Integrating Polyvagal Theory Into Practice: Clinical Strategies and Techniques
Brent Moore has spent a decade training counsellors, and his complaint about that training is specific. We teach people what to do and what to say, thoroughly and well. We barely teach them how to be. And underneath everything a client consciously thinks about you, there is a faster process reading whether you are safe.
Stephen Porges called that neuroception, and it happens well before conscious perception. Polyvagal theory gives you a way to think about it: an autonomic hierarchy rather than a simple on-off stress response, with a social engagement system that runs through connection with another person. Which means the clinician is not standing outside the client’s nervous system offering techniques to it. You are part of what it is reading, continuously, whether you intend to be or not.
Two and a half hours, from someone who trained as a health psychologist before moving back into clinical work. He builds it from the ground up, starting with basic nervous system anatomy for people without that background, then the organising principles, the hierarchy, and what changes clinically once you have them. He credits Deb Dana throughout for translating Porges’s research into language therapists can use, and points you at where to read further.
You’ll walk away with
- Neuroception as a working concept: the assessment of safety and threat that runs beneath conscious perception, in you as well as your client
- The autonomic hierarchy, and why it is a better map than fight or flight, including the shutdown and appeasing responses that a two-state model cannot account for
- Three organising principles of polyvagal theory, stated plainly enough to use rather than only to recite
- Co-regulation as a clinical process rather than a metaphor, including what your own state contributes to it
- The distinction between doing and being in the room, and why the second one is trainable rather than a matter of personality
- Sensations and images as material you can work with, which most models handle far less well than thoughts and feelings
- A guided practice you can use directly with clients, demonstrated in full during the session
- Treatment strategies matched to what the client’s nervous system is actually doing rather than to the presenting complaint alone
- Where polyvagal theory sits against the older stress models most of us were taught, and what it added to them
- A reading list, since he treats resourcing you for further study as part of the job
Watch the course trailer
CPD Information For Mental Health Professionals
Enjoy complete flexibility with 100% self-paced learning you can access anytime, anywhere, and on any device. This course is included with your Tatra Training membership, along with every other course in the library.
Course Duration: [N] learning hours
Certificate and CPD hours: On completion you’ll receive a Certificate of Completion to support your CPD records. Your certificates are yours to keep.
Assessment: Complete a short quiz at the end (80% pass mark), which you can resit as many times as needed.
Revisit Anytime: Come back to the course as often as you like while your membership is active, whenever you want a refresher for practice.
CPD Eligibility: This program may be suitable for CPD for professionals such as:
- Psychologists
- Counsellors and Psychotherapists
- Social Workers
- Community Workers
- Mental Health Nurses
- General Practitioners (GPs)
- Occupational Therapists
CPD requirements vary between professional bodies, so please check with your association or credentialing body to confirm you can claim CPD hours/OPD points for this program and what evidence they require.
Course Content
Meet Your Instructor
Learning struggles that mask emotional pain - or mental health symptoms that hide learning differences - create some of the most challenging cases clinicians face. Brent Moore has spent his career mastering the art of untangling these complex presentations, helping practitioners recognise when academic difficulties and psychological distress are interconnected.
With over 15 years in higher education and clinical practice, Dr. Moore serves as Chair and Professor of Behavioral and Health Sciences at Indiana Wesleyan University while operating Neural Pathways Learning Center, his specialised clinic for learning disability assessment in Liberty, Missouri. His recognition as the 2024 Dr. Linda Seligman Counselor Educator of the Year by the American Mental Health Counselors Association reflects his excellence in preparing the next generation of clinicians to address complex cases involving anxiety, ADHD, and learning differences.
Moore's clinical focus spans educational diagnostics, play therapy, health psychology, and clinical mental health counseling, with particular expertise in learning disabilities that co-occur with anxiety and attention issues. As a Registered Play Therapist Supervisor and Licensed Professional Counselor in multiple states, he bridges the gap between educational assessment and therapeutic intervention. His approach helps clinicians recognise when academic struggles mask underlying emotional issues - and when learning differences complicate traditional mental health treatment.
What sets his training apart is practical integration. Moore doesn't just teach assessment or therapy in isolation - he shows practitioners how to weave together educational testing, play-based interventions, and evidence-based counseling to create comprehensive treatment plans. His work with diverse populations, from children with dyslexia to adults navigating career transitions, gives him real-world insights that inform his teaching.
For your practice, expect to gain specific skills in identifying learning differences that impact mental health, practical play therapy techniques for various age groups, and assessment tools that reveal the full picture of client functioning. His methods particularly benefit clinicians working with clients whose presenting concerns may have underlying educational or cognitive components.
Quick Win: Moore's integrated assessment approach helps clinicians distinguish between anxiety that causes academic problems and learning disabilities that create anxiety - a crucial differential that transforms treatment planning and outcomes.
Qualifications
- Ph.D., Health Psychology, Walden University, 2010
- Ed.S., Educational Diagnostician, Northwest Missouri State University, 2023
- MBA, Business Administration, Indiana Wesleyan University, 2022
- M.A., Biblical and Theological Studies, Belhaven University, 2022
- M.A., Clinical Psychology, Wheaton College, 2003
- B.A., Psychology and Theology, MidAmerica Nazarene University, 2000
- Licensed Professional Counselor & Supervisor (Missouri)
- Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor & Supervisor (Kansas)
- Registered Play Therapist Supervisor (RPT-S)
- Board Certified Coach (BCC)
Teaching & Roles
- Chair & Professor, Behavioral and Health Sciences Division, Indiana Wesleyan University, 2023 - present
- Owner, Neural Pathways Learning Center, Liberty, MO, 2021- present
- Adjunct Faculty, California Baptist University, 2022 - present
- Associate Professor, Counselor Education, MidAmerica Nazarene University, 2012 - 2017
Featured & Recognition
- Podcast guest on Broken Beautiful Me, "Finding Light in Loss" (2025)
- Writer, Dystinct Magazine (2022)
- Presenter, British Psychological Society Division of Health Psychology conference, Stirling, Scotland (2024)
- International travel grant recipient to present on AI use at European Society of Psychology Learning and Teaching, Germany
Ready to better serve clients where learning and mental health intersect? Discover how Dr. Moore's integrated approach can enhance your clinical toolkit and improve outcomes for complex cases.
Feedback & Reviews
This course includes:
- Lessons 3
- Topics 0
- Duration 2.5 hours
- Quizzes 1
- Language English