PVI is the founding home of Polyvagal Theory; Stephen Porges, PhD, the developer of the Polyvagal Theory, is one of our founders. We believe that our courses offer the most accurate and up-to-date content about Polyvagal Theory and its many applications available anywhere. There is no accrediting body for this type of curriculum. Our course descriptions will list any continuing education credits (CEs/ CEUs) or other professional benefits that might be available for the course (along with any applicable restrictions). If CEs are not listed for a particular course, then none are available.

Earning the Polyvagal-Informed Certificate in The Polyvagal Certificate Course or a certificate of completion in any of our other trainings does not offer licensure or "certification" of any kind. There is no program or formal certification process in existence or available through any organization to become a "certified polyvagal clinician." However, the Polyvagal Institute affirms that our certificate-level training results in a Polyvagal-Informed level of knowledge and application. Learners who successfully complete this course may refer to themselves as "Polyvagal-Informed" and use this term in their CVs or professional materials to convey their level of knowledge and skill. ​

Live/Hybrid courses: While specific course policies may vary, we typically allow one absence for a live or hybrid course and require watching the recording and/or sometimes submitting a reflection for the missed session. If a participant is absent for more than the permissible number of live sessions, they may no longer be eligible to receive their certificate. Self-paced courses: Attendance does not apply to self-paced courses as they are designed to be consumed when the student is willing and able to take the course. All material is pre-recorded content, reading, or individual assignments. Please note that if you are enrolled in a course that offers CEs (continuing education credits) and you have opted to earn them, specific attendance policies apply and must be adhered to in order for you to remain eligible to earn CEs at the end of the course. Contact us for details if you are unsure of the attendance policy for your particular course!

All live sessions are held online via Zoom. You will find your course Zoom link inside the course content on our Learning Platform once you enroll; email reminders with the Zoom link are sent to enrolled students. While having your camera on is not required, you are invited to turn your camera on during your live course session; this allows you to share in co-regulation with other learners and to build a sense of community.

We upload recordings of our live course sessions to our Learning Platform within 72 hours for you to view. (Please see the attendance policy above.)

To convert your live course session meeting times to your local timezone, we recommend using a conversion website like this. All of our course and event times are listed in Eastern (New York City) Time for consistency.

PVI has an online Learning Platform that hosts all of your course content including curriculum, video content, links to live sessions, live session recordings, quizzes, and your course schedule. (Note that each course is different and not every course or offering will include all of these elements). Many of our courses also include a Course Community Space where you can engage in discussion with your fellow learners and your instructor, access additional resources, and more. Upon enrolling in a course, you will receive an email invite to access the course in the PVI Learning Platform. For more information about accessing your course, please visit our For Learners page.

You can reset your password by going to https://pvi.thinkific.com/users/sign_in and clicking the “Forgot Password?” link. You will then enter the email address you used when creating your account to receive a one-time password reset link. Use the instructions in that email to complete your password reset. If you have any other technical questions, feel free to reach out to us at info@polyvagal.org. For additional troubleshooting, please visit our For Leaners page.

Yes. Most of our pre-recorded course content is hosted on a platform that offers closed captioning. If you come across a video that does not have closed captioning, please send us a message at info@polyvagal.org and we will be glad to assist you.

Polyvagal Institute has established relationships with a number of Official PVI International Partners in countries around the globe. Our International Partners offer a number of our course offerings in their home languages. Please view our list of Official International Partners here. Please contact each organization directly with any questions regarding their course offerings.

Polyvagal Institute is a US-based non-profit organization. Our prices are listed in USD (United States Dollars). Your credit card or bank statement will likely reflect the price in your local currency.

If you are located in the US or Canada, you will be charged sales tax on the cost of your course.

Yes, PVI offers scholarships for all of our courses on a rolling basis. You can apply for a scholarship by completing the application here.

Yes. PVI is glad to work with organizations, businesses, schools and other groups looking to enroll a number of learners in the same course together. For groups of five or more learners, a 15% discount is available for each participant. Please contact us at info@polyvagal.org to inquire and to enroll as a group!

We are proud to offer a 30 day Money Back Guarantee for all of our courses (from date of purchase for self-paced courses and from date of first live session for live courses). Please reach out to us at info@polyvagal.org if you'd like to inquire about a refund.

Yes, any Polyvagal Institute course may be purchased and sent as a gift. You'll find this option during the checkout process after adding a course to your shopping cart. If you wish to send a gift of a certain dollar amount and allow the recipient to select their choice of course, please email us at info@polyvagal.org and we will gladly arrange this for you.