20 Embodied Practices for Healing Trauma and Addiction
Using the Felt Sense Polyvagal Model
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What if addiction, dissociation, and other manifestations of trauma were not framed as diseases or disorders, but rather as adaptive methods of regulating the autonomic nervous system (ANS)? This book takes that approach, and guides readers through 20 embodied practices that promote the rewiring of the ANS. By integrating the latest neuroscience from Stephen Porges's Polyvagal Theory with Eugene Gendlin's embodied felt sense, Jan Winhall's Felt Sense Polyvagal Model is a paradigm-shifting, deeply somatic approach to healing trauma and addiction. Readers are presented with two vital tools for healing: learning how to recognize and rewire their autonomic state, and finding the felt sense of somatic wisdom. This compassionate and inviting model centers the intelligence of the body to allow for deep healing, and these 20 step-by step exercises present an accessible approach for clinicians, their clients, and anyone on the journey to healing from trauma and addiction. The book's exercises are uniquely designed to be completed either with a mental health professional, another person engaged in this embodied process (a felt sense partner), or both.
About this Author
Jan Winhall, MSW., P.I.F.O.T., is a seasoned trauma and addiction psychotherapist. She is the author of Treating Trauma and Addiction with the Felt Sense Polyvagal Model; an adjunct lecturer at the University of Toronto; and an educational partner with the Polyvagal Institute. Jan is codirector of the Borden Street Clinic, Toronto, Canada.
Stephen W. Porges, PhD, originator of Polyvagal Theory, is a Distinguished University Scientist and founding director of the Kinsey Institute Traumatic Stress Research Consortium at Indiana University, and a professor of psychiatry at the University of North Carolina. He lives in Atlantic Beach, Florida.
Reviews
"What I find most compelling about this book is the compassion and warmth that accompany the reader's journey from hiding and isolation, hallmarks of trauma and addiction, to openness and self-acceptance. It's a journey that passes through many landscapes, including the scientific foundation of bodily health, cultural distinctions in our understanding of risk, and modes of thought and action that cultivate trust, both of ourselves and of others. This book takes focusing on the road, from a conceptual understanding--of, indeed, a bodily exploration--to a fluid (meta-focusing), intuition-guided methodology that links urgent needs to real solutions, concretely defined, and available either in therapy or outside of therapy. Grounded in the body's urge for self-care, Winhall's exercises offer a remarkable pathway through emotional healing."
"Jan Winhall highlights the vital importance of drawing on one's inner wisdomwhen healing from trauma and addiction. This work empowers both trauma clinicians and survivors and instills hope in those who are healing from trauma."
"Jan Winhall has a remarkable way of taking complex subjects and grounding them in practical, healing strategies that work. She invites you to relate to addictions as learned habits that can be unlearned. Rooted in trauma-informed care and Polyvagal Theory, Winhall provides a compassionate understanding of how addictive behaviors were developed as the best-known attempts to manage adverse life events and the resulting dysregulated nervous system. Here, you are skillfully guided through the felt sense approach to reduce the harm of addictions while enhancing your capacity for joy!"
"Jan Winhall's new guidebook is brimming with enlightened, effective strategies for addressing the deeply interwoven challenges of treating trauma and addiction. Centered by the Four Circles Harm Reduction Practice, her body-centered model of 20 practices is bolstered by an insightful theoretical foundation combined with deep respect for the wisdom of the body to release self-acceptance and healing. Organized with a gentle, grounded, step-by-step approach, this book will become an inspirational companion for therapists and their clients searching for an innovative, nonjudgmental paradigm for addressing addictive processes and underlying trauma."
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