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The Pocket Guide to the Polyvagal Theory

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The Pocket Guide to the Polyvagal Theory

By: Stephen W. Porges
Narrated by: Joe Hempel
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About this listen

When The Polyvagal Theory was published in 2011, it took the therapeutic world by storm, bringing Stephen Porges's insights about the autonomic nervous system to a clinical audience interested in understanding trauma, anxiety, depression, and other mental health issues.

The book made accessible to clinicians and other professionals a polyvagal perspective that provided new concepts and insights for understanding human behavior. The perspective placed an emphasis on the important link between psychological experiences and physical manifestations in the body. That book was brilliant but also quite challenging to read for some.

Since publication of that book, Stephen Porges has been urged to make these ideas more accessible and The Pocket Guide to the Polyvagal Theory is the result. Constructs and concepts embedded in polyvagal theory are explained conversationally in The Pocket Guide and there is an introductory chapter which discusses the science and the scientific culture in which polyvagal theory was originally developed.

Publication of this work enables Stephen Porges to expand the meaning and clinical relevance of this groundbreaking theory.

©2017 Stephen W. Porges (P)2020 Tantor Neuroscience & Neuropsychology Psychology Psychology & Mental Health Mental Health Health Nervous System
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I really enjoyed this book. I gave it five stars for everything.

I’ve read all the books on Polyvagal theory and I noticed that this book talked a lot about the social engagement system. I might be wrong, but I feel as though it has been over emphasised or overrated. I am leaning towards the belief that the social engagement system is an important part of mental and social health but the theory in this book doesn’t fit in with how I’ve seen people able to regulate the autonomic nervous system very well without social engagement. Buddhist hermits are a good example of this. This can be seen in the movie Amongst White Clouds. The book also talks about how the social engagement system is something that differentiates mammals from reptiles. I find this oversimplified and would like to explore the difference between mammals that live predominantly in packs and mammals that are predominantly self isolating. I believe the social engagement system can’t play much of a role in regulating the autonomic nervous system, in a mammal that spends 95% of its life not engaging with its own species.

Great book

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Highly recommended! Very easy to listen to and comprehend the hows and whys of the nervous system being the central element of good health and longevity. informative insights of what to do to self heal along with scientific knowledge of the pros and cons in big pharma and how many medical practitioners are influenced by incentives and/or do not have the necessary knowledge to suggest alternate pathways to deal and deal the central nervous system.

Reflection on how we can heal ourselves opposed to relying solely on pharmaceutical interventions

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Absolutely brilliant! What a fabulous resource and a brilliant text. Want more. Will listen again for sure! Calm narrator. Thank you. Text nearly as phenomenal as live presentation....nearly.

Insightful and clear.

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If it was edited better, they could have shrunk the book to be 3 times smaller without losing any content at all, because it's quite repairing. But it's pioneering work, I'm glad I read it!

Excellent content, but repetitive

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Very informative, easily digestible. Thank you for writing and presenting in such a way, that I could understand it!

A great guide

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the book sequentially explains, with relevant examples, impacts of trauma and autism through a reasonably easy listen to compared to other polyvagel books.
The autism explains how our brain body talks via the middle ear and brain cell abs visceral systems
A gr8 read for therapists, teachers, doctors, parents and everyone really as most of us have experienced some trauma abd this helpful current explanation sh3ds light on the neglected area of polyvagel (body) experiences/responses in our lives.

relevant for understanding trauma and autism

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