Upcoming Events

This exciting new course, Polyvagal Theory & the Brain-Gut Axis: An Intro to Neuro-Integrative Medicine with BG Mancini,  explores human physiology and the nervous system on every level, with special attention given to the bi-directional brain-gut axis and microbiome health and functionality. When we feel safe in our bodies, we can optimize our metabolic resources, regulate our internal systems, and shift our behaviors, improving our overall health, resilience, and quality of life. By understanding how food, sensory input, neuroception, interoception, and more influence our nervous system, we can make small, impactful changes in our physical and mental health. This live-online course begins March 25, 2025.  Come join PVI Course Partner BG Mancini to learn more about this learning opportunity. She will share an overview of the curriculum and learning objectives for the course, and will be available to answer any of your questions! If you can not attend live in real time, a recording will be emailed to all who register.

This March, polyvagal-informed women's heath expert Chantal Traub and special guest Dr. Sue Carter return to PVI to offer a three-part series specifically designed for women in or entering mid-life, and for those working with or supporting this population.  Midlife and menopause can be a creative transformative experience. This series will center self-care and self-compassion strategies to manage chronic stress and create safety in the body. You can enroll in just one session in this education series for $65, or save by signing up for all three for $149. If you are unable to join us live in real time, your registration includes access to the session recording(s).

Join PVI Course Partners Michael Allison and Mattie Shisko for this free, live-online Community Conversation. This month they welcomes guest BG Mancini for "Digesting Cues of Safety & Threat Through Our Food and Environment." Our Brain-Gut-Nervous System axis continuously influences our health, well-being, healing, relationships, and performance—both in the moment and over our lifetimes. Understanding how our food and environment signal safety or threat is essential to caring for our physical and mental health. This conversation will explore the immediate and long-term consequences of the cues we are feeding our nervous systems and introduce a Polyvagal-informed approach to harness our integrated brain-gut-nervous system for greater wellness and resilience, and a more optimal human experience. BG Mancini teaches the upcoming PVI Course, "Polyvagal Theory & the Brain-Gut Axis: An Intro to Neuro-Integrative Medicine," which begins March 25, 2025. Can't join us live in real time? Your registration includes access to the event recording that is emailed out within 48 hours of the live event.

Join PVI and our Director of Community Development, Stephanie D'Angelo, for this free reset! Take some time out of your day to dedicate to your practice of mindfulness. Mindfulness meditation is one of the most powerful methods we have to regulate our nervous systems! During these brief practice sessions you'll explore ways you can personally create stability and cultivate safety, move toward acceptance of the present moment experience, cultivate self-compassion, practice making choices, and be curious. Everything offered during the session is invitational, and you will be empowered by having the choice to opt-out at any time. ​ Stephanie D’Angelo CMT-P has a master’s degree in Mindfulness Studies from Lesley University, where she developed the Polyvagal Informed Embodied Mindfulness program. Can't join us live in real time? Your registration includes access to the event recording that is emailed out within 48 hours of the live event.

This new innovative program offers an exciting opportunity for clinicians who have been trained with an accredited EMDR trainer to further their practice with the integration of Polyvagal Theory.  The integration taught in this Polyvagal-Informed EMDR Certificate Program with Rebecca Kase offers a robust, dynamic, neuro-informed framework for case conceptualization, treatment planning, and client transformation. The approach applies not only to work with trauma and PTSD, but also in the treatment of addictions, anxiety, depression, grief, chronic pain, and adjustment disorders. This live-online training begins April 2, 2025. ​Come join PVI Course Partner Rebecca Kase to learn more about this learning opportunity. She will share an overview of the curriculum and learning objectives for the course, and will be available to answer any of your questions! If you can not attend live in real time, a recording will be emailed to all who register.  ​Please note: this certificate program is exclusively for trained therapists and clinicians who have been trained (or are currently enrolled in Basic Training) with an accredited EMDR trainer: EMDRIA, EMDR UK, EMDR Europe, EMDR Asia, EMDR Australia. ​​​​

The newly published book, Somatic-Oriented Therapies: Embodiment, Trauma, and Polyvagal Perspectives, edited by Herbert Grassmann, Maurizio Stupiggia, and Stephen W. Porges PhD, represents a significant consolidation of innovative research and clinical approaches aimed at addressing trauma through various somatic modalities. ​This volume of collected work from some of the world’s leading experts in trauma aims to delineate this novel domain of research and clinical intervention. It elucidates the common thread linking the contributing authors and introduces a new clinical perspective.  Join PVI as we host the editors of this book along with a lineup of six of the contributing authors: Jan Winhall,  Donnalea Goelz, Ruby Jo Walker, Betsy Polatin, Chantal Traub and Michael Allison. The editors will share about the scope and intent of the book; each author will present an overview of their chapter from the book, and share an embodiment practice rooted in their work and research. ​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​Can't join us for this event in real time? No worries! Your registration here ensures that you will receive the recording of this session sent to you by email within 48 hours of the live event.

​Join PVI and Course Partner Jan Winhall, MSW, FOT, for a combined Author Talk and Info Session! Jan Winhall has recently published “20 Embodied Practices for Healing Trauma and Addiction,” in which she presents readers with two vital tools for healing: learning how to recognize and rewire their autonomic state, and finding the felt sense of somatic wisdom. This compassionate and inviting model centers the intelligence of the body to allow for deep healing, and these 20 step-by step exercises present an accessible approach for clinicians, their clients, and anyone on the journey to healing from trauma and addiction.  ​During this event, Jan will also share about the new Community Practice Group at PVI, which follows Jan's Felt Sense Polyvagal Model and the practices in her new book, creating a paradigm-shifting, deeply somatic approach that challenges current pathologizing models of addiction. Over the course of 20 weeks, participants will explore each practice in live sessions, in groups led by FSPM certified facilitators, and with their felt sense/focusing partner. This offering is not just for those who struggle with addiction, but anyone hoping to manage distressful emotions and difficult sensations, and preempt trauma responses and addictive processes, such as numbing, dissociating, and struggling with bad habits. Come see if this new offering is a good fit for you on your healing journey. ​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​Can't join us for this event in real time? No worries! Your registration here ensures that you will receive the recording of this session sent to you by email within 48 hours of the live event.​​​​​​​​​​​

The 2025 PVI International Gathering will take place from October 31-November 2, 2025. This year our focus is The Vagus Nerve: A Path to Wellness. ​​ ​ Stay tuned for more details including location, presenters and exhibitors, event registration, hotel accommodations, and more.  This event is live-in person. Registration for online virtual attendance will also be offered.  We hope you will join us! In the meantime, sign up for email updates about this event at the link below. ​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

Deb Dana, LCSW,  PVI Course Partner and PVI Co-Founder, is known worldwide for translating the principles of Polyvagal Theory for use by clinicians in the therapeutic setting. Deb is also known as the conceptualizer of "glimmers"― micromoments of joy and well-being in your day. ​In her newest publication, Glimmers Journal, Deb provides space and context for you to understand and start noticing glimmers. Glimmers tell your nervous system that you are safe and okay in the world, thus shifting your system’s response from defense to calm. When we notice and name glimmers, we train our nervous system to be open to more of these moments―expanding our overall sense of well-being. ​In this free Author Talk, Deb will share with us about the concept of glimmers, and how keeping a journal such as this will help you to build a foundation of wellness and regulation. Can't join us for this event in real time? No worries! Your registration here ensures that you will receive the recording of this session sent to you by email within 48 hours of the live event.

Join PVI and our Director of Community Development, Stephanie D'Angelo, for this free reset! Take some time out of your day to dedicate to your practice of mindfulness. Mindfulness meditation is one of the most powerful methods we have to regulate our nervous systems! During these brief practice sessions you'll explore ways you can personally create stability and cultivate safety, move toward acceptance of the present moment experience, cultivate self-compassion, practice making choices, and be curious. Everything offered during the session is invitational, and you will be empowered by having the choice to opt-out at any time. ​ Stephanie D’Angelo CMT-P has a master’s degree in Mindfulness Studies from Lesley University, where she developed the Polyvagal Informed Embodied Mindfulness program. Can't join us live in real time? Your registration includes access to the event recording that is emailed out within 48 hours of the live event.

Our voice is a profound resource that shapes how others perceive and engage with us. Whether in leadership, parenting, performing, counseling, therapy or coaching, our voice can either invite closeness or create distance. While these dynamics often occur unconsciously, this new course, Aligning Our Voice with Our Intentions: A Polyvagal Course for Communication with Mattie Shisko and co-instructor Michael Allison, empowers you to intentionally develop strategies to align your vocal and physiological presence with your core values, aspirations, and intentions. This live-online course begins April 29, 2025. ​Come join PVI Course Partners Mattie Shisko and Michael Allison to learn more about this learning opportunity. Mattie will share an overview of the curriculum and learning objectives for the course, and will be available to answer any of your questions! If you can not attend live in real time, a recording will be emailed to all who register.