Through the Polyvagal Lens ...

This week I was feeling somewhat under the weather, but as frustrating as that was it ended up giving me new insight with some of my younger play therapy clients. As I was sneezing and blowing my nose, one of my little ones showed great empathy and concern for me. He related his own experience of having a cold, and consequently the connection between us strengthened.

We experience empathy for others when we are in a ventral vagal state. But if the survival response of sympathetic mobilisation (fight/flight/freeze) or dorsal vagal activation (shutdown) has taken over, the social engagement system goes offline, along with the capacity for empathy. 

If a child or young person you are working with is showing little to no empathy, first ask yourself whether they might be in survival mode.

Find out more about using Polyvagal Theory in education settings, in my book, ‘Polyvagal Theory in the Classroom’ 📖😊