I agree with Helena on this one, you seem to be conflating two differentiated phenomena. Not being able to access health care/being healthcare avoidant because it is unaffordable, racist and sexist and therefore trying to take care of yourself using other tools at your disposal is not a polyvagal problem, its a larger systemic problem. If anyone tries to use polyvagal theory or any other type of healing modality to the exclusion of all other forms of care, again that is an individual problem informed by a broken health/social system, not a polyvagal problem. If an Instagram therapist claims that learning about polyvagal responses will completely solve all their clients problems, that's a BAD therapist, and has nothing to do with the efficacy of polyvagal narratives to help people make sense of their responses. As a burgeoning therapist myself, the first course in my Masters was on the biopsychosocial model, looking at our client holistically, helping to offer suggestions of what might be going on biologically alongside their mental health struggles, and referring them to medical treatment alongside any treatment we give. Again, anyone on or off the internet pushing any one theory or practice as a cure all is a problem, but that's not unique to polyvagal theory. Shaming people for choosing to not seek medical help in an absolutely abhorrent medical system is misguided, as is blaming polyvagal theory for being a "snake oil" cure all instead of targeting its misuse or abuse by individuals in positions of social or economic power.
I had initially gotten caught up in the hype but then encountered the in depth criticisms by Paul Grossman and other experts in mammalian evolutionary biology and realized I didn’t know enough to trust the claims made by polyvagal theory and that the original knowledge base about fight and flight are helpful and I didn’t need to invent and imagine a dorsal vagal response to help clients. I think we are often too quick to want some kind of formula to help clients when really the self-knowledge and self-exploration that emerges within the therapeutic relationship can create growth and change over time and there is no magic panacea to rush or skip that process. Healing, insight, taking ownership over one’s life, etc. won’t happen through oversimplified and catchy memes.
What is it exactly you are critical of? The research on somatic psychobiological bottom-up understandings of trauma or the way it’s applied in more or less professional ways? I don’t know if you are presenting an actual critique of the research, it seems like you main point is the way it’s used by mainstream SoMe therapists. I agree with your critique of how it’s deeply problematic that people are not getting actual health care and are therefore forced to figure out ways to self-medicate. That is a major issue. But I don’t see it as the same as the polyvagal research being the problem. Trauma-informed care is crucial, not only to address and treat trauma but also to prevent re-traumatization which the medical systems are very guilty of. Allostatic load research is pretty robust and supports the general bottom-up affect regulation model: the accumulation of toxic stress (including trauma) impacts our health. The research should make us focus much more on prevention. It is coming along I believe. The topic of relational safety is crucial for psychotherapy. Well-educated and well-trained therapists don’t claim that somatic therapy can fix everything. A good somatic therapist will be the first one to encourage you to get a holistic assessment of your issues so medical issues can be addressed.
I'm glad to see someone writing about this because I got caught up in believing that somatics and neuroplasticity were going to Revolutionize Healthcare as we know it, and that does not seem to be happening. These things are being touted as cures to chronic illness and I'm concerned that that's based on cherrypicking and exaggerated claims. Remember when we believed mapping the human genome was going to End Disease? People struggling with illness and disease deserve evidence based treatment and not New Age flavoured, pseudoscientific snake oil.
I agree with Helena on this one, you seem to be conflating two differentiated phenomena. Not being able to access health care/being healthcare avoidant because it is unaffordable, racist and sexist and therefore trying to take care of yourself using other tools at your disposal is not a polyvagal problem, its a larger systemic problem. If anyone tries to use polyvagal theory or any other type of healing modality to the exclusion of all other forms of care, again that is an individual problem informed by a broken health/social system, not a polyvagal problem. If an Instagram therapist claims that learning about polyvagal responses will completely solve all their clients problems, that's a BAD therapist, and has nothing to do with the efficacy of polyvagal narratives to help people make sense of their responses. As a burgeoning therapist myself, the first course in my Masters was on the biopsychosocial model, looking at our client holistically, helping to offer suggestions of what might be going on biologically alongside their mental health struggles, and referring them to medical treatment alongside any treatment we give. Again, anyone on or off the internet pushing any one theory or practice as a cure all is a problem, but that's not unique to polyvagal theory. Shaming people for choosing to not seek medical help in an absolutely abhorrent medical system is misguided, as is blaming polyvagal theory for being a "snake oil" cure all instead of targeting its misuse or abuse by individuals in positions of social or economic power.
I had initially gotten caught up in the hype but then encountered the in depth criticisms by Paul Grossman and other experts in mammalian evolutionary biology and realized I didn’t know enough to trust the claims made by polyvagal theory and that the original knowledge base about fight and flight are helpful and I didn’t need to invent and imagine a dorsal vagal response to help clients. I think we are often too quick to want some kind of formula to help clients when really the self-knowledge and self-exploration that emerges within the therapeutic relationship can create growth and change over time and there is no magic panacea to rush or skip that process. Healing, insight, taking ownership over one’s life, etc. won’t happen through oversimplified and catchy memes.
What is it exactly you are critical of? The research on somatic psychobiological bottom-up understandings of trauma or the way it’s applied in more or less professional ways? I don’t know if you are presenting an actual critique of the research, it seems like you main point is the way it’s used by mainstream SoMe therapists. I agree with your critique of how it’s deeply problematic that people are not getting actual health care and are therefore forced to figure out ways to self-medicate. That is a major issue. But I don’t see it as the same as the polyvagal research being the problem. Trauma-informed care is crucial, not only to address and treat trauma but also to prevent re-traumatization which the medical systems are very guilty of. Allostatic load research is pretty robust and supports the general bottom-up affect regulation model: the accumulation of toxic stress (including trauma) impacts our health. The research should make us focus much more on prevention. It is coming along I believe. The topic of relational safety is crucial for psychotherapy. Well-educated and well-trained therapists don’t claim that somatic therapy can fix everything. A good somatic therapist will be the first one to encourage you to get a holistic assessment of your issues so medical issues can be addressed.
I'm glad to see someone writing about this because I got caught up in believing that somatics and neuroplasticity were going to Revolutionize Healthcare as we know it, and that does not seem to be happening. These things are being touted as cures to chronic illness and I'm concerned that that's based on cherrypicking and exaggerated claims. Remember when we believed mapping the human genome was going to End Disease? People struggling with illness and disease deserve evidence based treatment and not New Age flavoured, pseudoscientific snake oil.