Absolute life changer for me! I was in a constant cycle of flight, fight, shutdown and then it would take days to get back to any feeling of safety only for the cycle to repeat. The Safety Anchors saved me! Having a list of Safety Anchors helped reassure me that I had a way out. I could see hope in that list. I can’t recommend this podcast and course enough. The information is powerful and life changing!

I enjoy how Justin combine scientific theory and his own experiences/observations/etc. As a therapist myself, I find the show very informative and easy to listen to. It is so empowering and I definitely would recommend some of my clients to give it a listen, I think they can benefit from it a lot. Thank you!

Polyvagal theory is new to me, but this podcast has helped me do a deep dive on learning all things about it and Justin makes it all seem so simple! Can’t wait to venture further down this rabbit hole!

Good content. And lots of pitches for the host’s offerings. Feels a bit like an infomercial, unfortunately.

Empowering information. Justin does a great job in keeping this podcast highly informative as well as entertaining.

Dangerously misinformed. The host makes some broad claims about mental illnesses, some of which could be dangerous to people who may need a level of structural or clinical support. The practical tools of Polyvagal Theory are great, but it oversimplifies the fact that the entire nervous system is in play and not everything can be attributed to the vagus nerve.

Thank you so much for sharing your knowledge and insight with the world!

I just wanted to take a moment and say thank you for creating such an impactful podcast! I believe that we all have a voice that deserves to be heard. Thank you for putting this into the world. BE UNBROKEN! @MichaelUnbroken

I had heard of polyvagal as a concept. This series explains it in a way that was easy to understand and apply to life situations. Thank you!

Unfocused rambling about a critical topic.

This is the second time I have subscribed to this podcast only to be repelled by it. The content about polyvagal theory is excellent and desperately needed. There really aren’t many resources out there for making this theory accessible to those of us with unresolved trauma. I wish what was wrong about this podcast didn’t completely overwhelm what is right about it, so I could set those issues aside and take away what works for me. But I’ve tried — TWICE now — and I just can’t. But I think Justin (and Mercedes, if she’s still around, which I don’t think she is?) needs to figure out who his audience is. In the episode I just listened to (April 20, 2021) he took a break to promote his 30-day polyvagal-theory-based program called Building Safety Anchors, intended to help people with unresolved trauma. But he mostly addresses his audience as though they are made up of other therapists. He assumes his listeners are married and have kids and healthy familial connections and want to hear stories from that world that illustrate the concepts he’s describing. That often doesn’t work for those of us with unresolved trauma. Our lives have often been laid to waste by it. Many of us don’t have happy marriages, or marriages at all. We might have kids, but we often don’t have healthy connections to our kids, because we were damaged as kids ourselves. The scenarios Justin uses are often unrelatable to me and sometimes even invalidate me. So I come away from listening to it having gained a ton of knowledge about polyvagal theory but feeling deeply unseen and unheard — which for those of us with developmental trauma is a core wound. The word triggering is not too strong a word, I don’t think. And Justin Sunseri is a therapist! Good heavens, I hope he does better with his in-person patients than he does with those of us with unresolved trauma in his podcast audience. Sadly, it seems he’s received criticism of being out of touch and insensitive before and I don’t see any effort on his part to address these issues. It’s a shame. To my fellow trauma survivors, I would say: proceed with caution. I cannot recommend this podcast.

Really enjoy your show . I am a therapist and so many of your videos have been very informative. Thank you for doing this podcast.

I was recommended this podcast by a colleague. I am a CBT AND DBT trained therapist. This podcast has given me a multitude of knowledge and helped me view things in a completely different perspective. I love this podcast and would highly recommend. Justin approaches things in a clear, direct, empathic, and exciting way; every podcast is full of information and applicable tools for use. Thank you Justin

I am really enjoying this podcast. I am an IFS trained therapist and this podcast is helping me supplement my IFS practice with Polyvagal theory. Wonderful work and I highly recommend this podcast if you are interested in Polyvagal theory.

I was a fan of this podcast with the earliest episodes and my enjoyment increased as Mercedes came on board, but the small and gradual accumulation of the host’s defensiveness, dismissiveness, and general omniscience became an issue. I’m disheartened to wonder if his behavior is the result of years of Polyvagal work. Or maybe the question is how he would be without it. Too bad, as the podcast is really a standout in making Porges’ work widely accessible.

Love the humor incorporating polyvagal theory into song lyrics.

The episode regarding Polyvagal Theory and CPST helped me to fully understand the implications of my CPTSD diagnosis. As someone who has a score of 8 on Adverse Childhood Experiences, it wasn’t a difficult diagnosis to make, but the mental health care I have received has really failed in helping me to understand the exact symptoms I need to manage daily. Polyvagal Theory is the most important information I’ve come across since I’ve been on my 15 year long healing journey. Thank you for adding such concise and valuable information to the conversation.

Just getting into this podcast with the polyvagal series of episodes, and I love it! Justin strikes the perfect balance between informative and introspective/vulnerable as a therapist. Highly recommend!

This sounds like a bad script written to showcase how men run over women when having a conversation. The fact that he’s a therapist but can’t let Mercedes finish a thought without interrupting is telling.

Perfectly timed, digestible information without overloading the brain!!!

I really appreciated this podcast, but was deeply uncomfortable with the perspective shared on the most recent episode. You have a responsibility to educate yourself on structural oppression with a platform like this. When someone calls out racist (sexist, ableist, etc.) actions or beliefs, this is not name calling. We live in a cultural stew of these oppressive ideas. Of course we’ll internalize them. When this is brought to your attention, the point is to prioritize the lives of marginalized people and not your own hurt feelings. Learn to take feedback with grace and humility. I’ll be looking to other educators around polyvagal theory and somatic exercises to do this work.

Digestible and helpful for non-academic folks. Helped me grasp PVT more deeply

Thank you so much getting ton of valuable information 🙌

I keep trying to come back to this podcast because I like the subject matter. Overall I want to listen but have recently unsubscribes. I’m routinely annoyed by the dynamic between the hosts. I listened to their episode where they unpacked this a bit - but alas, it continues and they don’t quite seem to get that at a fundamental level, it takes away from the content delivery. If they could prepare a bit more and assess where their view points differ, maybe that could help. Listening to them bicker, talk over each other, etc. is so irritating and even a little unnerving. It’s a bit of any irony - I have a hard time listening because I’m unable to feel at ease knowing they will start arguing at any moment. I’m sometimes even triggered by it. I know that their banter is done quite gently and in a healthy manner, for them. I still find it distracting, unnerving, and sometimes triggering when it’s a gender dynamic that mirrors broader interpersonal oppression (white men talking over everyone else, repeating what’s already been said, disagreeing despite not listening well at all). I will keep trying to listen. I hope this keeps getting addressed.

for Mercedes' donut joke. lol Also, it's a really good podcast. It breaks down polyvagal theory in an easy to digest manner.

It’s hard to focus on the content when he’s constantly talking over her and the way they speak to each other sounds disrespectful and aggressive. I acknowledge that this might just be my individual preference but it’s distracting.

This podcast would be amazing if not for Justin’s excessive defensiveness, the way he talks so condescendingly to Mercedes and has to prove himself right at all times. While I’ve learned a lot about trauma by listening, I’ve been so upset by hearing him repeatedly interrupt and talk down to Mercedes that I think I’ll have to stop listening. It’s wild to me that a therapist can be so lacking in self reflectivity. I’ve learned a lot about de-escalation from hearing the way Mercedes deals with Justin’s constant need to prove himself right and her wrong, but the podcast would be way better if he weren’t so sexist and patronizing!

This podcast has so much useful information! I am glad for that— so 4 stars! Sometimes I get frustrated listening to the guy (Justin?). He tends to want to debate and tease out every statement regardless of value added to the discussion. It can be exhausting. Overall, a good podcast— I just have to engage in small doses.

Thank you for breaking down Porges’ very important work and for using real life examples. So helpful!

Don’t get me wrong! I think there is valuable information and nuggets scattered throughout- it just feels a little slow. I don’t think the hair edits and I kinda wish he would because there seems to be quite a bit of unnecessary chit chat and long windedness. I’m all about being present and taking stuff in, but realistically- I don’t have all day. I kinda want every word to mean something and feel intentional you know?

:)

Soooo excited to find this haven for Polyvagal Theory!!! 🌟I cannot learn fast enough...polyvagal theory feels like the key to everything 😊! I am a parent, an actor, & an MFT in training-I have found an in-depth understanding of the nervous system to be a priceless tool on the human journey! I would love to see polyvagal language in schools & I long for the day when children are taught that taking care of the nervous system is as essential as brushing your teeth & eating a balanced diet. The more we inform the word about Polyvagal Theory the better for humanity!!! Great work!!!

I’m a new listener and so far I’m floored by what I’m learning so thank you!! This is right in line with a lot of the goals I’m already pursuing in parenthood but also with some shifts I’ve been trying to make recently and it is so helpful! One minor tweak I beg you to address is the tone for your announcements. It is so shrill it literally hurts my ears every time I hear it!

Mercedes and Justin, did you BOTH have to take an entire episode to broadcast your real-time nervous system activation over bad therapy? Nooo!!!! Wouldn’t it have been enough to share five minutes tops of your nervous LAUGHTER and outrage without exposing the rest of our nervous systems to that? The incongruency of laughter together with outrage was especially triggering. Also, I don’t understand the Bad Therapy Intro purpose… Is something coming next? Are we going to hear these stories of bad therapy or are you only going to continue to tell us how bad they are? Finally, not all therapists are trained in the same manner. Having one’s own complete personal therapy is NOT necessarily a prerequisite to becoming a therapist. Scary, but true.

I’ve read a Deb Dana, Porges and Levine (as well as Pat Ogden) and this is a wonderful way to chew on and digest this important theory that touches everybody. Justin is fun to listen to. His examples illustrate his points well. And he’s highly personable. Only problem is that I want to listen with a pen and paper to take notes but am always on the go while listening.

Highly recommend that you listen to this podcast about trauma if you want to understand why we react to it the way that we do. Well done, compassionate, easy to understand.

Thank you for making polyvagal theory make sense and relatable. I teach at a university and have already made adjustments with my behaviour leading my classes. A lot is intuitive if you work with people, and I think I already knew much of what I am learning about, but it is so important to me to understand the scientific validity behind it. Please get on other health and wellness podcasts to get the word out! Wellness Mama, MIndPump, Living 4D with Paul Chek, Vibe Podcast with Robyn Openshaw, etc. All of these podcasters touch on ideas around mind and body connections, but I feel the polyvagal theory is the missing link that connects so many ideas.

As a trauma survivor who has just begun to understand and work through her trauma, I’ve found this information so helpful! I love the way you describe, in detail, each state on the ladder. Great job! Thank you!

Absolutely loving the learning and break down of the Polyvagal Theory. I appreciate your approach and ability to share simply and meaningfully. I’ve had many light bulb moments for my own Self understanding and as a parent too.

Very interested in this topic and as a counselor that works with both students and teacher and I greatly appreciated the real life examples and easy to understand format - excited for more!

I’ve been diving deep into Polyvagal Theory for about a year and I’ve been looking for a well-organized, thorough resource that clearly explains these concepts in a way that can be understood by professionals and lay-people alike. I’m so excited to have this podcast to recommend to my clients. This theory is life-changing and this type of easily understandable resource is so needed. Thank you, Justin!

Super interesting and really informative.