Felt Sense Polyvagal Model™
Courses and
Facilitator Training Sequence
When we harness the power of our body’s natural healing process through accessing the autonomic nervous system and our felt sense, transformation occurs right before our eyes.
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Jan Winhall, MSW, FOT, has developed the Felt Sense Polyvagal Model ™: a paradigm-shifting, bottom-up approach that considers addiction as an adaptive attempt to regulate emotional states and trauma. The Felt Sense Polyvagal Model™ is a compassionate approach to understanding and treating trauma and addiction that is highly adaptable to any school of psychotherapy, and will appeal to addiction experts, trauma specialists, and clinicians in all mental health fields. Read on to learn about Jan's courses and full training series at Polyvagal Institute.
Meet Jan Winhall, MSW, FOT
PVI Course Partner
Developer of the Felt Sense Polyvagal Model ™
You may be reading this because you are curious about fresh ways of understanding trauma and addiction.
There is in fact a better way to understand trauma and addiction. A way that honors the wisdom of the body while integrating the latest findings in neuroscience.
A way that creates a new social movement of liberation away from being shamed and pathologized just for responding in ways that have not been appropriately understood.
A way where we can respectfully understand addiction and treat trauma responses with deep embodied listening. Come explore this with me and our PVI Community of learners. Earn a Certificate, and go further to train as a future facilitator, too!
Jan Winhall, MSW, FOT is an author, educator, and seasoned trauma and addiction psychotherapist. She is an Educational Partner and Course Developer with the Polyvagal Institute where she teaches courses and trainings based on her book, 'Treating Trauma and Addiction with the Felt Sense Polyvagal Model,' (Routledge 2021). Jan is an Adjunct Lecturer at the University of Toronto and a Certifying Coordinator with the International Focusing Institute. Jan is Co-Director of the Borden Street Clinic, where she supervises graduate students. Jan teaches and lectures internationally on her Felt Sense Polyvagal Model.
Jan Winhall brings together the essence of groundbreaking modern therapeutic practices with her own decades of hard-won clinical experience to fashion a new, deeply humane and promising model of addiction treatment. -Gabor Maté, MD
Shift your paradigm.
Train with Jan Winhall and PVI to learn the
Felt Sense Polyvagal Model™
and become a Certified Facilitator
Learn more about the courses and your educational journey, here:
01*
Self-Paced: Revolutionizing Trauma and Addiction with the Felt Sense Polyvagal Model™
In this self-paced six hour course, we will explore the intersection of trauma and addiction and how to address both with an embodied approach. Trauma and addiction responses are increasing day by day and we desperately need a fresh approach that treats the trauma of addiction where it lives--in the body. The fields of trauma and addiction have developed separately, yet when we treat one we are very often working with the other. And the state of addiction is traumatic in and of itself. So, how do we work with both? In this course we will explore the intersection of trauma and addiction and how to address both with an embodied approach. 5.5 CEs available!
*This course is optional in the sequence of courses that lead to becoming a full FSPM Facilitator. If you do take this course first, you are eligible for a discount on Step 2, the Treating Trauma and Addiction with the Felt Sense Polyvagal Model Certificate Course.
02
Live Online: Felt Sense Polyvagal Model™: A Certificate for Treating Trauma and Addiction
"I am very grateful that I have had the opportunity to learn and grow with Jan and others whom I have connected with while learning... helping me grow as a clinician and inspiring me to understand my own addiction as an adaptive strategy to regulate unbearable emotional pain." -River Malone
In this 6-month certificate program we explore the intersection of trauma and addiction and how to address both with an embodied approach. Participants of this course will gain focusing partnerships and become part of a growing supportive community of like-minded therapists who understand the importance of a polyvagal lens in working with clients. In addition to play-on-demand lectures, there will be six live monthly zoom classes, as well as monthly focusing with your assigned partner. Upon successful completion, participants will receive a Partner Focusing Proficiency Award from the International Focusing Institute, a Certificate of Completion in Treating Trauma and Addiction with the Felt Sense Polyvagal Model Certificate Program from the Polyvagal Institute. 24 CEs available.
03
Supervision Group for FSPM: Applying the Model in Your Practice
(formerly "EATT Practice Lab")
"This group is like a think tank/practice lab. It has helped me to formulate and shape my ideas and practices. It is one of my favorite places to be." -Jan Winhall
Now that you know the model, how will you apply it with your clients? How do you assess your clients based on the FSPM?
Come and join us in the small, safe space where you will receive clinical supervision and share with your colleagues.
You will gain in-depth skills in applying the model with different client populations, including trauma/ addiction, dissociation, educational challenges, chronic pain, ADHD, relationship issues, sexual abuse, gender violence. You'll deepen your work with autonomic states, integrating advanced felt sense/ focusing methods of embodiment. You'll learn how to complete a somatic assessment using the Embodied Assessment and Treatment Tool, and how to integrate other forms of therapy such as IFS and CBT into the FSPM. During the monthly two hour Zoom classes we start with an embodied practice, and a check in, providing an opportunity to share in the joys, the struggles, and the explorations of this important work that we do. In the second hour, a volunteer presents a case using the Embodied Assessment and Treatment Tool (EATT). We will expand our capacity to think at the edge, and to bring our rich experiencing into sessions. As we co-create this safe and adventurous space, we keep learning how to be intelligently present with our clients. This course is especially for those who are interested in becoming a Felt Sense Polyvagal Model Facilitator, deepening your knowledge and skills in applying the model to your area of practice, and co-regulating with like minded and embodied folks in an ongoing safe and stimulating professional community. Participants must be graduates of Jan’s Treating Trauma and Addiction Certificate Course (Step #2, above) or be pre-approved by Jan Winhall.
"Learning and working from Jan’s Felt Sense Polyvagal Model has shifted and added depth to my work that has benefited me and my clients significantly over the years. I appreciate the opportunity to share and present my own clients, to feel supported and receive feedback in live sessions. Further, it’s been so fascinating to hear the process and work of others from such diverse settings." -Lorri Pacheco, MSW
04
Live Online: Polyvagal-Informed Focusing Teacher Training
Participants in this course will learn how to teach polyvagal-informed focusing, based on Jan Winhall’s Felt Sense Polyvagal Model™ . Specific tools and strategies will be shared so that you will feel confident in teaching focusing and the basics of the FSPM. You will receive detailed and interactive material on teaching the Felt Sense Polyvagal Model™ in any group or individual settings. By reflecting on learning principles, group process, and program development, participants will be prepared to integrate FSPM into any environment or modality. Upon completion of all requirements participants will receive Focusing Trainer Certification from The International Focusing Institute, and the Felt Sense Polyvagal Model Facilitator Certificate from The Polyvagal Institute
The path to becoming a Certified FSPM Facilitator:
03.
Live Online: Supervision Group for FSPM: Applying the Model in Your Practice (ongoing professional consultation and focusing practice)
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After participating in your first cohort of the Practice Lab course, you are encouraged to continue to attend on a drop-in basis for ongoing support, community, and consultation.
Jan Winhall’s ability as a teacher and mentor to create a safe space for you to explore, experience, and embody the material is truly special. You will learn the Felt Sense Polyvagal Model, but more importantly, you will develop a more grounded and embodied presence.
From this place of deepened awareness, I’ve been able to incorporate the FSPM into my work as a movement educator and into my personal life. The positive results are significant.
I recommend this training for everyone.
-Michelle Lawyer, Somatic Educator
Why should I study at PVI?
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Polyvagal Institute, co-founded by Stephen Porges and Deb Dana, is the home of Polyvagal Theory. When you study with our experts, you can be confident that you are learning the most current research from the best in this field of study.
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PVI is proud to offer our high-touch, personalized learning experience. Our class sizes allow for more connection with your instructor and your fellow learners. Ask questions, engage in discussion, and make the most of your time together.
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Outside of your course sessions and focusing meetings, learners can continue to inquire and converse within a private, digital space on the Polyvagal Institute Community App. You’ll be simultaneously immersed in the broader, supportive Polyvagal community of informed individuals, professionals and fellow learners. ​
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Upon completion of the full FSPM sequence, learners will be awarded the Felt Sense Polyvagal Model Facilitator Certificate from Polyvagal Institute. Polyvagal Institute affirms that certificate training results in a polyvagal-informed level of knowledge and application. Your certificate not only showcases your personal and professional accomplishment, it distinguishes you from your peers and shows your clients, your colleagues, and employer your continued dedication to improving environments, experiences, and outcomes.
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Stephen Porges, PhD, developer of Polyvagal Theory, with Jan Winhall, MSW FOT
Jan Winhall is a remarkably gifted instructor, an excellent guide for therapists.
Her course expanded me professionally, intuitively, and as a human. She is without parallel in knowing how to deepen embodied practice, and advance understanding of our skills.
-Ann Dowsett Johnston, M.S.W.
Gift Certificates
PVI now has gift certificates available for any of our courses!! Get one here to provide this learning experience to a friend or family member.
Scholarships
If you need financial assistance to enroll any of the courses mentioned on this page, please fill out our Scholarship Application here.
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Training at a Flexible Pace
You can progress through this program at your pace. Take the courses sequentially, or enroll in Steps 3 and 4 simultaneously.
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