Click below to filter

FACE-TO-FACE" TRAINING

2025
February 24 to December 19, 2025

TRAINING SOLD OUT ! REGISTRATION ON WAITING LIST

FACE-TO-FACE" TRAINING

2025
March 10 to 13, 2025

Bilingual seminar

FACE-TO-FACE" TRAINING

2025
April 9 to 13, 2025

TRAINING SOLD OUT ! REGISTRATION ON WAITING LIST

FACE-TO-FACE" TRAINING

2025
May 19 to 23, 2025

TRAINING SOLD OUT ! REGISTRATION ON WAITING LIST

FACE-TO-FACE" TRAINING

2025
Du 2 au 6 juin 2025

FULL TRAINING - WAITING LIST REGISTRATION

FACE-TO-FACE" TRAINING

2025
June 16 to 20, 2025

FACE-TO-FACE" TRAINING

2025
Du 7 juillet 2025 au 16 janvier 2026

SOLD OUT! Waiting list registrations

FACE-TO-FACE" TRAINING

2025
September 8 to 11, 2025

TRAINING SOLD OUT ! REGISTRATION ON WAITING LIST

Mixed training

2025
From October 10, 2025 to December 15, 2025

English-speaking event

Face to Face

2025
Les 18 et 19 octobre 2025

FACE-TO-FACE" TRAINING

2025
Du 3 novembre 2025 au 22 mai 2026
2025
du 19 novembre 2025 au 31 mai 2026
2026
Du 26 au 29 janvier 2026

FACE-TO-FACE" TRAINING

2026
Du 2 mars au 2 octobre 2026

Face to Face

2026
Du 30 mars au 13 novembre 2026
2026
du 27 avril au 1er mai 2026

FACE-TO-FACE" TRAINING

2026
Du 15 juin 2026 au 29 janvier 2027

Map of Relationship Intelligence® therapists

Polyvagal Theory: a valuable aid in our quest for security and connection

 

  1. Why use TPV in therapy?

TPV (PolyVagal Theory) has a scientific foundation, derived from neuroscience research, which enables clinical practice to be anchored in a physiological reality that cannot be disputed. TPV provides access to the depths of our being, thanks to work on our nervous system, which could be identified as the foundations of our house.

With IFS (Internal Family Systems), we had moved from content to parts. With TPV, we go one layer deeper, down to the foundations of the house at the level of our nervous system. Knowing that the different states of the nervous system are the foundations on which our parts emerge.

The TPV assumes that it's in the mind-body connection that healing is possible. Trauma is a psychological AND physiological experience. TPV gives us access to our body's healing resources, particularly through body touch.

This approach also makes it possible to healing wounds related to attachment issueswhich have destabilized the foundations of the house, and which are very often associated with and pre-existing traumas.

[intense_button id="More about the games" color="#2888a8″ font_color="#ffffff" link="http://www.selftherapie.com/langage-modele-intelligence-relationnelle-partie-1-nom-parties/"] [/intense_button]

 

*For patients

For our patients, when we explain POS to them, it's as if we're putting words to their world, making them feel deeply understood.

POS shows just how much our nervous system acts well beyond our awareness.It really helps our patients realize that some of their behaviors are stronger than they are. And that they're doing the best they can with a life history that has deregulated their nervous system.

*For therapists

Very often, in therapy, our patients arrive with a nervous system in distress, and their ability to regulate themselves is often complicated. They are unable to reliably access Self° energy (the essence of the person. The self is the natural leader of the person's psychic system). Their capacity for self-regulation may therefore be limited. POS shows us how we can regulate our patients so that they can regain access to their inner resources.

POS also reveals the importance of co-regulation in therapyIn other words, the link between therapist and client. How movement, gaze, touch and reciprocity are precious elements on the road to healing.

As a therapist, the ability to know and regulate our own nervous system, in order to access the energy of Self, is an essential part of the therapeutic process.

It's a theory at the service of life. By regulating our nervous system, we can once again feel secure enough to love life and take the risk of living.

 

  1. The basics of POS :

TPV was developed by Stephen Porges. It has been translated into clinical application by Deborah Dana.[1]. Here are the basic notions of this theory.

 We come into the world designed to connect with others. From our very first breath of life, we embark on a lifelong quest: to feel secure in our lives and in our relationships with others. The nervous system is our personal surveillance system. It functions constantly, asking: "Am I safe? Its aim is to protect us by continually assessing danger, listening to what's going on in our bodies, in our environment and in our relationships with others.

This surveillance takes place deep down, far from our conscious thought and control. Yet this detection of safety and danger signals has a powerful influence on the way we live our lives.

 

*Three possible paths:

Our nervous system has three response modes First, the ventral mode of engagement and social bonding, when it feels safe; then, the sympathetic mode of mobilization, to respond to danger; finally, the dorsal mode of extinction or collapse, when it seems impossible to escape danger. In each mode, we react differently.

When we're firmly ensconced in our ventral vagal pathway (typical of mammals), we feel connected and secure, calm and sociable. A sense of danger can trigger us out of this state and send us back into our evolutionary history, into the sympathetic branch (whose roots come from fish). We are then mobilized to react and take the necessary measures. Acting in the face of danger can enable us to return to a state of security and social bonding. It's when we feel trapped and unable to escape danger that the dorsal vagal pathway takes us back to the very beginning of our evolution, to the reptilian stage. In this state, we are frozen and immobilized. We switch off to survive. From there, the road back to feeling safe and connected is long and painful.

*Autonomic nervous system scale

We can translate the way the nervous system works by imagining it as a ladder. How do we experience changes as we move up and down the ladder?

The view from above

When we're in a ventral state, our heart rate is regulated, our breathing is complete, we recognize the faces and voices of our friends. We see the big picture, and we're connected to the world and the people in it.. In this state, a person would describe themselves as happy, active, interested and would describe the world as a safe, happy and peaceful place.When we're in the ventral state at the top of the ladder, we're connected to what we're experiencing, and we can reach out to others. Everyday experiences that fall under this state include being organized, completing projects, taking care of ourselves, taking time to have fun, doing things with others, feeling productive at work, a sense of balance and a feeling of managing things well.

 

Going down the ladder

 The sympathetic state is activated when our nervous system perceives danger. We take action. This is when we fight or flee. In this state, our heart rate quickens, our breath is short and shallow. We watch our surroundings for danger. We are in "motion", hyper-vigilant. One of the everyday experiences that fall into this state is when we're anxious or angry. The surge of adrenalin we feel makes it impossible to stand still. We listen for the signs of danger and don't hear the sounds of friendly voices. The world can seem dangerous, chaotic and inhospitable, with the idea that we need to protect ourselves from danger.

 

Bottom of the ladder

The last state, the dorsal branch of the nervous system, is the path of last resort. When, in the face of danger, the sympathetic state isn't enough to cope, we're trapped, and the dorsal state leads us to close in on ourselves, to collapse and dissociation. There, at the very bottom of the ladder, we are alone in our despair. We take refuge in a state in which I feel nothing, in which I almost no longer exist. Experiences in this state include.., we can describe ourselves as desperate, abandoned, confused, too tired to think or act, and we would describe the world as empty, dead and dark.From this state in which my mind and body have entered survival mode, we can believe that we are lost and that no one will ever find us.

 

Now that we've explored each level of the autonomous ladder, let's see how we can move up and down it. We prefer to be at the very top. The ventral vagal state is a hopeful and resourceful state. We can live, love and feel good about ourselves and others. It's not a state where everything is wonderful and problem-free. But in this state, we can recognize our difficulties, explore options and seek support. We move down the ladder into action when a sense of discomfort or immediate danger is triggered within us. We hope that the mobilization we achieve will eventually enable us to climb back up the ladder to our place of safety and connection. It's only when we fall to the very bottom of the ladder that the safety and hope of the top seem unattainable.

 

  1. Conclusion

With this knowledge of our nervous system, we can better understand its role and reactions, with a view to ensuring our safety and survival. We can bring awareness to our behavioral patterns. And by being aware of our different states, we can begin to regulate our nervous system.

Relational Intelligence°based on TPV, is a therapy model that works in depth on the nervous system, so that we can move forward in our quest for security and connection.

[intense_button id="More about the IR model" color="#2888a8″ font_color="#ffffff" link="http://www.selftherapie.com/agenda/"] [/intense_button]

 

[1]See Deborah Dana's website www.debdanalcsw.com. Here you can download the French beginner's guide to "the rhythm of regulation".

Skip to content