No, the Polyvagal Theory is NOT Dead: Here's What Critics (and Influencers) Aren't Understanding.
About this episode
Justin Sunseri discusses the criticisms of the Polyvagal Theory and evaluates the claims made by critics.
A paper co-authored by 39 scientists called the Polyvagal Theory "untenable" — and now psychology influencers are announcing the Theory is "dead." But is it? I'm Justin Sunseri, therapist and member of the Polyvagal Institute's Editorial Board. That means I review work for Polyvagal Theory accuracy. So let me actually look at the claims. In this episode, I break down Paul Grossman's paper "Why the Polyvagal Theory Is Untenable." We need to objectively check whether his criticisms accurately represent what the theory actually says. Because if they don't, the counterarguments are moot. Links mentioned: Grossman's paper: https://www.clinicalneuropsychiatry.org/download/why-the-polyvagal-theory-is-untenable-an-international-expert-evaluation-of-the-polyvagal-theory-and-commentary-upon-porges-s-w-2025-polyvagal-theory-current-status-clinical-applications-and/ Porges' "The Vagal Paradox": https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38108034/ Grossman's ResearchGate: https://www.researchgate.net/post/After_30_years_of_polyvagal_hypotheses_is_there_any_direct_evidence_for_the_first_3_premises_that_form_the_foundation_of_the_polyvagal_conjectures Porges' response(s) to Grossman…
People in this episode
Host: Justin Sunseri
Topics covered
- Polyvagal Theory
- psychology
- criticism
- mental health
- scientific evaluation
Keywords
- Polyvagal Theory
- Paul Grossman
- Stephen Porges
- psychology influencers
- scientific critique
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: Polyvagal Institute
Books & works: Why the Polyvagal Theory Is Untenable, The Vagal Paradox
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