Trauma Recovery and Resilience: Embodied Practices Incorporating Polyvagal Theory

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Debra Premashakti Alvis, PhD Related seminars and products

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Debra Premashakti Alvis, PhD, is a licensed psychologist and private practitioner with over 30 years of clinical experience in supporting clients’ recovery from trauma, mood and relational concerns. Debra began working with parts of the self over three decades ago training extensively in Jungian oriented psychotherapy and contemplative approaches. She applied movement, mindfulness, and the expressive arts to explore parts of the self. She deepened her understanding of inner parts through multiple Internal Family Systems therapy educational trainings, combining her embodied contemplative approach with the IFS model. She finds that this integrative approach strengthens the self through facilitating the resolution of inner conflicts.

A seasoned international presenter and consultant, Dr. Alvis is a therapeutic yoga educator and mindfulness meditation teacher. She retired as faculty member from the University of Georgia where she developed and led the mind/body program. The program included a clinician training program integrating mindfulness, yoga and psychotherapy. A personal contemplative practice, research experience, and a deep understanding of Polyvagal Theory further enrich her presentations. She draws upon this unique background to provide effective, easily applicable skills designed for immediate integration into clinicians’ practices.
In addition to teaching, Dr. Alvis maintains a private practice and has more than 25 years of clinical experience in treating clients with a variety of conditions by mindfulness principles, body-oriented principles and traditional psychotherapeutic approaches. She also has an over 30-year personal contemplative practice.

 

Speaker Disclosures:
Financial: Debra Alvis maintains a private practice and receives a speaking honorarium from PSIvet, Ridgeview Institute, Twin Lakes Recovery Center, eCare, Essential Therapy Training, Alma, CEU Creations and Mountain Area Health Education Center. She is a paid consultant for Evergreen Certifications. Debra Alvis receives a speaking honorarium and recording royalties from PESI, Inc. She has no relevant financial relationships with ineligible organizations.
Non-financial: Debra Alvis is a member of the American Association of College Student Personnel, the Association for Contemplative Mind in Higher Education, the Association of Specialists in Group Work, the Athens Area Psychological Association, and the Georgia Psychological Association.

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Objectives

1. Analyze how the primary tenets of Polyvagal theory can be applied to trauma treatment through embodied contemplative practice.
2. Demonstrate how compassion-based interventions shift vagal states and shame-based trauma reactions.
3. Demonstrate inner dialogue with disowned aspects of the self for building a secure attachment to the self.
4. Demonstrate two breathing practices for calming fight/flight, energizing the body, and focusing the mind.
5. Integrate simple movements to relieve anxiety and shift from shut down.
6. Develop cultural sensitivity through individualizing treatment.

Outline

• Vagal States & Autonomic Hierarchy
• Neuroception – how the traumatized nervous system interfaces with the world
• Re-establish effective co-regulation – a biological imperative
• Utilize prosody or voice
• Provide trauma-informed psychoeducation on intermingled vagal states
• Build Recovery & Resiliency Through Smart Vagal Activity
  • Subcortical resilience
  • Eye movements to build resiliency
  • Resourcing – Map vagal states and pivotal practices

• Energizing Breaths to Stimulate Safety in Social Connection
  • Skull shining breath
  • Ocean sounding breath
• Calming breaths to stem anxiety
  • Three-part breath
  • Shining moon breath
• Movements to Awaken the Shut-Down Nervous System
  • Gentle back-bending movements
  • Standing stretches to focus mind/body
  • Goddess posture – Breath plus movement
• Movements to Calm Fight/Flight
  • Easy forward bending
  • Simple sigh & stretch
  • A dance with the hands - Mudras
• Face-to-Heart Connection Through Sound & Movement
  • Call & response chant
  • Walking meditation to awaken compassion
  • Loving kindness imagery

• Identify vagal state triggers and resets
• The five senses – A return to the here and now
• Deep relaxation to support safe connection
• Adapt and individualize trauma treatment with cultural sensitivity
• Apply Polyvagal Theory to racial healing
• Extend resiliency building to implicit memory, body memory, and procedural conditioning

• Explore ahimsa or non-violence with self and clients
  • Self-compassion to negotiate fight/flight from inner critic
  • Build safety and connection between sessions
• Right action & ethics for strengthening ANS resiliency
• Mirror through matching the client’s vagal states
• Shift self and client back into connection

Target Audience

• Counselors
• Social Workers
• Psychologists
• Case Managers
• Addiction Counselors
• Physicians
• Marriage and Family Therapists
• Nurses
• Other Mental Health Professionals