
Where Story Meets Science
From Edge of the Couch by Jordan Pickell and Alison McCleary
March 4, 2026 · 40 min · Season 10 · Episode 5
About this episode
The episode discusses the tension between emerging neuroscience findings and practical frameworks for clients, focusing on polyvagal theory and its critiques.
Inspired by the new research article critiquing and perhaps 'debunking' polyvagal theory, we are sitting with the tension between adjusting to emerging neuroscience findings while also offering clients frameworks that genuinely help them make sense of their experiences and feelings. We talk about brain scans and bold claims that researchers sometimes make, what sounds science-y versus what actually shows up in people's psychology and physiology in session. We must translate these complex conc...
People in this episode
Hosts: Jordan Pickell, Alison McCleary
Topics covered
- neuroscience
- polyvagal theory
- psychology
- physiology
- client frameworks
Keywords
- neuroscience
- polyvagal theory
- brain scans
- psychology
- physiology
- client experiences
- emerging research
Mentioned in this episode
Books & works: polyvagal theory, new research article
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