Polyvagal theory survives the 2026 "untenable" critique: what the critics contested was mechanism and evolutionary framing, not the clinical proposition.

Polyvagal theory Stephen Porges’s account of the vagus nerve as the switch between defence and social connection. Widely used in trauma therapy and contested in physiology.

Interesting

A private bookmark. Not a position, and never counted.

What Arielle Schwartz actually said

Word for word, with the source under each one. They did not write this page.

Arielle Schwartz 2 Mar 2026

Clinical psychologist, EMDR consultant and yoga teacher in Boulder, Colorado

The central clinical proposition of polyvagal theory-that autonomic state functions as an organizing platform shaping perception, emotion, and relational behavior-was not empirically disproven in the critique.

Where this was said

↗Clinical Reflections on the Critique on Polyvagal Theory proposed by Grossman et al., (2026)drarielleschwartz.com

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