosody, and facial cues to help clients’ nervous systems settle into states conducive to growth.

• Trauma-Informed Compassion:
  Rather than asking “Why can’t you calm down?” Polyvagal Therapy asks, “What is your nervous system trying to protect?” This reframes symptoms as adaptive survival strategies.

• Body-First Healing:
  Emotions are understood as physiological experiences. Therapy prioritizes somatic awareness over cognitive analysis to reprogram automatic stress responses.

What Makes Polyvagal Therapy “Safety-Focused”?

Polyvagal Therapy goes beyond symptom management to address the root cause of dysregulation: a nervous system stuck in survival mode. This approach is transformative for those who:

• Feel chronically anxious or numb

• Struggle with trauma triggers

• Experience digestive issues or chronic pain linked to nervous system stress

• Want to improve relationships but feel disconnected

• Need tools to recover from burnout or emotional exhaustion

Through Polyvagal principles, clients learn to:

• Reset their stress response

• Deepen relational capacity

• Enhance mind-body communication

• Build resilience against future challenges