“The autonomic nervous system is the primary mechanism through which our body determines if we feel safe or threatened, influencing our physiological and behavioral responses” Dr. Stephen Porges
Course Timing
The first live online session of this course is March 25, 2025.
Self-paced content for this course will be available starting on March 18, 2025.
This 7 week course meets for 1.5 hour long sessions every week on Zoom on Tuesdays at 12:00 pm ET.
• Module 1: live Zoom meeting on March 25
• Module 2: live Zoom meeting on April 1
• Module 3: live Zoom meeting on April 8
• Module 4: live Zoom meeting on April 15
• Module 5: live Zoom meeting on April 22
• Module 6: live Zoom meeting on April 29 with guest visit from Dr. Porges
• Module 7: live Zoom meeting on May 6
Recordings of previous live sessions will be available on our learning platform.
Course Description
This course offers a Polyvagal-Informed approach to Neuro-Integrative medicine, focusing on how we can process what we "digest" in the world—physically, emotionally, and mentally—with less reactivity. By understanding what the Brain-Gut Axis and microbiome are communicating to us, we can reduce stress, improve our health, and deepen our connection to self, each other, and the world around us.
The goal of this course is to help provide resources to create more safety and resilience in the nervous system in order to deepen the connection to ourselves, each other and the world around us. We will explore the easy-to-access ways to create more coherence, and safety in our physiology and nervous system on every level. 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 to create the experience we want.
This approach is practical, easy to understand, and rooted in self-connection. Participants will learn to identify “microtraumas” impacting them in real-time and gain tools to foster safety in their nervous systems, benefiting themselves, their loved ones, and their clients.As clients face increasing medical and emotional complexities, recognizing their needs and providing the right tools or referrals is essential to enhancing the support you offer in your specialty. Whether for personal growth or professional development, the course covers a wide range of inputs shaping our daily experience, and providing tools to create the experience we want to live.
Join us for a live info session about this course on February 25, 2025 at 12pm ET. Register to attend the info session here.
We invite you to watch the introductory webinar recording here: Coming soon
Payment Information
This course costs $849. Learners may opt to pay the full fee at registration, or to pay in three monthly installments. Learners will have access to the course for 300 days from the registration date.
Course Requirements
There are no pre-requisites for this course.
You will receive a Polyvagal-Informed Certificate upon finishing this course.
CEs for psychologists, LPCs, LCSWs, LMFTs, and nurses are pending. Additional CE information will be updated here when approved by our CE provider.
*If you are interested in obtaining optional continuing education credits (CEs) to support the maintenance of a professional license (mostly relevant to learners based in the U.S.), please note that 100% live attendance is required in all live sessions in their entirety.
Course Format
Course Framework
This course offers experiential instruction in NeuroIntegrative Medicine, Polyvagal Theory, and the Brain-Gut Axis. Composed of seven 1.5-hour live Zoom classes every week (including a live discussion with Dr. Stephen Porges), course content also includes self-paced readings, practices, and videos by Dr. BG Mancini. At the end of each module, you will also find Additional Resources and Empowering Practices for Functional Living.
Module 1 - Polyvagal Integrative Medicine. An introduction to using Polyvagal Theory as a lens to understand how Functional Medicine serves as the connecting opportunity for comprehensive support of our Autonomic Nervous System—the creator of our real-time experience.
This module examines how Polyvagal Theory explains the Autonomic Nervous System's role in shaping experiences and how Functional Medicine supports its function for improved health. It also explores the interplay between the vagus nerve, sensory input, the microbiome, and neuromodulation
Module 2 - The Microbiome & The Brain-Gut Axis—Where Safety and Coherence Begin
This module explores the foundational components of the brain-gut axis, its bidirectional communication pathways, and the microbiome’s role in creating safety and balance in daily life. We will review key research findings on how food and the microbiome influences mental health and behavior, identify factors affecting its functionality, and discover strategies to enhance “gut feelings” through the Enteric Nervous System.
Module 3 - Internal Microtraumas: Understanding Body/Brain Inflammation from Internal Causes and its Symptoms in the Brain, Behavior and Physiology
This module examines how inflammation impacts brain function, mood, and physical health, contributing to internal stress, trauma patterns, and mental health challenges. Participants will explore the effects of food sensitivities, unprocessed emotions, and trauma on inflammation, learn about the feedback loop between immune responses and the fight/flight system, and discover interventions to reduce reactivity and improve overall well-being.
Module 4 - External Microtraumas: Understanding Body / Brain / Nervous System Inflammation from External Causes
This module explores common external microtraumas and their impact on the nervous system and the Enteric Nervous System, potentially leading to inflammation and challenging symptoms. Participants will examine how external factors disrupt nervous system regulation and contribute to a lens of Neuroceptive threat.
Module 5 - Sensory Input and The Autonomic Nervous System: Digesting The World. 5 Senses PLUS: Interoception, Neuroception, Proprioception & Vestibular
This module examines how sensory inputs—including the five senses, interoception, neuroception, proprioception, and the vestibular system—affect the Autonomic Nervous System and provides tools to improve their impact. Participants will explore the links between sensory processing, brain-gut health, and nervous system regulation, gaining strategies to address sensory imbalances, enhance interoceptive awareness, and promote a greater sense of safety and balance.
Module 6 - Conversations with Dr. Stephen Porges
This module welcomes Dr. Stephen Porges to discuss the impacts of the Autonomic Nervous System on end-organ symptoms, health, and behavior, with a focus on trauma responses and their connection to children’s diagnoses. Participants will learn recent Gut-Brain Axis research, explore the Cell-Danger Response as a cellular-level application of Polyvagal Theory, and apply Neuro-Integrative Medicine principles through a Polyvagal-informed lens.
Module 7 - Pediatric Functional Care & The Family Nervous System®
This module focuses on identifying physical and behavioral expressions from infancy to adolescence that reveal neurological, emotional, and mental health needs, along with tools and referral options to support them. Participants will explore adaptive neural responses in conditions like Autism, PANS, and OCD, examine the role of movement in development and resilience, and learn functional, neuro-integrative strategies—such as movement, diet, and supplementation—to foster attachment, bonding, and mental health.
Each module will share the best practices to support the information discussed.
These will include:
Vagus Nerve Supports that are unique and highly effective.
Neuro-Integrative Medicine Resources:
Specific supplementation for Neuro-Regulation, Microbiome rebalance, Anti-inflammatory
Vagus nerve stimulation tools: when/what to use
Which red light therapy is best
Sleep hygiene
Neural Exercise tools & therapies: Sandtray, SSP, RRP, Movement & Power of Play!
Breathing Coherence for Anxiety and Inflammation
Case Study from the clinic: How these tools were used practically and their results that are seen. You will have the opportunity to request your own case study be presented in our Q&A!
Recommended Audience
Course Outcomes
Upon completion of this Certificate Course, learners will:
Polyvagal Theory and Autonomic Nervous System (ANS): Understand how Polyvagal Theory explains the role of the ANS in shaping real-time experiences, safety perception, and behavioral responses, and how it integrates with Functional Medicine to support health and well-being.
Brain-Gut Axis and Microbiome: Explore the foundational components and bidirectional communication of the brain-gut axis and microbiome, including their impact on mental health, behavior, and physical well-being.
Inflammation and Trauma: Examine how inflammation, unprocessed trauma, and food sensitivities influence brain function, mood, and health, and identify strategies to reduce their effects.
Sensory Processing and Regulation: Investigate the links between sensory input (e.g., interoception, neuroception, proprioception) and nervous system regulation, and learn tools to improve sensory balance and emotional resilience.
Microtraumas and Environmental Stressors: Identify and address the effects of external microtraumas (e.g., noise, screen time, lack of sunlight) on the nervous system, promoting safety and regulation.
Neuro-Integrative Approaches: Apply Polyvagal-informed Neuro-Integrative Medicine strategies, including somatic practices, movement, dietary changes, and tailored interventions, to support nervous system balance across developmental stages.
Child Development and Mental Health: Recognize key physical and behavioral expressions of neurological and emotional needs in children, and employ or refer to functional strategies that support bonding, attachment, and resilience.
Please note: because we are not an accrediting agency, neither the Certificate of Completion nor the Polyvagal-Informed Certificate offers licensure or certification of any kind. We do not measure nor endorse one’s ability to teach Polyvagal Theory or use the term “PVI certified.” However, the Polyvagal Institute affirms that certificate training results in a polyvagal-informed level of knowledge and application.
INSTRUCTOR(S)
BG Mancini, AP, FMP, MHSc
BG Mancini, is a Neurodevelopmental Specialist, Advanced Certified in Functional Medicine, licensed since 2013 as an Acupuncture Physician and Primary Care Provider. She is the founder of The Brain & Gut Institute and creator of The Family Nervous System® that helps families understand that healing is never just one person in the living organism we call a family and requires connection to self and each other.
With almost 30 years of clinical practice, she has worked with children and adults to unlock their unique potential through biomedical, nervous system, and neurodevelopmental practices. Throughout her career, BG has personally worked with over 7,000 patients and trained an estimated 600 clinicians. She shares the importance of including Interoception, Proprioception, Neuroception, Sensory Processing, Interhemispheric Movement, and Nutrition in any conversation about addictions, autism, physical and mental health.
As an international speaker and trainer, she focuses on educating therapists, clinicians, educators, and medical providers about the underlying factors driving external reactions labeled as, “behaviors.” She advocates for holistic support to achieve homeostasis in the nervous system state and recover balance in the lives of patients and clients.
By combining what we now know through Dr. Stephen Porges’ Polyvagal Theory and the latest in research on the Brain-gut Axis, she makes the information “digestible,” for everyone so they can understand and implement tools for their own lives and those with whom they work. BG uniquely brings to light how our physiological state is ultimately determining our reaction to our inner and outer world.
BG Mancini, AP, FMP, MHSc
