192: What to do with the myth of Polyvagal Theory

Polyvagal Theory is everywhere these days. Psychologists talk about it; parenting coaches talk about it; if you’re in the mental health field you’re probably referring to polyvagal theory in some way. So one would assume that there’s lots of evidence for it, right? Well, maybe. Maybe not. In this episode I dig into the foundational principles of Polyvagal Theory and find that there's a lot less evidence supporting it than you might think, given how many places it's used. So what's going on? Is it legit? Should we be using a different theory to understand our experience instead? But all may not be lost! Maybe there are aspects of the theory that we can still use...the episode suggests a path forward on this.