Embodied Dialogues for Healing Trauma and Addiction

Healing after betrayal is not a linear or purely cognitive process. From a nervous system perspective, experiences of betrayal can shift neuroception toward danger, increasing protective responses such as vigilance, mobilization, or shutdown. These are adaptive responses that reflect the body’s attempt to preserve safety in the face of relational rupture. In this episode of the Embodied Dialogues...

Dissociation is often misunderstood and heavily stigmatized. Yet from a nervous system perspective, it may be one of the most extraordinary ways the mind adapts to survive overwhelming experience. In this episode of Embodied Dialogues, Jan Winhall, creator of the Felt Sense Polyvagal Model, welcomes psychotherapist and author Sally Maslansky for a powerful conversation about Dissociative Identity...

In this episode of the Embodied Dialogues podcast, Jan Winhall is joined by trauma therapist and author Dr. Frank Anderson for a rich conversation about healing in relationships. Together they explore how the Felt Sense Polyvagal Model (FSPM) and Frank’s emerging PATH model (Parts Approach to Trauma Healing) can help couples understand the deeper nervous system dynamics that shape conflict, connec...

Join host Jan Winhall with guest Mathilde (Mattie) Shisko, an acclaimed voice and performance coach whose work helps people access the voice as a powerful pathway to regulation, connection, and truth. Through the lens of Jan’s work with trauma, addiction, and nervous system healing, this episode explores how voice is not just something we use to communicate, but something we can rely on as a profo...

In this moving episode of Embodied Dialogues, Jan Winhall is joined by renowned trauma and addiction pioneer Tian Dayton for a deeply relational conversation on the embodied roots of addiction, attachment wounds, and healing through community. They speak about how relational trauma—whether from addiction, emotional neglect, or untreated complex PTSD—impacts the nervous system in similar ways. Toge...

In this powerful episode of Embodied Dialogues, Jan Winhall sits down with clinical psychologist, applied neuroscientist, author, and creator of groundbreaking neuroplasticity-based healing practices, Dr. Kate Truitt. Focuing on healing trauma through brain science & embodied practice, together they explore the meeting place of trauma, the nervous system, the amygdala (“Amy”), and the deep hum...

Jeff Warren joins Jan Winhall for a candid conversation about meditation, trauma, and the wisdom of the body. Jeff shares how living with ADHD, bipolar disorder, and deep shame led him to seek support, and how working with Jan through focusing and felt sense practices helped him stabilize and heal. He explains how meditation builds concentration, clarity, and equanimity, while felt sensing allows...

Holly Lowery-Davis joins host Jan Winhall and the FSPM Institute on Embodied Dialogues for a grounded, practical conversation about building the sturdy foundation needed to heal trauma and attachment wounds. Deep, body-level healing begins with feeling safe enough to stay with our embodied experience - and that sense of felt safety is something we can actively learn to create. Holly, a certified b...

Research now shows seemingly unrelated factors like food, sensory input, digestive health, lack of exercise, and diminished parental availability can influence children’s brain development both in function AND form. BG Mancini, is a Neurodevelopmental Specialist, Advanced Certified in Functional Medicine, licensed since 2013 as an Acupuncture Physician and Primary Care Provider. She is the founder...

Katy Dickson, Author of "The Tree & Me, A Polyvagal Poem" (a finalist in the 2025 National Indie Excellence Awards, Children's inspirational/motivational) joins Jan Winhall on July 24, 2025 on the live, interactive Embodied Dialogues Podcast. After a short grounding practice from Jan, Katy shares both professional and lived experience insights and reflections as an Occupational Therapist, deep...

Welcome to a 1-hour exclusive Embodied Dialogue in 2025 with Dr. Stephen Porges, the esteemed creator of the Polyvagal Theory. One of the many qualities I admire about Dr. Porges is his unwavering commitment to accessibility. As I become busier with a public lifestyle, I find myself challenged by the desire to reach out and the need to contain. Steve’s ability to stay connected, respond to emails,...

Nightmares are robustly linked with trauma and many other forms of psychological injury, including a 4x greater risk of suicide. Yet they are vastly under-treated — which is a shame because nightmare treatment is simple, effective and evidence based. Guest Dr. Leslie Ellis shares: how polyvagal theory helps us to understand why we or our clients have nightmares how the body holds nightmares in the...

Jan Winhall with Patrick McA, Elizabeth Moitoza, Robert Ragucci, Ann Dowsett Johnston Join us in this special 2-hour edition of the Embodied Dialogue Series for an enlightening exploration of how Polyvagal Theory and Twelve-step Programs can intersect to enhance addiction treatment. Since the 1930s, Twelve-step Programs have been a cornerstone in helping millions overcome addictive behaviors throu...

Polyvagal Theorist Dr. Stephen Porges joins Jan Winhall in February 2022 with a live audience to address questions about how the nervous system interprets safety and threat and how it's felt in the body.

Guest Julianne Del Cano Kennard and host Jan Winhall explore the spiritual alchemy of trauma, the process by which pain, when consciously met, becomes a catalyst for transformation. Julianne will share about her upcoming book and the Wholality® framework to explain how the patterns and blocks within our human experience are not problems to fix, but signals pointing toward what wants to be healed a...

Jan Winhall hosts guest Sean Inderbitzen, author of Autism in Polyvagal Terms, for a rich dialogue on the intersection of polyvagal theory and neurodiversity, especially autism. They share a neural-exercise framework with practical tips to deepen connection, ease “stuckness,” and enhance quality of life by activating the ventral vagal system for greater safety, flexibility, and meaningful relation...